Ding and Wilson both chase history at the Crucible

Only two players in the history of the Crucible have been crowned world champion after fighting through the qualifiers.

Terry Griffiths achieved the feat in 1979, while Shaun Murphy repeated his success in 2005 when he beat Matthew Stevens 18-16 in the final.

Now Sheffield-based Ding and Wilson, at 24 the youngest of the eight quarter-finalists, are hoping to become the third member of the ‘Qualifiers Club’.

Both knocked out top-16 players yesterday in emphatic style.

Wilson beat Mark Allen 13-9, while China’s Ding – who has lived in the Steel City since he was a teenager – knocked out world No 5 Judd Trump 13-10.

Next up for Wilson is world No 1 Mark Selby – the only top-five seed left in the tournament – and after being tipped as a future world champion by Ronnie O’Sullivan, the world No 19 is full of confidence.

“It was obviously a fantastic achievement the way Shaun blitzed everyone with his sensational potting, so he’s proved that it’s possible and I’d love to add myself to that list,” said Wilson, who like Ding had to win three qualifying rounds just to reach the Crucible.

“That match took a lot of mental strength, but I think it set me up nicely for the next round.

“I’ve shown I can mix it, I can flow and I can battle.

“Whatever my opponent throws at me I’m capable of dealing with it.”

Kettering’s Wilson had raced into a 7-0 lead against a shell-shocked Allen, the world No 7, and took an overnight 11-5 lead into yesterday’s third session.

Allen won four in a row to cut the deficit to 11-9, but Wilson – who won this season’s Shanghai Masters – held his nerve to secure victory.

“There’s only eight players left in the tournament and any one of the eight can still win it,” he said.

“I’m here to win it now and I was here to win it from the start.”

Ding converted a 10-6 overnight lead into a 13-10 win to secure a quarter-final match today with Mark Williams.

The former UK champion, who has slipped out of the top 16 after a poor run of form, has only reached the semi-finals once in 10 visits to his hometown Crucible.

“I feel good,” said Ding. “When I feel well I don’t feel a lot of pressure. Judd is a great player. I had a very good start at 6-2 up and after that I tried to hold on and win every session, or if not hold it at 4-4.”

Last night, five-time champion O’Sullivan crashed out, losing a deciding frame to Barry Hawkins who fashioned a superb break of 56 on his way to his 13-12 victory.

John Higgins defeated Ricky Walden 13-8 to complete the quarter-final line-up.