Davis defeated as O’Sullivanturns on style to reach last 16

The former world No 1, a four-time winner of this event, lost the first frame but bounced back strongly at York. A treble in the opening frame gave Davis the early edge but he had little else to shout about against O’Sullivan in a first session in which strong safety play, rather than flamboyant potting, was in evidence from both players. A break of 123 was the highlight as ‘The Rocket’ took a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval.

O’Sullivan followed up with a knock of 97 in the first frame after the resumption, leaving the 54-year-old six-time UK Championship winner 4-1 down.

Davis had a chance in the sixth frame, but missed a pink and breaks of 34 and 32 moved O’Sullivan to within a frame of victory.

A break of 53 gave O’Sullivan a 47-point advantage with 75 points available – and he took his next chance with a knock of 62, wrapping up the match and setting up a clash against either Judd Trump or Dominic Dale.

Earlier, Mark Selby showed why he is world number one as he brushed aside Ryan Day to ease into the last 16.

‘The Jester from Leicester’ won 6-0, restricting the 31-year-old Welshman to a top break of just 24.

Selby took the first frame 60-23 after Day took on an awkward red down the cushion into the bottom right corner but left it on the table.

A break of 86 had Selby 2-0 ahead and he produced a clearance of 111 to make it 3-0, after Day’s break of 24 stalled when he missed a red into the middle. A knock of 90 in the fourth frame increased Selby’s position of strength and it was 5-0 when he rolled in a 69. After Selby opened the sixth with a break of 39 Day took a chance to pot his first ball in 36 minutes of playing time.

However, he missed a pink off the spot into the middle and soon after the contest was over.

Marco Fu came from 3-1 down to win his match against Stuart Bingham 6-4. Fu won the first frame before Bingham found form, levelling the match with a break of 94 - including a flamboyant round-the-table black to finish.

The 35-year-old from Basildon went 2-1 up and turned that into a 3-1 advantage at the mid-session interval with a break of 128.

However, Fu resumed in confident mood and he reduced the deficit to 3-2 with a break of 76. The Hong Kong player appeared set to square the game when he led Bingham 71-10, until he gifted his opponent the snooker he needed when he brushed the yellow with his sleeve.

Bingham looked set to take advantage and snatch the frame by a point, until he missed a brown into the bottom left pocket. It proved decisive, Fu making the most of the reprieve to win the frame and level the match.

Fu took the lead with a break of 55, then won a fourth frame in a row to move to the brink of victory. Although Bingham won the ninth frame, Fu won the 10th frame 96-12 to wrap up a 6-4 triumph.

Defending champion John Higgins had survived a testing examination from Rory McLeod on Saturday to book his place in the last 16. The Scot trailed 4-2 before battling back to lead 5-4, but McLeod dug in to set up a decider. Higgins needed all his tournament experience to edge the 11th frame and will now face an all-Scottish tie in the next round against either Stephen Hendry or Stephen Maguire.

The other early match also went to a deciding frame as world No 6 Ding Junhui beat Mark Davis.

Higgins will next face compatriot Stephen Maguire after he beat another Scot, five-time UK champion Stephen Hendry, 6-3. Hendry, though not at his best, showed his battling qualities to stay with Maguire up to 3-3, but the 2004 champion pulled ahead with a faultless 134 total clearance in frame seven.

In the next, Hendry was first in after an extended safety exchange but could not make the most of his opportunity and Maguire’s 90 clearance put him one frame away.

At 52-0 ahead, Maguire appeared to be cruising into the next round before he missed a simple red with the rest. As was the case all evening, though, Hendry could not make the most of his chance and Maguire eventually closed out the frame to progress.