XIAO KNOCKS OUT JUDD TRUMP
World number 51 Xiao Guodong defied a broken hand to dump Judd Trump out in the second round of the PTC Grand finals in Galway and reach the first quarter-final of his career.
But there was disappointment for Galway snooker fans as Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from his scheduled second round match against Ricky Walden after contracting glandular fever.
Chinese player Guodong stormed to a 4-2 win despite ignoring doctors' advice not to play snooker after breaking a bone in his hand whilst sleeping awkwardly three weeks ago.
Xiao hit an early century break to pile the pressure on Trump as he eased into a 3-1 lead. World number three Trump came back to 3-2, but Xiao held his nerve in the next after a safety exchange.
Xiao told worldsnooker.com: "I've been playing for five years and this will be my first quarter-final. I'm surprised because it has happened now when I am playing with a broken hand.
"Judd didn't play as well as he can today but he is a very good player so it was still hard to win. I tried not to think about the match or ranking points, I just wanted to win the match."
O'Sullivan's withdrawal was accepted by tournament officials and automatically sends Walden through to the quarter-finals where he will play Stephen Maguire, who beat Mark Davis 4-2.
Earlier, Mark Selby moved through to the last eight with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Ding Junhui.
Ding took the first frame with a break of 75 but Selby won four in a row to earn a tie against Stephen Lee.
World number 51 Xiao Guodong defied a broken hand to dump Judd Trump out in the second round of the PTC Grand finals in Galway and reach the first quarter-final of his career.
But there was disappointment for Galway snooker fans as Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from his scheduled second round match against Ricky Walden after contracting glandular fever.
Chinese player Guodong stormed to a 4-2 win despite ignoring doctors' advice not to play snooker after breaking a bone in his hand whilst sleeping awkwardly three weeks ago.
Xiao hit an early century break to pile the pressure on Trump as he eased into a 3-1 lead. World number three Trump came back to 3-2, but Xiao held his nerve in the next after a safety exchange.
Xiao told worldsnooker.com: "I've been playing for five years and this will be my first quarter-final. I'm surprised because it has happened now when I am playing with a broken hand.
"Judd didn't play as well as he can today but he is a very good player so it was still hard to win. I tried not to think about the match or ranking points, I just wanted to win the match."
O'Sullivan's withdrawal was accepted by tournament officials and automatically sends Walden through to the quarter-finals where he will play Stephen Maguire, who beat Mark Davis 4-2.
Earlier, Mark Selby moved through to the last eight with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Ding Junhui.
Ding took the first frame with a break of 75 but Selby won four in a row to earn a tie against Stephen Lee.