DING JUNHUI was left rueing a botched positional shot as he became the first seed to exit the williamhill.com UK Championship.

Ryan Day is rapidly holding a jinx over the Chinese player – following his win in the World Championships over the two-time UK champion with a 6-4 victory at the Barbican.

But the turning point of the match came in the third frame when, after effortlessly going 2-0 up, Ding snookered himself on the yellow with the chance to extend that lead at his mercy.

Day recovered brilliantly, levelling the match with a 90 break and bettering that with 100 in the eighth frame, before closing out the match with a composed 85. He will now play Mark Selby on Wednesday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Day said: “It was a pretty good match. I thought we both played well, made some long pots, and I thought it was a high quality game.

“The turning point probably came in the third frame when Ding snookered himself on the yellow. If he goes 3-0 up after the chance I missed it could have been a different game.

“Obviously winning the frame settled me down and I managed to go in 2-2 and I was very happy with that scoreline.

“(At the end) to win it in one visit is always the best way. It was just nice to be in that position, be tested, and hold yourself together.”

Ding said: “I made a big mistake in the third frame. He was putting a lot of pressure on me and I needed to play better safety. He potted some good long balls.”