Maximum Man Jamie Cope Out Of Shanghai

Jamie Cope made the second maximum break of his career but it was not enough to save him from defeat against Mark Williams at the Shanghai Masters.

The 23-year-old from Stoke hit the 147 in the third frame of the match but failed to follow it up and lost 5-2.

Elsewhere, Ryan Day beat two-time world champion John Higgins by the same score to seal his place in the last eight.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Maguire both progressed with 5-3 wins over Joe Perry and Stuart Bingham respectively.

O'Sullivan is bidding to become the first player in 15 years to win three successive ranking titles, and only the third in history after Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, after winning the World Championship last May and the Northern Ireland Trophy, in August.

But he went off the boil against Perry after opening up a 3-0 lead, and the match could have gone the distance had he not cleared up from green to black in the eighth frame.

O'Sullivan's frustrations were evident as early as the third frame when he let slip an expletive and was warned for swearing by referee Brendan Moore.

In a conversation between the two before the fourth, Moore told O'Sullivan he would award a frame to Perry for any further transgression.

"It was a strange game and could have gone either way so I'm delighted to get through. Joe's a good player," said O'Sullivan, who lost to Perry in the Premier League last month.

Cope became the 10th player to compile more than one maximum in professional competition.

The world number 19 from Stoke previously made a 147 in the 2006 Royal London Watches Grand Prix in Aberdeen.

His latest maximum, in the third frame of his match against Williams, should earn him £22,000, but the 23-year-old was more concerned about losing.

"I'd rather have won the match because I came here to win the tournament," said Cope, runner-up in the 2006 Grand Prix and 2007 China Open but yet to land a title.

"It's getting on my nerves that I haven't won one yet. Overall, I'm disappointed. I hope no-one else makes a 147 to share the prize money but anyone is capable of doing it."

Earlier, Steve Davis came back from 4-1 down to beat Dave Harold 5-4 and secure his quarter-final spot.

Ricky Walden matched Davis's achievement, also coming from 4-1 down to beat Australia's Neil Robertson 5-4.

World number 35 Walden made breaks of 75, 66 and 89 in the last three frames to seal his quarter-final round spot.

Elsewhere, Mark Selby beat Mark King 5-0 to set up a clash with Marco Fu, who saw off Andy Hicks 5-2.

Source