Veteran Mark Williams and young Michael White, representing the rich Welsh legacy, entered the semi-finals of the Indian Open World ranking snooker tournament here on Friday with contrasting victories that underlined their skills and dexterity.
The 39-year old double World champion and 15th ranked Williams held off England's Robert Milkins 4-1, bringing into play his vast experience and craft that has made him the player to beat in this tournament.
White, only 22, but ranked 22 and who idolizes Williams, slipped past an inconsistent Chris Wakelin of England 4-2 with a top run of 99 to set up an intriguing semi-final contest on Saturday morning.
Williams, who had beaten World No.6 Judd Trump 4-3 in the pre-quarters this morning, proved far too good for Milkins who was punished for his errors by the wily old Welshman whose best effort was a 76 in the third frame.
Williams began strongly with a 51 break in the first frame and won a crucial second after making up a 20-point deficit with some delightful strokes before cracking a 76 for 3-0 lead.
The 38-year old Milkins staged a brief fightback by taking the fourth on a break of 54, but Williams could not be stopped in the fifth that he took with some clever percentage snooker, making every visit count.
On the next table, White, who has been having a good season with a couple of quarter-final finishes and winning the shootout competition last week, saw off a spirited challenge from Wakelin who had his chances but blew them.
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White, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, played extremely well when it mattered, coming up with excellent potting and positional play to outwit 22-year old Wakelin, a Q-School product.
"I have had a good season so far and been playing well. A couple of quarter-final finishes besides winning the shootout last week have given me a lot of confidence.
"Also, I have learnt to be disciplined off the table as I used to spend a lot of time hanging out with friends, drinking and stuff. So, now I look forward to playing Williams whom I have beaten before," said White.
Earlier in the day, Mark Davis extended his recent domination over four times World champion and his long-time rival John Higgins with a polished 4-0 win to set up a quarter-final clash with Thai sensation Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, while England's Ricky Walden, and Joe Perry completed the quarter-final line-up.
Davis, who first clashed with Scot Higgins back in 1995, played solid snooker to chalk up his sixth consecutive win in 10 meetings, while southpaw Un-Nooh wasted little time to demolish Welshman Jamie Jones 4-1, posting a super quick break of 123 clearance in the fifth frame.
Davis, 42-year old from Hastings, England, and ranked No.18, gave few openings to Higgins who helplessly watch his rival race away with breaks of 72, 87 and 66 in the first, second and fourth frames.
The 39-year old Scot Higgins, although ranked two spots higher, looked anywhere near his best and the closest he came to winning a frame was in the third when he briefly led Davis who, however, slammed a timely 33 to go 3-0 up and followed it with a run of 66 in the fourth for a commanding victory.
Even more dominating was 29-year old Bangkok-based Un-Nooh who, after losing the first frame, simply dismantled 45th ranked Jones who squandered a 56-point lead in the third frame, allowing the Thai to go 3-0 up rather than making it 1-2.
"Reaching the quarter-finals in a big tournament such as this is obviously the best performance of my professional career. I am happy with my concentration and focus," said the Un-Nooh who is bound to improve his ranking from the current 61 after his performance in the Indian Open.
In the bargain, Un-Nooh, who upset World No.4 and defending champion Ding Junhui in the first round Wednesday after having to qualify for the main draw, is now forced to postpone his departure from Friday to Saturday night as he never expected to perform so well.
The results:
Quarter-finals: Mark Williams (Wales) bt Robert Milkins (England) 4-1: 69 (51)-28, 58-45, 77 (76)-00, 00-90 (54), 67-12; Michael White (Wales) bt Chris Wakelin (England) 4-2: 00-76, 59 (55)-07, 00-82 (63), 72 (71)-22, 99 (99)-00, 55-46.
Pre-quarter-finals: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Thailand) bt Jamie Jones (Wales) 4-1: 17-63, 73 (55)-10, 69-58, 79 (51)-01, 123 (123)-04; Mark Davis (England) bt John Higgins (Scotland) 4-0: 77 (72)-04, 87 (87)-01, 62-32, 66 (66)-01; Ricky Walden (England) bt Tian Pengfei (China) 4-0: 64-17, 65-12, 53-40, 75 (75)-20; Joe Perry (England) bt Kyren Wilson (England) 4-3: 81-40, 15-63 (62), 42-71, 63 (55)-61, 78-00, 25-55, 79 (55)-00; Mark Williams (Wales) bt Judd Trump (England) 4-3: 92 (68)-23, 20-112 (104), 108 (108)-04, 04-73 (55), 01-67 (67), 59-25, 70 (63)-21; Robert Milkins (England) bt Graeme Dott (Scotland) 4-2: 24-81 (69), 67 (60)-06, 63-24, 73 (68)-06, 05-76, 79-07; Michael White (Wales) bt Li Hang (China) 4-2: 94 (94)-00, 08-102 (50), 118 (109)-08, 36-89, 89 (62)-23, 77 (77)-00; Chris Wakelin (England) bt Nigel Bond (England) 4-1: 70(50)-52, 73-48, 96 (96)-00, 24-69 (69), 68-56 (55).