Mark Williams reaches last eight at Australian Open

Williams looked far more convincing against Gilbert

World number one Mark Williams reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Goldfields Open with a 5-2 win over Englishman David Gilbert.

Williams, who had breaks of 78 and 83, struggled to beat Barry Pinches in his opening match, but was happier with his second-round display.

"It was a lot better - I knew if I played like I did yesterday then I would get beaten," said the Welshman.

He will next face Dominic Dale, who beat ex-world champion Neil Robertson.

Northern Ireland's Mark Allen also made it into the last eight with a one-sided 5-1 win over Scotland's Marcus Campbell.

Allen amassed breaks of 101, 71, 100, 63 and 67 on his way to a comprehensive victory, although he felt the result was tough on his opponent.

"The scoreline was 5-1 but that flattered me," said Allen.

"I played well but in the early part Marcus was dominating. He had a bad run of balls but at the time he wasn't giving me a look in."

Allen's next opponent will be England's Stuart Bingham, who swept to a 5-0 demolition of compatriot Tom Ford.

In another all-English encounter, Mark Selby had to battle hard for a 5-3 win over Mark Davis to book a quarter-final meeting with either Liang Wenbo or Ken Doherty.