Players Championship snooker as it happened: Ricky Walden hits back to edge out Mark Williams in final-frame decider

Superb response from Walden to recover from trailing 5-2 as he wins 6-5. Not sure the conditions suited Williams, but that will not bother his opponent. He faces Yan Bingtao or Barry Hawkins in the semi-finals on Friday evening. We will return at 1pm GMT on Thursday afternoon with that second quarter-final before Ronnie O'Sullivan and Neil Robertson meet tomorrow night.

Williams slotted red and black, but he misses final red when he looked set to clear for a 6-5 win by a point, but it is Walden who claims the victory as he rolls in red. Williams has seen enough. A remarkable end to the night. Walden through to his second successive ranking event semi-final.

Williams trails by 42, but 43 left in it. Pink would have left Williams needing a snooker, but it didn't drop. A frantic, dramatic end to this match.

Walden slowly but surely moving clear in the decider. Needing three more reds to leave Williams facing exit door.

Walden returns to table with Williams somehow losing his way in this match. Chance passes to the former world semi-finalist. Golden chance for a four-frame winning surge.

Williams hits pink attempting a safety, but is perfect the second time. Timely safety shot has given Walden a problem. Tries to pot his way out of trouble, but has not left much for Williams, who then picks out a brilliant thin cut on a red. Real chance then for Williams.

Williams sees a white drop down a middle bag and this one is going all the way. Walden wins three frames from 5-2 behind. All on the line over one frame for a semi-final place.

Williams plays a brilliant shot to stun the white behind the black. Walden snookered on the pink with 19 points between them. Walden just scrapes the pink coming off two cushions. Tension is palpable.

But it won't as Williams misses the cut on the brown. And Walden slots the brown. Williams needs a snooker otherwise this is going 5-5.

Walden fails to drop in red to a centre pocket. That might cost him the match.

But he misses a red to a middle hole. Walden might double the final red after slotting blue.

Another chance for Williams to get himself over the line. Tough to win frame, but could be done. And he opens up two reds. Suddenly opportunity knocks.

Williams' highest break since his 105 in the fifth frame has been 21. Frozen out.

Well, break of 38 from Walden before a red down a side cushion fails to drop. Williams can't punish the error as a black is missed following the red. Chance gone.

Williams starting to falter at the key moment. Mid-range red fails to drop and Walden looks keen as he goes about his work at the business end of the table and this match.

Walden picks out a super safety shot to leave the white behind the yellow ball. "Anybody got any ideas?" says Williams to the crowd. Finally tries to roll up to a red on a side cushion via the baulk cushion. Hits the red at second attempt, but leaves the red on for Walden. And he can't pot it. Chance for WIlliams after 35 minutes without potting a ball.

This has been superb from Walden. A break of 80 from the German Masters semi-finalist. Mood music has changed and it is 5-4 to Williams having led 5-2. What happens next is anybody's guess.

Williams rattles jaws with a mid-range red and this could be going 5-4 quite soon. Enough reds in open to see another frame off.

Business end of this match is approaching and every mistake could be meaningful. Williams making two errors rolling down the table to reds early in the ninth frame to give Walden an early advantage in his bid to force a penultimate frame.

A knock of 65 from Walden and he stays alive in Wolverhampton. Williams looking for one frame, Walden for the remaining three.

Walden moving rapidly towards the finishing line in this frame. Break moves to 57 and this should be 5-3 to Williams when he winds up this visit to the table.

Williams studying his options over two minutes after snookering himself on the colours. Finally nominates the yellow after almost three minutes. Misses the ball, but a miss won't be taken. Walden handed a golden chance early in this eighth frame.

A 32-minute frame, but Williams edges the battle to lead 5-2. He is the man for every occasion, really is. Can win frames ugly and at one-visit.

Error by Walden and Williams is going to take out this frame for a 5-2 lead. Slots remaining red and the colours will follow..

Williams racking up points after potting red and rolling up behind yellow. One red left up. Walden trying to hit it. Gets there fourth time.

Two reds left on table and a bout of safety coming up. Key tactical duel here in a pivotal moment of the match for both players. Superb escape from Williams off the side cushion with white to nestle on a red.

Error by Walden attempting a safety shot after just failing to spring clear the black. Could be so costly that mistake in a scrappy frame. But Williams can't release two reds on top cushion.

Both men missing balls early in this seventh frame with the tension mounting, but Walden is back at the table and looking to at least build a sizeable lead.

A fine 123 from Walden and he trails 4-2.

