World Snooker Championship: Yan Bingtao, China’s last man standing, trails in last-16
- Yan’s hopes take a battering in the opening session of his last-16 match against former world champion Shaun Murphy
Yan Bingtao, the reigning Masters champion, trails 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy 2-6 in their second round match, which will conclude at 10.30pm on Sunday (Hong Kong time).
Murphy registered the highest break of the tournament so far, 144, in a dominant opening session of the clash. The 38-year-old raced into a three-frame lead before Yan opened his account in frame four courtesy of a break of 88.
The next three went the way of the Englishman, seeded seventh at the Crucible this year, before Yan gave himself a fighting chance going into today’s concluding sessions with a break of 101 to make the score 2-6.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Mark Williams came through a tie against fellow former world champion John Higgins 13-7 in a re-run of the 2018 final. The Welshman will now meet either Mark Allen or Mark Selby in the last-eight. After the match, the 2018 champion played down his chances of a title in Sheffield.