Robertson ousted by Ebdon in China thriller

It looked like Robertson was set for a famous comeback after coming from 5-3 down to level the clash, but Ebdon kept his nerve in a tight final frame to claim a 6-5 victory.

Ebdon will face Ding Junhui for a place in the last four after the Chinese hope eased past Matthew Stevens 6-1.

"I tried to play more quickly today and I've already had a few messages from people back in the UK saying I look better when I'm getting on with it,” Ebdon told the World Snooker website.

“I felt as if I was competing. Neither of us played at our best, but that made it exciting for the fans. I enjoyed it and I'm delighted to win.”

Robertson, the beaten finalist last year, paid tribute to Ebdon, although expressed his disappointment and not being able to contest the latter stages of the ranking tournament.

"Peter is one of the all-time greats and he gives a pint of blood for every shot. He's a very tough opponent and I'm proud of the way I came back, pretty much anyone else on the tour would have lost 6-3. From 3-1 to 5-3, the frames were going for 30 minutes even when he was making big breaks. It makes it very difficult to get any rhythm going. 

"I guess it's a shame I didn't get to play Ding in the quarter-finals as we're the best two players in the world at the moment. If Peter plays Ding and plays like he did today I think he will probably win. Ding will have to be very patient and maintain a good temperament."

In other third-round matches, Hong Kong’s Marco Fu ended the run of local wild-card Zhao Xintong with a 6-2 win, while Graeme Dott beat Kurt Maflin 6-5 in another exciting encounter.

Joe Perry also went through to the last eight after beating Mark Allen 6-4.

Ryan Day 6-3 Fergal O’Brien

Joe Perry 6-4 Mark Allen

Marco Fu 6-2 Zhao Xintong

Mark Selby 6-1 Stuart Bingham

Peter Ebdon 6-5 Neil Robertson

Graeme Dott 6-5 Kurt Maflin

Liang Wenbo 6-1 Mark Davis

Ryan Day v Steve Perry

Marco Fu v Mark Selby

Peter Ebdon v Ding Junhui

Graeme Dott v Liang Wenbo