By World Snooker Tour

Mark Williams made one of the all-time great deciding frame clearances to beat Tom Ford 10-9 in a thrilling finish at the Johnstone's Paint Tour Championship.

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Ford looked set for victory at 9-9 until he missed a red to a top corner leading 54-0. Four of the last seven reds, as well as the blue, were tight to cushions, but veteran Williams pulled off a series of tremendous pots in an extraordinary 66 clearance. He goes through to the quarter-finals in Manchester to face Judd Trump on Thursday.

“I don’t know how I did it but that was one of the best clearances I’ve ever made," said three-time World Champion Williams. "The shot from blue to pink was very difficult but there was no way I was playing safe on any ball. It’s definitely one of my best.

“Tom was by far the better player, he made four centuries and didn’t win, he must have thought he had me. But I’m used to be being up against it. It shows where my game is at if I can play poorly but still win."

Leading 5-3 after the first session, 49-year-old Williams extended his advantage to 8-4 with top breaks of 112 and 88. Ford stormed back to 8-7 with runs of 138 (the highest break of the event so far) and 133. He had chances in frame 16 but Williams recovered to take it on a respotted black. Ford then made 90 and 63 for 9-9, and seemed in control of the decider until his missed red, which proved crucial. 

British Open champion in September, world number eight Williams is through to his fifth ranking quarter-final of the season. 

There was more drama on the other table as Ali Carter survived a Barry Hawkins fight-back to win 10-8. That sets up an intriguing quarter-final with Ronnie O'Sullivan on Wednesday - their first meeting since the bad-tempered Masters final in January.

Carter led 7-1 after the first session and still looked in charge at 8-3 and 9-5. Hawkins got the better of frame 15 then came from 48-0 down to steal the 16th for 9-7. In the next, Carter led 62-4 with three reds left, but Hawkins got the two snookers he needed on the last red, and eventually won it on a respotted back to close within one frame. But world number nine Carter dominated frame 18 to reach his sixth ranking quarter-final of the season.

"At 7-1 sometimes you feel you have it all to lose," said the Captain. "Barry came back at me really well and it got a bit sticky in the end. But that makes it a better win - if I had won 10-1 it would have felt like a bit of a non-event. I have gone through the wringer and I can't wait to get back to the hotel for a glass of wine.

"I am just trying my best, I am enjoying it and looking forward to the challenge tomorrow. It will be an open free-flowing match. I'm not going to put myself under any pressure, I'll just play and see what happens."