Lee will now face John Higgins or Jimmy White

Title holder Stephen Lee became the first player to reach the Regal Scottish Open quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Mark King.

World number seven Lee will now play John Higgins or Jimmy White in the last eight as he seeks what would be his first semi-final of a disappointing season.

However, the former LG Cup champion from Trowbridge is beginning to believe he has turned a corner.

"I had a bit of luck that I've not had all season," said Lee, who was 3-0 up before Essex left-hander King opened his account.

"I felt quite comfortable out there. I've been playing well and it's just I've been coming up against players who have produced purple spells against me."

Mark Williams returned to winning ways by beating qualifier Michael Holt 5-3.

He was never behind but Holt, who defeated LG Cup champion Chris Small in his previous match, levelled on three occasions.

And while Holt lost the seventh frame he had some great opportunities to force a decider before Williams stumbled over the winning line.

Mark Selby claimed the notable scalp of Paul Hunter with a 5-3 second round win at the Regal Scottish Open.

Hunter lost his opening match in a ranking tournament for the first time in nearly 12 months in Edinburgh but was not downhearted.

"To be honest all I've been focusing on just recently is the world championship so I'm not too disappointed," said the world number nine from Leeds.

"I beat Mark 5-1 earlier in the season but I knew he was a better player than that result suggested."

The match swung away from Hunter, who had led 2-0, in the seventh frame after the duo shared the opening six frames.

Selby, 19 from Leicester, fluked a red to begin a frame-winning clearance of 67.

He then added runs of 30 and 42 in frame eight to progress to the last 16.

Welshman Matthew Stevens defeated Thailand's James Wattana 5-3 in a game when he was never behind and is now desperate to recapture the form that took him to World and UK finals just a couple of years ago.

"James had a chance to make it 4-4 so it's just nice to get through," said the 25-year-old from Carmarthen.

"I've been working hard and doing the same things in practice I've always done," added Stevens.

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Alan McManus became the third Scottish player to reach the last 16 but only after titanic struggle with Ulsterman Patrick Wallace.

The world number 15 from Glasgow won through 5-4 after four hours and 31 minutes, including a 64-minute deciding frame.

"It was a horrible match and I expected it to be slow," said McManus, who will not be bogged down in his next game against Ronnie O'Sullivan.