Ding Junhui gifts himself a birthday present with win over Mark Williams

Ding Junhui of China celebrated his 38th birthday on Tuesday night by beating Mark Williams of Wales 10-3 at the Snooker Tour Championship in Manchester, England.

Having finished the first session with a 5-3 lead, Ding took his form to a different level in the second. He clinched five straight frames and fired his second century break of 102 in the 13th to end the battle.

Ding is currently ninth in the world with 15 rankings titles. He will play world No. 2 Kyren Wilson in the quarterfinals.

In the other two matches on the night, Xiao Guodong came back from 8-7 down to edge his compatriot Wu Yize 10-8 in an all-Chinese contest. Wu built an early 3-0 advantage from the beginning and stayed ahead during most time of the match after firing six breaks of over 70, including a century of 100 in the 12th.

However, Xiao claimed the final victory after clinching three consecutive frames from 16th to 18th. He will face four-time world champion, "the Wizard of Wishaw" John Higgins next.

English World No. 3 Mark Selby knocked out Si Jiahui of China 10-6 to secure a battle with Neil Robertson of Australia in the last eight.