World Championship finalist Ali Carter whitewashed Stephen Maguire 5-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
Williams and Bingham progress as Perry shocks Robertson
World Championship finalist Ali Carter whitewashed Stephen Maguire 5-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Bank of Communication Shanghai Masters.
Maguire was Carter's victim in the semi-finals at the Crucible and the English cueman sank the Scot again, this time firing in a 120 break.
"I gave Stephen the utmost respect today and it was just a match where everything went my way," Carter said. "He only potted one ball in the first four frames."
The 33-year-old Essex potter is fighting an ongoing battle with Crohn's disease, and is managing the condition by keeping to a diet free of wheat and dairy products.
That helped him go all the way to the world final, where Ronnie O'Sullivan was his conqueror, and has saved his career, with Carter having given thought to retirement at the end of last year.
Carter told
worldsnooker.com: "When my health was not right I felt as if I was fighting two battles - one on the table and one off it. But I am feeling fit now thanks to the diet and as long as I stay healthy I will continue playing."
He was champion in Shanghai two years ago, for his second ranking title, and is chasing another this week.
Williams on song
One former world champion also advanced on Thursday, with Wales' two-time Crucible winner Mark Williams posting a 5-2 victory over England's Ricky Walden, who triumphed in Shanghai in 2008.
But another man with a title from Sheffield by his name bowed out, as 2010 world champion Neil Robertson slumped to a surprising 5-0 defeat against his good friend Joe Perry.
The pair practise together in Cambridge and Perry got the better of the Australian in convincing style.
"Sometimes the game just doesn't go your way and that happened to Neil today," Perry said.
Stuart Bingham beat Jamie Cope 5-1 in an all-English tussle.
Trumped
World number two Judd Trump reached the quarter-finals following a 5-2 success over Mark Allen.
Trump trailed 3-0 to the Northern Irishman before securing five consecutive frames for the second day in succession.
Allen took the opening two frames but Trump found his form with a century in the third and took the next two as well.
Trump was in first in the sixth frame but ran out of position and Allen eventually worked a chance to level the scores, only to miss a straightforward yellow.
It looked as though he may have got lucky when the white ran up close to a red, but Trump pulled off a superb thin cut with the rest and went on to win the frame and take the match in the next.
