White Beats Walden In Tense Tie

Michael White narrowly defeated Ricky Walden to reach the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters, after a dramatic final frame decider.

The pair traded the opening two frames, before White pulled away with breaks of 45 and 113, to lead 3-1.

Walden hit back with contributions of 53 and 62 to level at 3-3, but it was White who moved to the verge of victory with another century 101 break in the seventh. World number 8 Walden forced a decider after a run of 98 and drama ensued.

With Walden needing snookers, White fouled on two occasions, leaving a free ball and chance to clear both times. Walden missed two straightforward pots to the top corner, leaving the Welshman to scrape past the finishing post.

“After the interval I thought the game was very good,” said White.  “I felt I should have won the last frame about 20 minutes before I did. Leaving the free balls was a bit nerve-racking, but I’m pleased with the performance.”

There was further final frame tension, as David Gilbert made two centuries to come through 5-4 against Marco Fu.

In a high quality encounter, it was Fu who moved 3-0 ahead, thanks to breaks of 119 and 79. However, Gilbert responded with back to back centuries, 117 and 115.

Fu went 4-2 up with a run of 70 in the sixth frame, but Gilbert refused to wilt and claimed the final three frames to secure his spot in the last 16.

“At 3-0 down I was just happy to get a frame on the board, so I’m delighted to come out with a victory,” said Gilbert. “The only time I looked like I was going to win was right at the end, but that’s the exact time you want to look like you’re going to win.”

Indian Open Champion Anthony McGill eased through with a 5-0 defeat of wildcard Chen Zifan. McGill made a break of 133 in the final frame, whilst restricting Zifan to just 88 points for the entire match.

Michael Holt was also comfortable in his wildcard round match. He lost the opening frame against Xu Si, but won the next five to progress.