Mark Allen continues defence as he races into quarter-finals in Belfast

Mark Allen wasted little time as he continued the defence of his Northern Ireland Open with a straightforward 4-0 win over Xiao Guodong in Belfast.

Allen has dropped just four frames in four matches as he hit a high break of 70 to book a last eight spot at the Waterfront Hall, winning the frame he needed on the black.

He'll next face the winner of the clash of Mark Williams and Stephen Maguire.

On the same side of the draw Neil Roberston knocked in a break of 102 en route to a whitewash of Li Hang.

He'll face Mark Selby next after the 'Jester from Leicester' was made to work by Michael White, before emerging a 4-2 winner. Selby managed a break of 132 in the fifth, before finishing out the match to reach the last eight.