SNOOKER/World Championship:Shaun Murphy left John Parrott feeling blue after pressure potting kept the adopted Yorkshireman on track for a second World Championship title in three years.

Murphy, a 150 to 1 outsider when he lifted the trophy in 2005, is now second favourite for the €322,000 first prize after holding off the spirited veteran to become the first player through to the quarter-finals.

A mammoth upset was on the cards when 42-year-old Parrott went into the closing session on level terms at 8-8.

But those pulling for the 1991 world champion left the Crucible disappointed as Murphy responded to an impending crisis by reeling off five straight frames for a 13-8 victory.

"I just decided to go for it and obviously it paid off," said Murphy, who potted two crunch blues on the way to setting up a meeting with Matthew Stevens or Mark Allen in the last eight. Stevens leads 5-3 overnight.

"My mate Richard told me to go back to playing the way I did when I was 11. It worked a treat but every credit to John.

"I knew it would be tough but he really pushed me hard."

Parrott, a surprise 10-9 first-round conqueror of Steve Davis, set up a potentially intriguing evening by completing his recovery from 4-0 and 7-4 down with a 123 break in the 16th frame.

That sent the Liverpudlian into lunch in optimistic mood but when play resumed six hours later Parrott found Murphy in determined mood.

Murphy, who won the Malta Cup in February and is still heavily involved in the race to be world number one at the end of the season, stamped his authority with breaks of 131, 35 and 60 to lead 10-8.

Parrott should have pulled one back in the 19th but overcut a tricky brown. Murphy cleared the colours to snatch it and also shaded the 20th.

This time Murphy, renowned as one of the game's deadliest long potters, fired in the crucial blue with the cue ball tight under the top cushion and Parrott could not respond.

"It's been a very long time since I've been that nervous. I felt as though I'd got a family of ferrets in my waistcoat," said Parrott.

"Of course I'm disappointed but I got through two qualifying rounds just to be here, then beat Steve so I can't complain. It's been fun."

Twice finalist Matthew Stevens held off a late surge from Northern Ireland's Mark Allen to take a 5-3 lead in their second-round.

The world number 14 made breaks of 83 and 56 in taking the opening four frames as Ken Doherty's conqueror began to show signs of nerves.

It took Antrim-based Allen five attempts to even hit a ball in the first frame after the Welshman's excellent snooker in behind the yellow from the break.

But the former world amateur champion returned a different player after the interval, demonstrating the same prolific potting which brought an early end to Doherty's campaign. He made quickfire breaks of 101, 65 and 118 to narrow the deficit to 4-3 in little more than half an hour.

But Stevens, who defeated Joe Delaney in the opening round, maintained the high standard in the final frame of the session, compiling an 85 break to secure a two-frame lead going into this morning's second session.

Nottingham's Anthony Hamilton and 2005 semi-finalist Ian McCulloch remain deadlocked at 8-8 going into this morning's final session.