Is this going to be a century from 'The Stamina Man'? Certainly looks like it. A fourth century of the evening coming up in six frames. Which tells its own story. One-visit snooker from Ricky and is indeed a ton.

Couple of really decent shots by Walden to end a 30-minute points drought. He is at the table and has a fine chance to win frame and reduce deficit to two frames with reds wide open.

Few rueful smiles from Walden. Has been right under the hammer so far in this match, but still time to mount a comeback.

Another century from Mark Williams. 102 follows the 103 and 107. He leads 4-1. Needs two more frames to book his semi-final spot on Friday night.

This could be a third century coming up. Just immense ball-striking and positional play.

Willo showing his class again at the outset of this fifth frame. Just potting for fun at the moment and seems to be enjoying his play. Break moves to 35. Walden forced to sit and suffer after missing red early in the frame.

103 and 107 from Williams and a 60 from Walden. Has been a lovely match to watch so far. An enticing brand of play from both men.

A 107 break from the three-time world champion. Wonderful level of play from the Welsh icon. He'll enjoy his cup of tea at the mid-session interval after two tons in four frames sees him lead 3-1.

Could also be another century coming up..

Williams not thinking too much about that third frame. Right back at it here. Lovely opening red and he has that white ball on a string at the moment. Reaches 55 before developing a few more reds off black. Should be 3-1 coming up.

But he is not going to get it as Walden slams home green and finishes calmly to the pink to trail 2-1. He'll be feeling better now. One more frame before the mid-session interval.

A classy knock of this from Walden as break moves to 60. In goes yellow as he leads by 27 with 25 remaining. Williams needing one snooker.

Fabulous long red by Walden to secure access to the table. Real chance to recover strongly in this third frame. Reds all sitting nicely.

Willo with a handy enough lead in this third frame, but plenty of points left up for Walden to launch a counter attack. If he gets a chance.

Suspect Walden has yet to settle as he misses a pink to a middle bag after holing a nice red. Williams out of his seat and slots a delightful cutback on a black seconds later. Had no right to make that. Off and running again in this third frame.

A stunning break of 103 from Williams in the second frame. Like his old rivals Ronnie O'Sullivan last night and John Higgins today, he is right on the money so far. A crisp, immaculate century break. Warning signs for Walden.

Walden going to pay a heavy price for missing a red to a centre pocket. Williams also missed a tough plant, but isn't going to cost him. This could be a century coming up.

Pace of the table not troubling Williams tonight so far. Looks like a 2-0 lead as break moves to 55.

Walden confesses to a double hit on a white. Great sportsmanship, but Williams can't roll in a pink after sinking red. Lays a sound safety shot instead and a Walden error gives Williams chance to win the frame. In goes the final red. He is going to lead 1-0.

A fantastic long straight red from Williams prompts an ovation from the crowd, but he can't knock in a tricky red along the top cushion seconds later.

Williams misses a straight blue among the balls, but no damage done as he holes a red seconds later before running safe.

Walden seeing a tough cut on a black stay up after a fine opening plant. Williams tucks in a nice red to a middle pocket and follows it up with the black Walden missed. Welshman has hand on table.

Walden was a 6-2 winner against Mark Allen last night while Williams held off Gary Wilson 6-3 to seal his progress. Whoever wins this contest will face Yan Bingtao or Barry Hawkins in the first semi-final on Friday night. Williams leads 6-5 on the career head-to-heads with Walden.

Almost ready to get these boys on the baize. Mark Williams and Ricky Walden ready for a tussle in the first quarter-final. No change in the distance. First to six frames will see you through to the semi-finals. Almost ready to rock and roll.

Join us tonight at 6.45pm GMT for the first match of round two, in which Mark J Williams takes on Rickaaay Walden.

That Hossein's best break was 54, in a frame he lost, tells you some of the story; John, on the other hand, has made three tons, and once he fought back before the mid-sesh there's only been one winner. Higgins meets Jimmy Robertson next.

Scrapping against the table, John cobbles together 22 crucial points, 48 ahead with 59 left, and I think Hossein has gone here - he knows it's over. But when he leaves one to left corner, John misses with the rest, so Hossein sinks it and lays a snooker; John escapes, then a slapdash pot presents him with a dolly, and this is over. For today at least, he's broken Hossein, who's done nothing since the interval.

Superb from John, a tight cut from middle to left corner setting him away again. Hossein slumps deeper into his chair and this feels a lot like the end - though there are two pairs of reds stuck together, as well as two loose ones.

