UK Championship 2019 – Ronnie beats Tian Pengfei in last 64

Ronnie, being the defending champion, opened the last 64 round, the first round shown on television by BBC. He beat Tian Pengfei by 6-0.

This is Ronnie’s interview before the match:

Here are the stats:

Ronnie played a good professional match. He was solid in all departements, he was focused and patient … except for a short spell in the last frame. He didn’t rush things, and played safe when necessary. Tian stats look dire, but that is in part because Ronnie never really allowed him to play and settle into the match.

Here is the report by Shamoon Hafez for the BBC

UK Championship: Ronnie O’Sullivan eases through with another whitewash

By Shamoon Hafez

BBC Sport at the York Barbican

O’Sullivan eased past teenager Ross Bulman in 66 minutes in his opener on Thursday.

The event’s record seven-time winner then achieved another routine victory.

O’Sullivan, 43, made breaks of 106 and 71 on Saturday and will face Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham next.

The world number two will move to a record 37 ranking titles if he triumphs in York.

The Rocket is currently level with Stephen Hendry’s haul of 36. He is also the only player to compile more than 1,000 career centuries and has more Triple Crown event wins than anyone else.

O’Sullivan’s recent record at the Barbican Centre is remarkable, having won 29 of his 30 matches at the venue since 2014, lifting the trophy in the last two years and being beaten in the 2016 final by Mark Selby.

He described York as his “favourite city in the UK”, adding: “I love the coffee shops here, it’s great to be able to go and relax, get my computer out and study the things I’m interested in and enjoy the surroundings, which is important.”

Asked about his two whitewashes, O’Sullivan, who lost 9-7 to Judd Trump in the Northern Ireland Open final earlier this month, said: “If I’d beaten John Higgins and Judd Trump 6-0 you’d say it was amazing but no disrespect to my first opponent – he’s a rookie on tour and really looked like he was struggling.

“I was pleased to get through today, felt sorry for Tian, he didn’t get much going and it’s always horrible to see a good friend struggling.

“It takes me three, possibly four tournaments to get going, so by the time I start the season most of the guys have already played seven or eight tournaments. I’m always playing catch-up in terms of when I hit my optimum level, but to be at this stage now I feel like I’m into the season and my game is where it can be.”

The victory over world number 65 Tian means O’Sullivan has won a total of 89 matches at the UK Championship, drawing him level with six-time champion Steve Davis.

Clearly Ronnie is not getting carried away. He comes across as calm and determined which is great. He will play Noppon Saengkham next.

And this is the report by Worldsnooker

Another Whitewash For Rocket (excerpt)

Ronnie O’Sullivan has made it into round three without conceding a frame; he followed up his 6-0 first round win over Ross Bulman by beating China’s Tian Pengfei by the same scoreline.

Seven-time UK Champion O’Sullivan made top breaks of 71 and 106 as he set up a match with Noppon Saengkham.

“I was trying to win as comfortably as I possibly can,” said the defending champion. “It’s not always going to work out like that and you have to assume that the competition will get stronger and just take one match at a time. You have to try and dominate the game as much as you can draw on experience.

“It’s great to be in York it’s a fantastic place this time of year. The tables are playing great and the further you go in the tournament the more enjoyable it gets.”