Four centuries are not enough for Mark Williams

Stephen Lee dug deep as Mark Williams lost an astonishing China Open first-round clash 5-4 despite making four centuries.

The Welshman, ranked number two in the world, has been in superb form for much of this season and was straight into his stride today with breaks of 100 and 133 giving him an early two-frame lead.

Lee was not producing the same fluency but to his credit, he refused to wilt in the face of the onslaught and battled back to take a 3-2 lead.

Williams stepped up a gear again in frame six and levelled the match with a 104 before a 137 in the next took him within one frame of victory.

World number 19 Lee forced a decider and, though he trailed 70-11, produced a clearance of 61 when it mattered most to come through a remarkable encounter.