Allen out of NI Open at third round
Antrim man still searching for first title
Home favourite Mark Allen is out of the Northern Ireland Open after Alexander Ursenbacher edged a 4-3 victory in Belfast.
Having whitewashed Scott Donaldson 4-0 earlier on Thursday, world number seven Allen was in fine form as he looked to reach the quarter-finals at the Waterfront Hall.
However, Ursenbacher raced into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 62 and 64. Allen responded emphatically with a knock of 101 before levelling the match.
Ursenbacher (72) and Allen (103) shared another frame apiece before the 23-year-old Swiss held his nerve to take the deciding frame with a break of 69.
Shaun Murphy progressed after a 4-2 success against 2017 finalist Barry Hawkins, who took the first frame with an impressive 77 break.
However, Murphy hit back, taking a tight second frame before moving to within a frame of victory with a break of 62. Hawkins won the next frame with a 129 to give himself a fighting chance, but Murphy clinched the win in the sixth.
He will face five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last eight after his convincing 4-1 win over Yuan Sijun.
O'Sullivan edged a close opening frame and then doubled his lead with an emphatic break of 127. Yuan pulled a frame back and threatened to level the match, only for the Rocket to storm to victory with breaks of 78 and 57.
Defending champion Judd Trump beat Yan Bingtao 4-0. Bingtao was no match for the world number one, who produced another clinical display of potting and break building, reeling off breaks of 61, 56 and 70.
Trump took another step towards defending the Alex Higgins trophy and has not dropped a frame since the third frame of his second-round clash win over Zhang Ada.
He will play Anthony Hamilton in the quarter-finals after he overcame Kyren Wilson 4-3 in a deciding frame.
Joe Perry is also in the last eight after the Englishman raced to a 4-1 victory over Robbie Williams, producing runs of 76, 77 and breaks of 62 and 70 in the same frame.
Mark Selby was also a 4-1 winner against Ken Doherty while John Higgins overcame fellow Scot Stephen Maguire 4-3 late on Thursday night to complete the quarter-final line up