Here is the report by WST

Brilliant Zhang Stuns O’Sullivan

China’s Zhang Anda is through to his second final of the season after a sensational 9-6 defeat of seven-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals of the International Championship in Tianjin.

Zhang first turned professional back in 2009, but it has taken until this season for him to showcase his full potential. He defeated the likes of O’Sullivan and Anthony McGill on the way to making his maiden ranking final at the English Open. He had looked set for the title when he led Judd Trump 7-3, but lost six on the bounce to succumb to a 9-7 loss.

Today’s result for Zhang means that his compatriot Ding Junhui, who won the Six Red World Championship, will now miss next week’s Champion of Champions. Instead, the winner of Sunday’s final between Zhang and Tom Ford will secure the spot.

Tomorrow’s clash will be contested over the best of 19-frames with a top prize of £175,000 on the line, with both players vying for their maiden ranking title. If Zhang wins he will also knock Ding out of the top 16 in the world rankings and take his automatic place in the final stages of the MrQ UK Championship.

Defeat means world number one O’Sullivan will have to wait to secure the 40th ranking title of his career. However, his showing this week ensures he will remain on top of the world rankings for the time being, having seen off challenges from Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Luca Brecel. The Rocket now turns his attention to the Champion of Champions, where he will face the winner of tomorrow’s final in the opening round.

The afternoon session ended with the players level, after Zhang surrendered a two-frame. He had an opportunity to go 5-2 up, but missed the final pink and O’Sullivan pounced to claim two on the bounce and make it 4-4.

When they got underway this evening it was O’Sullivan who continued to push on and breaks of 52 and 54 on his way to securing a 6-4 advantage. However, from that moment on Zhang took control of proceedings.

A break of 83 from Zhang reduced his arrears to 6-5 and he then claimed a 35-minute 12th to restore parity at 6-6. He then cranked up the heat on his illustrious opponent with a fine contribution of 114 to lead 7-6. Zhang showed no signs of faltering as the finish line came into sight and took two tight frames after that to get over the line for a momentous 9-6 victory.

“I feel that the first session of the game was better than the second. When I was 6-4 behind, I tried not to think about the result and slowly adjusted my mentality and did a good job,” said world number 37 Zhang.

“When you are behind, you try to slowly get yourself back into the game. If you do that, you rarely think about winning or losing, you will not be afraid of mistakes, and you will be less nervous.

“I personally like to play the long matches, because my performance in these matches is quite good. It makes it easier for me to feel involved, and it will slowly get me into the rhythm of the game.”

O’Sullivan said: “He played well and deserved to win. He was the better player on the day, so fair play to him. I expected him to be like that as I’ve played him a few times, he was solid. He is a fantastic player, I don’t know where he has been for the last ten years.”

And the scores:

Some images of the match and Zhang’s press conference:

Eurosport shared two frames on their YouTube Channel:

I haven’t watched the match (yet) … a string of power cuts on my island has left me without internet for the best part of a day and a half. Yesterday evening the hubby and I spent a few hours in total darkness… it wasn’t that bad … 😇 … still, hopefully, they have fixed the issue now and it we can go back to normal in the coming hours and days.

That said, I’m not surprised. Zhang is an excellent break builder, he’s very precise. He has a good temperament as well and he had beaten Ronnie already this season.

I understand why Ronnie is wondering where Zhang has been over the last 10 years. Zhang turned pro in 2009, aged 17 and the next year he qualified for the Crucible and pushed Stephen Hendry to a decider in the first round. Everyone was surprised but I wasn’t because I had been watching the qualifiers that year and Zhang, who had started in the first round of the said qualifiers, had taken a few scalps along the way: he had beaten Craig Steadman (10-4), John Parrott (10-6), Andrew Higginson (10-8) and Ricky Walden (10-8). Amazingly, that year, 2010, there were two debutants at the Crucible : Zhang Anda and Tom Ford. And, amazingly again, they have never played each other in a professional match in the 13 years and a half they have both been on the main tour.

I would make Zhang the favourite for the title tomorrow. Whatever happens we will have a new ranking event winner, and whoever wins tomorrow will face Ronnie in the Champion of Champion next week… not sure I like the thought …

As for Ronnie it’s not all doom and gloom. His results in the last two tournaments have brought him as high as 10th in the one year list, meaning that he’s certain to be eligible for the 2024 World Grand Prix.

