MATTHEW Stevens has beaten Marcus Campbell 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the Williamhill.com UK Championship, but the match was played under a backdrop of personal tragedy.

Shortly before the match, Campbell, 39, received the news that a close friend had died in a York hotel room, and the Dumbarton player admitted he considered pulling out of the tournament.

Stevens began the match with a solid 59, but Campbell immediately struck back with a 101.

The Welshman powered ahead with a stunning break of 136, but both players made mistakes in frame four before Campbell eventually did enough to level the match.

Campbell, who last season won a PTC ranking event, the first of his career, appeared to be finding some form in frame five as he built up a run of 50, but a miss on a pink appeared to be the turning point in the match as Stevens cleaned up to lead 3-2.

From then on, Stevens dominated the match, as breaks of 63, 140 and 81 put him over the winning line.

After the match, both players insisted snooker was of secondary importance given the tragic news prior to the match.

Saturday’s results:

John Higgins (Sco) 6-5 Rory McLeod (Eng)
Ding Junhui (Chn) 6-5 Mark Davis (Eng)
Neil Robertson (Aus) 6-1 Tom Ford (Eng)
Graeme Dott (Sco) 6-1 Matthew Selt (Eng)
Stephen Maguire (Sco) 6-3 Stephen Hendry (Sco)
Matthew Stevens (Wal) 6-2 Marcus Campbell (Sco)