The Crucible crowd are still awaiting their first English quarter-finalist as Mark Williams wasted little time disposing of his good friend Michael Holt in the second round.
Williams steams ahead
Leading 10-6 after two sessions, Wales' Williams required just five frames to seal the deal. A half century break took him five frames clear before a mini revival by Holt gave the Hitman hope.
Holt composed breaks of 109 and 56 as he clawed two frames back. A third consecutive success was not out of sight when he produced another half century break, but Williams was eventually able to edge frame twenty. With one more frame required, Williams produced a break of 58 to win comfortably 13-8. Mark Williams will now play either Judd Trump or Ding Junhui in the last eight, though the Welshman will not be too fearful as he claimed earlier in the week that he is "a tough man to beat", as he proved against Holt in this latest encounter.
Rocket yet to take off
The second round pitted the 2013 finalists against each other as Barry Hawkins met Ronnie O'Sullivan. An intense high quality start saw two half century breaks and three centuries, including an excellent 139 by O'Sullivan, as the Rocket took a 3-2 lead.
Yet Hawkins was not prepared to buckle and the world number eleven gritted his teeth agains the man ranked five frames above him, as Hawkins edged a scrappy final three frames to lead 5-3 at the end of the session. The pair renew acquaintances on Sunday afternoon.
Saturday's evening session sees Ricky Walden and John Higgins begin the first session of what is likely to be a very close contest. It will also see the culmination of Mark Selby against Sam Baird, with the world number one edging the contest 9-7 after two sessions.