Tom Ford beat Jordan Brown by 9-6 yesterday to book his place in the 2023 International Championship Final. Here is the report by WST:

Fantastic Ford Into Tianjin Showpiece

Tom Ford is through to the third ranking final of his career, after a burst of three straight centuries helped him to beat close friend Jordan Brown 9-6 in the last four of the International Championship in Tianjin.

Ford has already made a title match earlier this year, when he beat the likes of Kyren Wilson and Jack Lisowski on his way to the German Masters final. Unfortunately, he struggled to produce his best in the final and succumbed to a 10-3 loss at the hands of Ali Carter. However, he goes into this Sunday’s final with the knowledge that this is already a hugely significant week for him.

The Leicester cueman is now guaranteed to move into the world’s top 16 and qualify automatically for the MrQ UK Championship. That means Iran’s Hossein Vafaei will now need to go to qualifying. Ford can also earn a place in next week’s Champion of Champions if he wins the final.

Sunday’s showpiece will see Ford take on either world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan or China’s Zhang Anda. It will be played out over the best of 19 frames, with a top prize of £175,000 on the line.

Defeat ends a brilliant week for Northern Ireland’s Brown, who enjoyed a return to form. He sensationally won the Welsh Open back in 2021 as a 750-1 outsider. However, following that he has struggled to hit those heights and this week marks his first ranking semi-final since. He scored momentous wins over David Gilbert, Kyren Wilson, John Higgins and Stephen Maguire, before bowing out today.

Ford and Brown couldn’t be separated in a tight afternoon session, which saw them share the first eight frames and finish level at 4-4. When the evening got underway, Brown came flying out of the traps with a sublime run of 134 to take a 5-4 lead.

The next two frames were shared, to leave Brown holding a 6-5 advantage, before a devastating burst from Ford saw him career towards the finish. He fired in consecutive breaks of 133, 101 and 109 to move to the verge of victory at 8-6. Ford got himself over the line in the next with a steely break of 57 and wrapped up a momentous win.

“I felt really good out there to be honest. As soon as I got in the balls I felt I just needed one chance, but I’ve got to up my game. It was fine once I was in, but it was getting in. There were some frames where I couldn’t beat my dad and there were some frames that I could beat anyone,” said 40-year-old Ford.

“There have been a few of us all going out for food together this week. That dwindled down to the last few and then just me and Jordan. When it came to last night we knew we were playing each other, but we still went out for something to eat. In the mid-session interval today we shared a car back and both had a walk to McDonalds  We distanced ourselves in the practice room and got ourselves ready for the match. You are friends, but you still had to play the match.

“I don’t feel as though I’m going to fall apart this week. It doesn’t matter who I play, I feel like I can get in the balls and play as well as anybody.”

Brown said: “I was disappointed with the way I played to be honest. I don’t want to take anything away from Tom. I thought he finished off the match very well. I think I just ran out of gas in the end. Ultimately, I’m proud of what I achieved this week. From where I was, especially a couple of months ago, I definitely would have taken this.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AhnuT9MebvU%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A

I can’t really comment as I saw very little of the match after the first MSI … not by choice, mind you, but because after a drought of nearly 8 months it finally rained on my island, and rained heavily ! That was much needed and very welcome¹ despite causing total chaos and a string of power cuts …

1. We live on a cistern here, not on public water distribution. We spent most of the evening, sat in the dark listening to the sound of water rushing into the tank under the house! ↩︎

Since winning his seventh World title in May 2022, Ronnie had never gone past the quarter-finals in any ranking event, but he will play Zhang Anda in the 2023 International Championship semi-final on Saturday, after he beat Ali Carter by 6-4 today in the quarter-finals stage.

Here are the scores:

Neither player was at his best and the highest break of the match was a mere 69. Watching it unfold, on replay, I had the feeling that the conditions were quite tricky.

On the other table, Zhang Anda continued to impress as he beat Ding Junhui by 6-3, scoring 5 breaks over 60, including a 124. Ding scored a break of 130 but I doubt that this will bring him much solace.

Earlier in the day, Jordan Brown had beaten Stephen Maguire and Tom Ford had beaten Barry Hawkins. It’s fair to say that, so far, this tournament has been a tale of the unexpected.

Here is the report by WST

Rocket Set For Tianjin Semis

Ronnie O’Sullivan is through to the 89th ranking event semi-final of his career after a 6-4 win over Ali Carter at the International Championship in Tianjin.

Victory for O’Sullivan enhances his already dominant head-to-head record with Carter, which he now leads 17-1. However, he was made to work for it this evening against the typically tenacious Carter, who has been in good form this season and was runner-up to Judd Trump at the Wuhan Open.

