Ronnie will face Luca Brecel later today in the quarter-finals of the 2021 English Open, after winning two matches yesterday.
In the afternoon he beat Anthony Hamilton by 4-3 in the last 32 round.
Here are the scores:
Ronnie O’Sullivan held off an Anthony Hamilton fightback to win 4-3 and secure his spot in the last 16 of the BetVictor English Open in Milton Keynes.
The Rocket is aiming for a first title since the 2020 World Championship this week, having lost five finals last season. Next up he faces Welshman Jamie Clarke in the last 16 this evening. Clarke defeated Thai number one Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-1 this afternoon.
O’Sullivan opened up with breaks of 62 and 61 to take a 2-0 lead over Hamilton. The Sheriff of Pottingham then got his first frame on the board, before O’Sullivan moved one from victory at 3-1.
Hamilton refused to wilt and battled back into contention with breaks of 75 and 71 to force a decider. He then appeared to play a good safety at the beginning of the final frame, before O’Sullivan deposited an audacious long range red. He made 119 from it and secured his progression.
It was a hard match, but played in great spirit. Ronnie and Anthony go back a long way, they were practice partners, they both rate the other very high and are on friendly terms. they had a long chat at the end of the match.
Ronnie make quite a few unexpected mistakes, an, later, complained about his tip that made a “horrendous souds” … At 3-3 though he showed his will to win. The commentators reflected on his temperament, that is often seen as rather bad by many. They diagreed, saying that he was actually very brave, and sticking by his “trying to win” attitude… which implies “taking risks”.
Here they have a joke about the shot that initiated Ronnie’s match winning break
Ronnie however wasn’t happy with his tip …
and taunting his opponent as well…
But he did manage to fix the tip because he looked a different player in his last 16 match against Jamie Clarke. Here are the scores:
WST only produced a very short report:
Ronnie O’Sullivan narrowly missed out on a maximum break in the final frame of his 4-0 win over Jamie Clarke.
O’Sullivan looked to be in position to go for the 147 when he fell out of position on the final yellow, breaking down on 120. The six-time World Champion also composed breaks of 123 and 54 on his way to victory. Next up he will face Belgium’s Luca Brecel, who defeated Fraser Patrick 4-2.
Eurosport though gave a more detailed report of that match:
ENGLISH OPEN 2021 – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN WINS ALL FOUR AGAINST JAMIE CLARKE TO REACH QUARTER-FINALS
Former world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan is still in contention for the English Open title after he played and won his second game of the day on Thursday. Up against Jamie Clarke he won all four sets of the night, and narrowly missed out on a maximum break with his second century break, finishing on 120.
Ronnie O’Sullivan reached the quarter-finals of the English Open with a 4-0 win over Jamie Clarke on Thursday night.
The former world number one hit 50 or more in each of his four frames, and had an average shot time of just under 16 seconds as he raced around the table.
A break of 59 gave him a 73-18 win in the first frame, and that was the most Clarke would score in any frame of the match.
O’Sullivan then hit 123, unanswered, in the second frame to double his lead, before 54 in the third frame gave him an 82-1 secoreline.
Needing just one more frame for victory, O’Sullivan looked on course for a potential 147 before stumbling at 120, leaving Clarke with no chance for a comeback.
Discussing the failure to hit a maximum, he told Eurosport: “I’ve got a figure in my mind that if it’s that, then I’ll get it, so I’ll just let it roll over to the next one and we’ll get it up to a nice prize and then we’ll go for it.”
However later in the studio Neal Foulds confirmed after O’Sullivan had left that the roll over process was no longer in effect after the pandemic.
O’Sullivan was quizzed over the state of his tip, which had troubled him earlier in the tournament, but he seemed happier, saying: “It’s improved. But who knows? Tomorrow’s another day.”
While the venue was far from full, O’Sullivan cut a relaxed figure.
“I’m pleased to be here, pleased to still be here. Nice to be here. It’s a good venue, it’s a nice venue. This is one of the better ones.”
O’Sullivan will return to action in the last eight on Friday, when he plays Luca Brecel or Fraser Patrick.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 