Liam Graham's fabulous late clearance gave him a surprise win over Ali Carter to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time in his career at the 9Club Shoot Out.
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Scotland's 20-year-old Graham is playing his second season on the pro tour and enjoyed one of his best moments with a superb victory over Carter, cheered on by the spirted crowd in Leicester. Later tonight, one of the remaining 16 players will lift the trophy and capture the £50,000 top prize.
Trailing 37-6 with just two minutes to go and the balls in unpromising positions, Graham converted a tremendous long red and went on to nudge reds away from the top cushion as he made a winning 37.
"I loved it," said Graham. "Ali kept me out for the first part of the match, I had to knock in a good long pot to get a chance. This is my favourite event, I love the atmosphere. I'm feeling better about my game now, though I have a lot of work to do this season to keep my tour card, it's really hard in the first two years. Anyone can win this tonight, it's whoever can keep his bottle."
Allan Taylor triumphed in an equally exciting finish to beat Aaron Hill. Down 37-13 with just a minute to go, Taylor made a late 29, striking the cue ball to pot the last black in the final second.
India's Kreishh Gurbaxani kept his best ranking event run going as he beat Ashley Carty, while Florian Nuessle became the first Austrian player to reach the last 16 of a ranking event as he knocked out Zhou Yuelong. Nuessle, the only amateur left in the field, trailed 38-14 when he went for a long red and missed it by several inches but fluked another. That set him up for a break of 25 which proved enough to win by a single point.
Poland's Antoni Kowalski also became the first player from his country to go this deep in a ranking event as he beat Vladislav Gradinari. Four-time World Champion Mark Selby got the better of Jamie Jones and he is the only remaining top 16-ranked player. Liam Pullen knocked out Neil Robertson, while China's Huang Jiahao made a break of 73 to beat David Gilbert.
Round four gets underway at 7pm.