Ronnie beat Jackson Page by 4-1 this afternoon to reach the third round of the 2023 English Open. He will play Si Jiahui next.

Here is the report on the match by Phil Haigh:

Ronnie O’Sullivan searching for ‘Mark Williams secret’ after stunning win at English Open

Phil Haigh – Wednesday 4 Oct 2023

Ronnie O’Sullivan was at his brilliant best in the second round of the English Open on Wednesday, beating Jackson Page 4-1 in under an hour, knocking in three centuries along the way.

It was a hectic start to the competition for the Rocket as he landed in the UK from China on Monday morning and travelled straight to Brentwood to play his first round match, which he won 4-0 against Andrew Pagett.

The world number one was not at his best in that contest, but he sparked into life against Page, with breaks of 122, 109 and 105, with his opponent making a 109 himself in the frame he won.

The 47-year-old said that on his day off on Tuesday he hit the practice table harder than he normally would, trying to replicate the form of Mark Williams, who won the British Open on Sunday night.

O’Sullivan, who had been struggling with tennis elbow on Monday but appears to now be feeling better, told Eurosport: ‘I worked hard on my game yesterday, I did four hours, normally I only do a couple. But I thought I’d play twice a week, do four or five hours and then the other five days I’ll not play snooker. That’s all I need.

‘I just went through the pain barrier yesterday, it felt alright. I’m always tweaking and working on things, trying to hit the ball sweetly.

‘Working hard at my game, just trying to find some consistency, trying to find the Mark Williams secret, whatever that is.’

Asked on Monday about Williams’ win over Mark Selby in the Cheltenham final, the Rocket was delighted to see his Class of 92 rival doing so well.

‘Yeah, brilliant,’ he said. ‘Every time one of them does well, I think okay, well I am still in the game. Every time John [Higgins] and Mark do brilliantly, I think happy days. It means we can still compete. Even with one arm, my eyes going, getting nearly 50. I am still performing alright, you know.’

It was Williams’ protege that O’Sullivan despatched on Wednesday afternoon, but he had some kind words for Page, who he tipped to win tournaments in the future.

‘I think he’s a brilliant player, he reminds me of Luca Brecel. Got great cue power, fantastic snooker brain, fantastic talent, great for the game. He’ll win tournaments, that’s for sure,’ said the Rocket.

‘I think he’s got to wait for the top guys to dip a little bit. Robertson, Selby, Trump, Ding, if I’ve left anyone out I’m sorry…I’m forgetting Higgins, Williams. How do you get amongst them and win tournaments?

‘He’s learning on the job, once that bracked of players start losing a little bit, he’s going to have his time. It’s hard to break through but he’s a much better player now than he was four or five years ago.’

…

Here are the scores:

And Ronnie’s reaction on social media with some pictures he shared

These videos were share by Eurosport on their YouTube Channel