18 Year-old James Cahill Knocks Out Ding

Not even a stirring fight back from Chinese World No.3 Ding Junhui could prevent the 100th ranked James Cahill from defeating the former UK Champion 6-5 in a late night thriller.

The 18 year-old from Blackpool could have won 6-1 but failed to get on a colour that would have clinched the frame and match. Instead, Ding managed to find his rhythm again and followed up his wonderful opening break of 134 in frame one to cut the deficit from 5-1 to 5-4. Cahill then found himself on the brink of victory yet again when he left Ding needing three snookers to stay in the match. Cahill should have wrapped it up there and then but he missed a pretty simple red using the rest, striking the cue ball with far too much pace and it gave his opponent a lifeline. Ding managed to lay a snooker and through another moment of passiveness from Cahill's game he was unable to escape, leaving a free ball which enabled Ding to subsequently clear up and level the match. The frame itself was an epitome of what any amateur snooker player should emulate. The attitude of Ding was superb considering he could have easily conceded the match when he required the snookers, but he dug in, stayed calmed and using his experience forced a decider, leaving the crowd and the commentators on tenterhooks.

All of a sudden it seemed that the momentum was fully with Ding and when the Chinese potter was at the table compiling a break, Cahill must have been thinking the worst. But Ding missed a red leaving the table open for an attack and when James came back to the baize he nervelessly finished off the match sending Ding packing and leaving himself an encounter with Mark Davis in the last 16.

This is a massive learning curve for James Cahill and also something that he will never forget. His career has now well and truly begun, and his match tonight will come with an added pressure. He now has something to lose. Can he back his win over Ding by defeating Mark Davis? Or will he crumble under the new challenge and fade back into snooker obscurity? Remember when a lowly ranked Stuart Bingham beat Stephen Hendry in the first round of the World Championships in 2000? It took Bingham 11 years to win his first ranking title at the Australian Open proving that establishing yourself as a top professional snooker player takes time. Although you have to congratulate Cahill on a fantastic win and what could be an impressive run in this year's UK Championship, don't be surprised if he struggles to make an immediate impact anytime soon after. The professional snooker tour is extremely competitive so Cahill needs to relish this moment as best as he can because it may be a while until he gets this opportunity again.

His last-16 opponent Mark Davis has been in decent form over the last few seasons establishing himself as a top 16 player. Both players won their third round match in a final-frame decider and have shown that they can cope under pressure. But with the inexperience of playing in a two-table set-up at the Barbican Centre and the added pressure from his win over Ding, I think Mark Davis will come out a 6-3 winner.