World number one O’Sullivan was already safe in the knowledge that he will end this tournament on top of the rankings, despite having faced challenges from Trump, Mark Allen and Luca Brecel before their exits from the event. He is now just two wins away from the 40th ranking crown of his career and the first since winning the 2022 World Championship.

After going 1-0 down this evening, O’Sullivan responded by taking two on the bounce to claim the lead. A break of 60 saw O’Sullivan hold the advantage in the fourth, but Carter hit back with a brilliant 69 clearance to steal on the black and draw level at 2-2.

A break of 44 saw O’Sullivan reply by taking the fifth by a single point and he then added the sixth to go 4-2 ahead. Carter refused to wilt and took the next two frames to restore parity. He had chances to move ahead, but it was O’Sullivan who crafted breaks of 60 in consecutive frames to close the door and get over the line. Next up is a semi-final clash with Zhang Anda on Saturday.

“Each match I win nowadays is one of the best wins of my life, because I’m old. I’ve been around a long time,” said 47-year-old O’Sullivan.

“I’m not getting better and if anything I’m not the player I was. Players are all striving to achieve, young and hungry. It is harder now. Normally I would win tournaments quite easily and wouldn’t drop many frames even against the top players. It is tough now. I enjoy any win I get. Ali is one of the in form players this season. He is the in form player and I managed to beat him. So for me it is a great win.

“Every occasion is a good one when I play, so it doesn’t matter who I am against really. I’ve always had good crowds, every match I have played is a big one. People want to beat me and take me down. I’ve had to deal with that all of my life so I’ve never played a match which isn’t a big one.”

Zhang progressed with a 6-3 win over 14-time ranking event winner and Chinese compatriot Ding Junhui. That means Zhang is through to his second semi-final of the campaign, after a run to the final of the English Open where he was runner-up to Trump.

The result keeps Zhang’s hopes of automatic qualification for the MrQUK Championship alive, while world number 15 Ding will have to wait a bit longer for his place to be confirmed.

Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown is through to the second ranking event semi-final of his career after a thrilling 6-5 defeat of Stephen Maguire.

Brown sensationally landed a maiden ranking title in 2021, by beating Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-8 in the 2021 Welsh Open final. It was a result which sent shockwaves through the snooker world, with Brown starting the event as a 750-1 outsider. However, he hasn’t been able to hit those heights since then, failing to go beyond the last 16 of ranking events in the aftermath.

The Antrim Ferrari has rediscovered his form this week and is now gearing up for one of the most important matches of his career tomorrow in the last four. He came into this afternoon’s quarter-final full of confidence after a stunning 6-3 win over Maguire’s Scottish compatriot and four-time World Champion John Higgins yesterday.

Brown led this afternoon’s tie 5-2, before Maguire came roaring back into contention. Breaks of 94, 77 and 115 saw him surge to three on the bounce and a deciding frame at 5-5. However, Brown composed a gutsy break of 57 which helped him to take the final frame and get over the line and earn a last four encounter with Tom Ford tomorrow.

Ford sealed his progression with a battling 6-4 win over European Masters champion Barry Hawkins. Leicester’s Ford hammered home breaks of 65, 125, 106 and 77 on his way to this afternoon’s victory. This will be the ninth ranking semi-final of his career.

Here is the last frame of Ronnie’s QFs match shared by ES on their YouTube channel

And some images shared on social media by WST

Ronnie will play Ali Carter tomorrow in the quarter-finals of the 2023 International Championship, after beating Anthony McGill by 6-2 today in the “last 16” round. Here are the scores:

He wasn’t at his absolute best but he was focussed and solid. There was a lot of respect between the players throughout the match.

As usual ES shared some videos on their YouTube channel

There were also a few images shared on weibo …

And speaking about weibo, they share a snippet of an interview where Ronnie promises that if he has the opportunity he will make a 147 for the Chinese fans … and ONLY in China …

All the results are on snooker.org as always

Ding Junhui also progressed to the QF round, but the upsets continued as John Higgins and Mark Selby were beaten by Jordan Brown and Tom Ford respectively.

Here is the report by WST

Brilliant Brown Casts Wizard Aside

World number 43 Jordan Brown scored a superb 6-3 win over four-time World Champion John Higgins to make the quarter-finals of the International Championship in Tianjin.

Brown sensationally won the Welsh Open in 2021 as a 750-1 outsider, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan 9-8 in a thrilling final. However, he has since struggled to reproduce that form on a consistent basis. Today’s win sees Brown make the last eight of a ranking event for the first time since his momentous victory in Newport two years ago.

