Two former champions, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson, advanced comfortably to the last 16 of the Welsh Open with commanding second-round victories.
Williams compiled three breaks over 50 in a 4-1 win against Martin O’Donnell in Llandudno. The 50-year-old Welshman produced several eye-catching moments, including a long red in the fifth frame. He acknowledged that conditions were challenging, noting the balls were reacting sharply off the cushions, but felt he performed solidly overall. A strong break in the final frame sealed his progress. Williams, champion in 1996 and 1999, will next face 2018 runner-up Barry Hawkins, who made breaks of 69, 72 and 52 in a 4-2 success over Pang Junxu.
Robertson, the 2007 and 2019 champion, also won 4-1, overturning an early deficit to defeat Hossein Vafaei. After losing a lengthy 51-minute opening frame, the former world champion responded by taking four consecutive frames, including one decided on the black. He underlined his quality with breaks of 100 and 118 in the closing stages and will now meet Jak Jones, who overcame Anthony McGill 4-2 with three half-centuries.
Elsewhere, Jackson Page produced a crucial 101 break to edge Chang Bingyu 4-3, while Robbie Williams rallied from 2-0 down to beat 2013 winner Stephen Maguire in a deciding frame. Jack Lisowski recovered from 3-1 behind to defeat Xiao Guodong 4-3, sealing victory with an 83 break to force the decider.
Xintong survives but Wilson knocked out
Reigning world champion Zhao Xintong survived a spirited challenge from Stan Moody, eventually prevailing 4-2 with a superb 122 clearance in frame six. He will play Stuart Bingham, who came through against David Gilbert. However, second seed Kyren Wilson exited the tournament after a 4-1 loss to Zhou Yuelong.
John Higgins required a final-frame decider to overcome Bulcsu Revesz, while Sam Craigie, Zhang Anda, Wu Yize and Jiang Jun were also among those progressing.
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