Mark Williams posts tournament-high break to advance in Northern Ireland Open

Mark Williams defeated Alexander Ursenbacher 4-2 in the second round of the Northern Ireland Open, producing a tournament-high break of 139 in the process.

The Swiss player got off to a superb start, swiftly building an excellent break of 118 to win the first frame – he kept the break going with a particularly good shot off the pink to move the final red into a pottable position. But Williams was completely unphased by the strong start and responded with his own century break after Ursenbacher misjudged a safety shot – he made 139, and levelled the match.

After two dominant visits, frame three was more of a battle, with both players needing to engage their safety game. Both players laid snookers for their opponents, while slowly notching up more and more points – Ursenbacher laid a snooker on the black after fluking a red, and then it came down to a tactical battle on the colours. Williams fluked the yellow, but he wasn’t on the green – however, a mistake by the Swiss player gave Williams a chance to pot green, brown, blue and pink and move into a 2-1 lead.

There wasn’t the momentum to keep the Swiss player in the match

It got scrappy again in frame four, as Ursenbacher struggled to get going – at one point, he called a foul of himself as he caught the green while bridging over the ball. It was tense, but Williams had soon established a lead of 58 with 48 remaining, and thus he was one frame from victory. The standards dipped a little in frame five, as both players missed blacks off the spot, but Williams’ miss gave Ursenbacher a lifeline that he seized. He compiled a 54 break, making the score line 3-2.

Alas, there wasn’t the momentum to keep the Swiss player in the match. He potted a few reds, but Williams saw a long red – he sunk it, despite the white being tight on the baulk cushion – and made a 78 break from there to close out the match.

Williams will face Jimmy Robertson in the last 32 – Robertson advanced in a 4-1 victory over Andy Hicks.