Eesh, Hossain misjudges the pace of the cloth and winds up forced to cut a red he wasn't intending to play. He misses, but leaves nothing.

Seeking thin contact following a fine safety from Hossein, John misses everything and leaves a free ball thanks to an inadvertent snooker behind the yellow. Hossein hasn't potted for half an hour, but starts with a pink and knows that any error likely means curtains.

A poor positional shot forces John to play safe off the blue, sending white to bottom cushion. He might've tried to force the ball into the yellow pocket, but with the match as it is, it made sense to deny Hossein any opportunity.

Hossein looks peaky when John slots a red to left middle; it's followed with a black, reds freed reds in the run-through, and already this looks like the end.

On 108, John slides the final red down the side rail ... but it bounces around the jaws and out. Still, he might've broken the back of this one, and Hossein will be rueing how close he was to 3-0. That's three tons for the Wiz now.

John's only taken one blue, so there's a 145 out there if he can take it; so far, the highest break of the tournament is Kyren Wilson's 141.

This looks like the crucial blow, another Hossein error allowing John to build a significant lead. He's so composed in the balls and his shot-selection is almost perfect.

Oh, Hossein! John leaves him a red to right centre, and he rolls it very deliberately ... into the far knuckle! He's just looking a bit bedraggled now, as tough the fates are conspiring against him, and the W of W is quickly potting balls.

101 and the frame, John's second ton of the match. And he's the better player now, but Hossein is more than capable of sorting him from here.

There's no one better at disproportionately punishing an error, and John has done just that.

A poor shot from John - another poor shot from John - sees him nestle in the cluster, so he has a think ... then glides a red into the middle, the angle disquietingly oblique. Lovely shot, and this is now a really good chance to retake the lead.

What a win that is for Jimmy Robertson, but back in our match John impatiently misses a red and Hossein does not; then on 17 rescues himself with a red dropped delicately into right corner ... only to miss a blue into the yellow pocket! Neither man can sustain any fluency, and you've got think that kind of match favours John, now in the process of amassing a lead.

Luca Brecel 1-6 Jimmy Robertson

Immediately, John fouls, so concedes.

No he won't! A poor positional shot creates problems, a difficult red followed by black is doubled with safety in mind. It misses by a distance ... and Hossein has a starter! This is what the snooker gods think of my narratives, and 49 points later the frame is almost over!

A safety Hossein plays, from the top of the table to send two reds down it while bringing the white tight to the cushion, has Stephen purring. There are now five balls below the blue spot, so very few safe spaces on the table, and John can't respond in kind, leaving one ... so Hossein plays three nice pots, getting himself into prime position, only to then take his eye off a simple pink to left middle! This game! John will now force that point home.

Hossein needs to see this as an opportunity. He could despair at having tossed it, or he could see himself just one frame behind and getting down to the serious stuff with one the greatest to ever do it; what a challenge, and imagine the feeling of accomplishment if he pulls it off. We begin frame six with some safety...

Luca Brecel 1-5 Jimmy Robertson

Absolute poetry from the Wiz, a total clearance of 134 laying down the absolute smack. He's at home.

John runs into a little trouble, but eases a red to right centre just like that; when he's on, everything looks so simple, and I'd be shocked if he didn't parlay this break, already his highest of the match, into a framewinner.

Yup, old Maurice Mentum has shifted. Hossein leaves a long one, John drains it, and the defending champ is now looking very, very solid.

Luca Brecel 1-3 Jimmy Robertson

Hossein has one go at it and concedes, departing for the interval knowing that he might've missed his chance; he should've gone 3-0, didn't, and now look!

Nah man. Hossein misses a regulation red to right corner, leaving John a thin cut; he sends it down, adds the blue, and though that's end of break, when he plays safe, Hossein returns to the table needing two snookers.

OK, a poor shot from John means a red is harder than necessary, cut into left middle, and he hits the knuckle! I can't see Hossein stealing from here - there's a red on the cushion and three blocking each other - but a fine opener, cued beautifully into left corner gives him a sniff.

Oooh yeah! after a protracted safety exchange, John clouts home a long red to left corner, follows it with a pink to right - miss that and he's leaving everything - and now he's in! It's just ridiculous what a matchplayer he is, and after a promising start, Hossein is being served a portion of harsh reality.

Oh man, how often have we seen this before? John is speed-wobbling around the table having guzzled an early starter, and already, Hossein will be fearing 2-2 at the mid-sesh. But then the white doesn't do what he wants it to potting the black, leaving him on nothing, and he has to play safe off the cluster.

