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China's Liang Wenbo reaches last eight at snooker UK Championship

Xinhua, December 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

China's Liang Wenbo fought back from 2-point down to beat Englishman Tom Ford 6-5 to reach the quarterfinals of the snooker UK Championship in York, Britain, on Thursday.

Liang, the 28th seed, set up an all-Chinese quarterfinal against Marco Fu of Hong Kong, China.

From 2-0 down, Liang took the next two frames with breaks of 122 and 67 to draw level. Leicester's Ford then regained the lead with an 86 and made a 58 clearance to go 4-2 up.

Liang pulled one back before Ford's 93 made it 5-3. Liang made an 88 to win frame nine and started the next with a 53. Ford had a chance to clear but missed a tricky black along the top cushion on 27, and his opponent forced the decider. Liang was on 49 when he missed the pink to a center pocket, but Ford could only pot one red before missing the pink himself, and that proved his last chance.

Liang, who reached the last eight in the UK Championship in 2009, said: "I'm very happy. Tom played well and made a very good clearance to go 4-2 up. There was a lot of pressure but I kept playing and did well. I really focusing on the last three frames. I'm looking forward to playing Marco."

Ford, ranked 52nd in the world, said: "At 4-2 Liang went out of the arena, and after that he played so slowly that every time I got back to the table it felt as if I'd been off it for half an hour. He's the most boring player I've played this season. I don't mind being played off the table, but not bored off it."

Neil Robertson crushed Stephen Maguire 6-1 in the other game.

"That was definitely the best I have played this season, without a doubt," said world number three Robertson. "I played great but I knew I had to." Endit