Pukka Pies UK Snooker Championship
Venue: Telford International Centre Dates: Sat 5 Dec to Sun 13 Dec Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website

Hendry advances to second round with 9-6 win (UK users only)

Stephen Hendry said he was finding snooker 'torture' despite beating Steve Davis 9-6 in the battle of the former champions at the UK Championship.

The pair were tied together at 6-6 but runs of 37, 40, 41 and 112 sent Hendry through to a meeting with Mark Selby.

Selby fought back from 8-4 down against Jamie Cope, winning five frames on the trot to triumph 9-8 to reach round two.

Among the others to advance were John Higgins, Peter Ebdon, Liang Wenbo and Neil Robertson.

Snooker greats Hendry and Davis were facing each other in a ranking event for the first time since the Englishman won in the semi-finals of the 2005 UK Championship.

Hendry, 40, said afterwards: "I won, it's as simple as that. Snooker is torture at the moment. It's very frustrating.

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"In the last frame I potted a long red and made a good break - that's what you're supposed to do, do it in one visit. It was a great atmosphere, it shows we are still popular, which is nice."

Davis matched his old rival and looked set to edge ahead in the 13th frame until an unfortunate foul when breaking into the pack turned the game.

On Friday, the 52-year-old Londoner was co-opted onto the board of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, along with his long-time manager Barry Hearn, who should soon be confirmed as the WPBSA's new chairman.

"I was competitive, I felt like a player. I got a couple of kicks at bad times which didn't help," said Davis.

"At times he looked vulnerable, but he did make three centuries, he's still a fantastic positional player among the balls.

"It wasn't the greatest match, but at 6-6 I had a chance. He played some good frames and some ropey ones, it was a strange match."

Higgins got the better of Ricky Walden 9-7 and made eight breaks above 50 in the match, including a run of 116 in the evening session and an 84 in the final frame.

Ebdon reeled off five frames in a row to sink Judd Trump 9-4, making breaks of 80 and 84 along the way.

Robertson won 9-3 against Tom Ford, while Stuart Bingham overcame Joe Perry 9-4 and Liang got the better of Ryan Day 9-3.

The 22-year-old Chinese star, who led 6-2 after the first session, now faces another left-hander, Mark King.

Welshman Day, trailing 8-2, missed out on a maximum 147 break and a £30,000 bonus when after potting 15 reds and blacks, he missed the brown on 125.

Stephen Lee also edged a final-frame decider to beat Northern Ireland's Mark Allen 9-8.

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