Not even a fire alarm could stop Robbie Williams knocking out his namesake Mark at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, as the world number 51 sprung a surprise with a 4-2 victory in the second round.
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The closing moments of the match were interrupted by the alarm at the Waterfront Hall, which led to the whole building being evacuated while local fire-fighters investigated. Within 15 minutes the all-clear was given and play soon resumed inside the arena. Williams had been on a break of 53 and that proved enough to cross the winning line before they left the arena.
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Williams had earlier compiled breaks of 87 and 55 as he came from 1-0 down to take four of the last five frames. The result builds on a strong start to the season for Williams, who beat John Higgins on his way to the last 32 of the Cazoo British Open. He is into the third round again and will meet Zhang Anda next.
“I still needed match ball when the alarm first went off, but I wasn’t sure what it was so I just carried on, and thankfully did enough to get over the line,” said Williams. “Mark shook hands and said he wasn’t coming back! It’s got to be one of my best wins, along with beating John Higgins last month, they are two legends of the game.
“This season my belief and concentration have really improved, especially out there on the TV table. I fully believe I can win a tournament and that’s my biggest ambition, to pick up a trophy.”
Hossein Vafaei top scored with 86 as he beat Anton Kazakov 4-0. “I’m feeling great,” said Iran’s top player, who meets Joe Perry next. “I see a good future for Anton, he’s a talented player, I love watching him. My target is just to be happy and play well. I love Belfast and Irish people, they are treating me really well. I used to live in Ireland so it’s like my second home.”
Cork ace Aaron Hill was a quarter-finalist at the recent Wuhan Open and he got another win under his belt with a 4-0 whitewash of Dylan Emery. BetVictor English Open runner-up Zhang Anda top scored with 131 in a 4-1 defeat of Thor Chuan Leong, while David Gilbert came from 3-2 down to edge out Matthew Stevens 4-3.
