Mark Allen into International Championship last 16

LAST year’s runner-up Mark Allen is through to the last 16 of the International Championship after beating England’s Kyren Wilson 6-3 in the afternoon session in Daqing.

Mark Allen was runner-up last year. Picture: Getty

The world number nine led 3-1 at the interval, aided by breaks of 59 and a superb 126 in the third frame. Despite the 23-year-old Wilson claiming the first frame after the break, Allen would win the next two which included a break of 70.

Wilson, who recently won the Shanghai Masters, won the eighth frame but couldn’t reignite his recent form as Allen won the next frame to seal victory.

The Ulsterman will now face Ricky Walden-conqueror Tian Pengfei who continued his impressive run in the tournament after claiming a 6-3 victory over fellow countryman Liang Wenbo.

Wenbo flew out the gates with a break of 121 in the opening frame but Pengfei, who beat defending champion Walden in the first round, claimed the final two frames of the first session with breaks of 84 and 67 to lead 3-1.

World number 66 Pengfei would go on to secure the win, producing a break of 110 in the seventh frame.

Mark Selby eased past Anthony McGill 6-1 as he looks to win his first title of the season. The world number one, who will retain his ranking after Stuart Bingham’s early exit, closed out his triumph in impressive fashion with a break of 115.

Mark Williams was edged out 6-5 by Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh despite leading 4-2 at one stage of the match. Un-Nooh, who beat Bingham and Judd Trump on his way to winning last month’s SangSom Six Red Championship, also clawed back from 5-4 down to reel off two frames in a row to claim the win.

Chinese prodigy Zhou Yuelong was in fine form as he thrashed Sanderson Lam 6-0, with a top break of 138 in the sixth frame.

Elsewhere Shaun Murphy saw off Wales’ Jamie Jones 6-2, John Higgins beat Michael Holt 6-3, and Michael White was a 6-3 winner over Lee Walker.