Williams beats Hendry at UK Championship

Hendry, five-time UK title winner, led the first session 5-3 with a top break of 69 while Williams's best was 24.

Williams stormed back with four frames but the Scot recovered with a 76, and a 49 when trailing 8-6 gave him hope.

However, Williams fluked the yellow and despite Hendry having chances on the black, it was the Welshman who hung on.

Williams will play Mark Joyce for a place in the semi-finals in Telford after the man who beat world number three Ali Carter in the first round overcame Bristol's 21-year-old Judd Trump 9-7.

Basildon's Stuart Bingham, who produced the shock of the tournament so far in beating Ronnie O'Sullivan on Monday, continued his good form in the second round against Hong Kong's Marco Fu.

The world number 23 bagged six of the first eight frames and then swiftly wrapped up the victory without conceding any further frames to win 9-3. Bingham next plays Mark Allen, who pipped defending champion Ding Junhui 9-8.

Shaun Murphy avoided a shock exit to Welshman Ryan Day after coming through another final-frame decider to win 9-8 and set up a clash with Neil Robertson.

The world number four dominated the opening session, helped by a 100 break in the opening frame, to lead 5-2 and was pushed all the way before edging past the world number 26.

Fresh from his error-ridden 9-8 win over Jimmy White in the first round, Hendry continued to struggle with his potting but still had enough to build up a 5-3 lead against Williams.

The Welshman could only produce a 24 break in the first eight frames, but he took full advantage of a faltering Hendry after the interval.

A UK Championship winner in 1999 and 2002, Williams rattled off four successive frames but the errors continued for both players.

At 7-5, it seemed that Hendry, currently fighting to remain in the top 16, had lost the plot with a number of easy misses but a break of 76 got the seven-time world champion back in the hunt.

Williams edged a nervy 14th frame to get within one frame of progressing, yet the best drama of the night was still to come.

The 41-year-old Scot knocked in a 49 break and was in a strong position to secure the frame after snookering his opponent, but Williams smashed in the yellow with a fluked double and looked set for victory as he cleared up the colours.

Hendry had even unscrewed his cue but was handed a lifeline when Williams messed up a positional shot on the pink. Both players then missed makeable blacks for the frame but it was the man from Cwm who finally stumbled over the line.