Williams closer to place at Crucible

WELSHMAN Mark Williams moved closer to sealing his place at next month’s World Championships with a 5-1 win over Shaun Murphy in the China Open quarter-finals.

The two-time world champion will slip out of the top 16 and be required to qualify for the Crucible unless he pulls off a great escape by winning the tournament in Beijing.

Williams closed in on what would be his fourth career China Open title as he reeled off five consecutive frames to claim victory.

Williams’ march included an audacious one-handed pot off the cushion in the fourth frame which appeared to all but seal Murphy’s fate.

“Nobody wants to go to the qualifiers,” said Williams. “However, I put my mind to it about two or three months ago that it was more than likely that I would be there.

“I’d love to get to another final, it’s been a while. If I won it would be fantastic. To have already won this event twice is unbelievable but if I could make it a third it would be extra special.”

The Welshman will next face Iran’s Hossein Vafaei after the 22-year-old stunned Judd Trump 5-3 to move into the first ranking tournament semi-final of his career.

It was a disappointment for Trump, who had scored a 147 in his comfortable quarter-final win over Tian Pengfei of China on Thursday.

But there was no disputing Vafaei’s victory with century breaks in the fourth and seventh frames helping him over the line.

World number one Mark Selby eased past Stephen Maguire 5-1 and will next face Kyren Wilson, who overcame Ding Junhui by the same score.