Sam Baird produced a stunning comeback during the opening round of the UK Championship on Thursday as he came from 5-1 down to beat Liang Wenbo 6-5.

World number 105 Baird had looked like he was set for an early exit from the tournament at York’s Barbican Centre when Chinese star Liang produced a stunning break of 130 to move within one frame of victory.

That was Liang’s second-century break of the match, while Baird was struggling to find the form that had seen him break into the world’s top 50 just two years ago.

However, with the pressure seemingly off, the Englishman appeared to kick into gear, as he won five frames in a row to book his place in the second round.

Baird was clearly as surprised as anyone by his comeback success, as he admitted after the match that he thought his chances of progressing had disappeared when he was 5-1 down. “At 5-1 down I was thinking about my first pint,” Baird told the official World Snooker website.

“Liang played so well to go 5-1 up, he potted every long ball and made big breaks. I was just admiring him, thinking there was nothing I could do about it.

“Usually I would fall apart, it’s easy to do that when you have no rhythm. But I still felt I could do something if I got chances.

“When I started coming back at him I knew it would be a horrific feeling for him. At 5-4 I knew he’d be panicking. It’s got to be my best ever come back.”

It is only the second time that Baird has made it through to round two of the UK Championship and his reward will be a clash with fellow Englishman Gary Wilson on Sunday.