Ronnie O'Sullivan hits back to edge Yan Bingtao at World Grand Prix

The five-times world champion opened with a break of 121 only for Yan to run in 54 and 71 for a 2-1 advantage.

O'Sullivan restored parity at 2-2 with a run of 58.

18-year-old Yan moved one frame from victory courtesy of an 84 break, but O'Sullivan claimed the final two frames, including a knock of 75 in the sixth frame after his opponent has broken down on 49 to set up a meeting with world number 29 Xiao Guodong after he completed a 4-3 victory over John Higgins.

“Yan is a very good talent. I don’t know if he has got any bottle," said O'Sullivan.

"A lot of the players that are meant to be doing the business, they’re not doing it because they don’t seem to be able to do it under pressure. It doesn’t matter how good you are – if you can’t perform under pressure then you’re going to get to quarters, semis and finals but then get found out.

“I think there are only four or five players on the circuit who have got any bottle. John Higgins has it, Stephen Hendry had it in abundance, Ding Junhui and Mark Selby have a bit of it – other than that they all get a bit flaky under the cosh.

“If you want to get to quarters and semis and be a journeyman that’s fine, but if you want to win tournaments you have to learn to win under pressure. Stephen (Hendry) taught me that when I was a kid, I watched him and realised I had to change my game and do certain things at certain times in a match.”

Shaun Murphy will face Stephen Maguire in the last eight. Murphy was a 4-2 winner over Jack Lisowski while Stephen Maguire edged Michael Georgiou 4-3.