Mark Williams sees off Wu Yize in first round of World Snooker Championship

Resuming with a slender 5-4 overnight advantage, Williams was initially unable to shake off Wu whose exceptional long potting continued to put the three-time champion under pressure.

By frame 16, Williams had had enough, resorting to rolling off the bottom cushion into the pack of reds from his break-off to ensure Wu didn't have a long pot to look at.

It didn't matter and Wu soon made his move, winning two frames on the bounce to move into an 8-7 lead.

The Chinese youngster, runner-up at the English and Welsh Opens already this season, was then firmly on course to pull two frames clear, only to miss a relatively straightforward red with the rest when on a break of 61.

It proved to be a big turning point in the match and Williams did the rest, clearing the table to pinch the frame on the black and draw level once more.

With the wind knocked out Wu's sails, Williams could smell blood and wasted little time in finishing the job, runs of 58 and 75 sealing a brilliant comeback and securing his place in the last 16.

The victory was even more meritorious because Williams has been struggling with his eyesight in recent weeks.

The Welshman told World Snooker Tour afterwards: "It is hard to describe because there is a scoreboard by the black pocket and I can’t see the numbers. I’ve got to get to the blue spot before I can see it.

"That is nothing to be ashamed of, it's just how it is. I’m at the stage where I have to try something like the lens replacement or it isn’t going to get any better."

On his opponent, Williams was full of praise and added: "I don’t like saying it, because I’ve just beaten him, but he has the potential to win this tournament.

"The long potting is just something as good as I’ve ever seen. Every time I broke off and left a long red he potted it. He was incredible.

"Once he tightens up on a few loose shots he is going to be amazing. I’m glad I’ll be finished before he gets much older.

“I’m not going to out-pot him or out-score him, but I definitely have a better safety game. That is what I had to try and do.

"I got stronger towards the end and potted a few good ones myself. It is in there, I just have to drag it out."

Late-night Crucible drama

Spectators were treated to a late night of Crucible drama on only the second day of the Championship, with two more seeds falling by the wayside.

UK Championship runner-up Barry Hawkins was first to fall, beaten 10-9 by Hossein Vafaei in a high-quality contest.

Vafaei put together three centuries in the evening session, and four in all, before edging frame 18 to take the match to a decider.

And Hawkins never got a sniff in that final frame, Vafaei sealing one of the best victories of his season with a match-winning run of 73.

On the other table, Chris Wakelin claimed the scalp of Neil Robertson.

Wakelin would've been hoping for a comfortable evening, resuming 7-2 ahead, but Robertson came out all guns blazing, winning all four frames before the mid-session interval and then the one immediately after to level the scores at 7-7.

To Wakelin's credit, he stopped the rot with a well-taken run of 90, before Robertson again levelled.

When Robertson missed the final red from distance when looking to clear from a long way behind, Wakelin put himself 9-8 ahead and on the verge of victory.

There was still time for another twist, however, Wakelin again failing to put the final frame to bed and offering Robertson a lifeline.

A lengthy safety exchange then followed, and a couple of mistakes from Wakelin, but Robertson couldn't make an acute cut on the penultimate red and Wakelin was finally able to celebrate victory.

No great escape for Selt

Earlier, Xiao Guodong recorded only his second ever win at the Crucible by beating Matt Selt 10-4.

Xiao resumed 7-2 in front and though Selt won the first two frames of the morning to keep himself in the match, he couldn't sustain his comeback.

When Selt missed a chance to reduce his arrears to 7-5, Xiao regained control and breaks of 62 and 52 helped him finish the job.

Meanwhile, Mark Allen holds a 5-4 lead over Fan Zhengyi after the first session of their match.

It was a fine turnaround from Allen who had to watch his opponent race out of the traps with three big breaks to lead 3-0.

However, Allen got going with a century break in frame four and then added further runs of 62, 59 and 89 to get his nose in front.

Related snooker links

• Richard Mann's World Championship outright preview
• World Championship: Top 16 player profiles
• Where are the young snooker players
• Perfect Snooker Player
• Snooker's GOAT: O'Sullivan by the numbers
• O'Sullivan's Triple Crown timeline
• Watch all the Crucible 147 breaks
• Should the worlds stay at the Crucible?
• History of 147 breaks
• Ronnie O'Sullivan's 147 breaks
• O'Sullivan: One of a kind
• History of snooker's number ones
• Best players never to win a world title
• Crucible memories: Ronnie's finest hour
• Crucible memories: Higgins denies Trump
• Crucible memories: White a People's Champion
• Crucible memories: Johnson stuns Davis
• Crucible memories: Foulds' dream debut