Luca Brecel 1-2 Jimmy Robertson

Hossein misses, John punishes. Both men know the mental toll that might take.

Higgins can't see home the pink, which was on the side cushion, so his break expires with Hossein needing a snooker, just two balls left. Good luck with that, old mate.

There are three remaining reds, two close together to the left of the pink spot and one on black cush, a bit away from the pocket; Hossein tries to cuddle in behind it, but misses the pot, and there comes the greatest thief in the business!

Hossein is playing with such confidence and authority here, remedying any situation in which he finds himself and now a strong favourite for 3-0.

Er, yeah. From the break, Hossein leaves one for John, and he eases it to right corner, a terrific pot. But he's fighting to sustain the break and eventually misses a red to left centre that hands his opponent another opportunity. He must cash in while the going's good.

Luca Brecel 1-2 Jimmy Robertson

John should've won frame one but Hossein dominated frame two and is growing into this.

Immediately, John leaves him one, he bags it then caresses blue to the yellow pocket. That will be the frame, and John looks worried - rightly so, Hossein is the man with momentum.

Burt not for long. A red and a snooker force John to play a nondescript escape and Hossein glides a starter into right centre, then a pink into left, and he's looking good. Faced with a delicate black, he drops it home dead-weight with the rest, opts not to take on either difficult red - one a plant, the other long to the yellow pocket - and plays safe with 65 left.

It's Hossein in first, and he's looking confident, a wonderful red to the yellow pocket showcasing his cue-power and getting him out of trouble. Another careless shot follows, though, and after sinking the green he has to play safe off the cluster, saying goodbye to a framewinning opportunity.

Luca Brecel 1-1 Jimmy Robertson

Hossein clears to the blue, and John calls it. That miss with the rest was crucial, and Higgins has been Higginsed.

John foul-misses and leaves a straight red; Hossein thinks about putting him back, then realises he mustn't turn down the pot, clunking it right into the leather and setting himself for the yellow. Good shot, and he's now favourite for the frame - though he'll need the brown, whcih is up the table near the black.

But with two reds left he runs out of position, so plays safe having hauled himself right back into the frame ... and looking to get a thin contact, John not only foul-misses but leaves a free ball! Hossein sinks the yellow, and can he remove the final two reds? Last night, Trump and O'Sullivan took 39 minutes over the first four frames; these two have taken 31 over the first, and there's still work to do. Meantime, Hossein plays a snooker off the final red, sending it up to baulk and covering it with green and brown, John sat behind the black.

Or does it?! John's never been the world's greatest rest player, and he overcuts a black to right corner! Suddenly, from sitting there facing frame-ball, Hossein has a chance to win it, and though there's a red in the middle of black cush, this is a pretty decent chance.

John sticks Hossein behind the brow, on its spot, with the blue close by and other baulk colours also spotted; he takes 80 seconds to work out a shot with the rest, off the bottom cushion ... and promptly foul-misses into the yellow, then again. Eventually, though, he hits, leaves a nasty one to left middle, and when that goes down, the frame probably does likewise.

But as I type that, John rolls into the pink and finishes on nothing because of it! A few inches shorter and he's fine, a bit harder and he's fine, but somehow he's spurned a terrific chance, forced to play back to baulk with the spider.

John rattles home a black parallel with the top cushion, a fine pot that looks to set him up nicely. But then on 23 he runs out of position and has to play safe with rest and extension. He soon finds himself behind the black, tapping the table in appreciation of Hossein's precision, but escapes and gets the next chance - his game is just so tight, and this might just be a frame-winning opportunity.

Hossein has improved so much in the last year or so - his shoot-out win was coming - but Higgins, the defending champ, is a serious test for him. And shonuff, when the former misses to middle, the latter tidies and moseys down to the business end via the blue.

Currently interfacing.

And welcome to day three of the Players' Championship. For your delectation this afternoon, we have:

John Higgins v Hossein Vafaei

Luca Brecel v Jimmy Robertson

Not bad, eh?

Snooker's big guns take centre stage in Wolverhampton as the Aldersley Leisure Village hosts the 2022 Players Championship.

The top-16 players in the world based on the one-year rankings are in action, throwing up some tantalising ties between now and the final on Sunday, February 13.

Ronnie O'Sullivan booked his place in the quarter-finals with an impressive win over Judd Trump on Tuesday, but who else will get through?

John Higgins faces Hossein Vafaei and Luca Brecel takes on Jimmy Robertson for the final spots in the last eight from 1pm.

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