Graeme Dott ends Neil Robertson's UK Championship reign

Australian Robertson started the match at the Barbican Centre in truly disastrous fashion, falling to the brink of defeat by dropping the opening five frames.

But he then staged something of a remarkable recovery, claiming the next five in a row to draw level at 5-5, only to lose the decider.

"There are a lot of positives to take from the way I came back but I'm very disappointed to let my title go at the last 16 stage," Robertson said. "I would have loved to have got to the one table set-up and I believe I would have done that had I won today."

Dott progresses to the quarter-finals, where he will meet Stuart Bingham.

"Everything was going good to go 5-0 up," said Dott. "I never felt I was playing that well because I felt I was cueing better against Robert Milkins.

"We saw it when Nigel Bond came back from 5-0 down against Barry Hawkins and you think 'please don't let it happen to me as well.' If I let him see a red I just felt he was clearing up all the time.

"I just wanted a chance in the last frame and got one. When I missed a red I though he had me beat - but luckily I had another chance."

The result has ramifications beyond this week's action in Yorkshire - Robertson will lose his world number one ranking at the conclusion of the tournament, with Ding Junhui now guaranteed to become the first Asian player to occupy the top spot.

In the day's other results, Ding's conqueror in the last round James Cahill ran out of steam in a 6-2 defeat to Mark Davis, while Stuart Bingham whitewashed Ricky Walden 6-0.

And Anthony McGill booked his place in the final eight with a narrow 6-5 win over former world number one John Higgins.

Ricky Walden 0-6 Stuart Bingham

John Higgins 5-6 Anthony McGill

Neil Robertson 5-6 Graeme Dott

James Cahill 2-6 Mark Davis