SHAUN MURPHY stood firm against a rallying Jack Lisowski as he kept his dreams of winning a second Coral UK Championship alive.

The 2008 victor got through 6-4 at the York Barbican last night but was pushed by a player considered to be one of the game’s emerging talents.

Murphy punished early Lisowski mistakes and cruised into a 4-1 lead, but he was pegged back to 5-4 by the 23-year-old, before fashioning a break of 62 to ensure passage to the last 16.

He said: “I thought I had a bit of luck here and there but it was fairly even. I was pleased that when I got my chance in the last frame, I stood up and took it.”

On Lisowski, Murphy added: “He is one of the players that when people in the street asking you ‘who’s the one to watch’ - for me it is him and Oliver Lines.

“It’s just the way he hits the ball. He is a fantastic potter. I think if he keeps his head and his discipline over the next few years, does the right things, we will see a lot of him in years to come.”

Lisowski, while taking the positives from digging in after being beaten 5-0 by Murphy earlier in the season, said: “I said from the start if I didn’t play my top game I would be beaten and it didn’t quite happen. My concentration wasn’t very good.”

Two-time York semi-finalist Ricky Walden hit back-to-back centuries as he beat Ken Doherty 6-1. The Chester cueman finished the match with breaks of 129 and 128 as he impressively moved into the last 16.

But Walden, who knocked out his second BBC commentator of the tournament and joked he would probably play presenter Hazel Irvine in a later round, still believes he can move up “a couple of levels”.

“It’s a different story trying to get it out there,” he said. “That’s what I am going to try and do in the next game and, hopefully, I can brush up on the silly little mistakes I am making.”

Walden will play Joel Walker or Stuart Bingham next and said of his potential opponents: “I have not really seen Joel play too much but he has had some good wins and he is playing well.

“Stuart is a tough competitor, one of the best around, so they would both be a difficult game for different reasons.”