The last time Brown and Higgins met was at the 2021 Players Championship, where the match unfolded in contrasting circumstances. Higgins blitzed to a 6-0 victory in a devastating display, which saw him make three centuries in the process. Brown ensured there was no repeat today.

The Northern Irishman set the tone from the off with a fine break of 87 to take the opener. Higgins responded with 64 to take the second, but it was Brown who took the next two on the bounce to head into the mid-session 3-1 ahead.

The break didn’t disturb his momentum and when play resumed it was soon 4-1 after a run of 94. Typically, the steely Higgins didn’t fade away and he won consecutive frames to claw himself back into contention at 4-3. Brown crucially won a 48-minute eighth frame to move one from victory and he clinched the tie in style with a break of 116 to get over the line.

“I’m very proud of the performance more than anything. Playing an all-time great like John is never going to be easy, but I think I handled things pretty well out there. I scored heavily and took my chances when they came,” said 36-year-old Brown.

“It has been a tough couple of years since I won the Welsh. I’m always working hard and trying to look for that little bit of an edge. In the last couple of months I have won some matches that have caused me to grow in confidence. It has been frustrating but it is finally coming all together now.

“The game is tough at the end of the day, that is the bottom line. I have been struggling, but I’m really trying to get my form back and I feel like I’m playing better than ever. I feel my game is good enough to win any tournament and I’m certainly not frightened of anybody because I just concentrate on myself. Hopefully that is good enough.”

Brown’s quarter-final opponent will be Stephen Maguire, who ended Ryan Day’s chances of qualifying automatically for the MrQ UK Championship, coming through with a 6-4 win.

Day knew that victory would see him move ahead of Hossein Vafaei in 16th position on the world rankings, but the Iranian remains safe position for now. World number 30 Maguire needs to win the event to break into the top 16.

World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan saw off Anthony McGill 6-2 to earn his place in the quarter-finals where he will face Ali Carter, who defeated Daniel Wells 6-1.

O’Sullivan top scored with 133 in this evening’s encounter and has been in scintillating form this week, firing in six centuries thus far. The Rocket started the tournament knowing that he was in a four-way fight to retain his position at the top of the world rankings. However, Judd Trump, Mark Allen and Luca Brecel have all fallen by the wayside.

European Masters champion Barry Hawkins produced a stunning fightback to overhaul a 5-1 deficit against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and emerge a 6-5 victor. Next up for Hawkins is a quarter-final clash with Tom Ford, who scored a shock 6-3 win over four-time World Champion Mark Selby.

Ding Junhui boosted his chances of staying in the top 16 ahead of the UK Championship cut off, beating Pang Junxu 6-2. He now faces another Chinese compatriot Zhang Anda, who scored a 6-3 win over Lyu Haotian.

Ronnie is through to the last 16 round in Tianjin. He will face Anthony McGill tomorrow and will probably need to play better than he did today if he is to further progress in the tournament.

It wasn’t at all an easy match for Ronnie, who, at times, appeared to struggle with shots that required some power. But that wasn’t his main “problem”. His opponent, Jak Jones, was impressive. He was the better player for most of the match, extremely reliable in balls and very good from distance.

Here are the scores:

As you can see, from 0-2 and 1-3 down, Jak managed to get to 4-4. At that point I could only see one winner: Jak. To Ronnie’s credit, he fought very hard. The little break he made to steal frame 4 was as impressive as it looked improbable when it started. And he finished the match in style.

There were two 130 breaks in this match, one by Jak Jones, one by Ronnie. Both were shared by ES on their YouTube channel.

Today’s round, the last 32, saw a number of big “favourites” exit the tournament. Notably, both Mark Allen and Judd Trump were beaten ruining one of WST “pet subjects” … the alleged battle for the World number one is, temporary, over and Ronnie will stay at the top of the rankings for now, no matter what happens next in Tianjin.

All the results are on snooker.org

And here is the report by WST:

Maguire Ends Trump Streak

Scotland’s Stephen Maguire ended Judd Trump’s 22-game win streak, scoring a 6-3 win over the Englishman in the last 32 of the International Championship in Tianjin.

Trump has been in scintillating form this season, becoming only the fourth player to win three consecutive ranking events. He picked up back-to-back silverware at the English Open, Wuhan Open and the Northern Ireland Open. With his streak coming to an end this evening, his ambitions of turning world number one are also over for now.

This evening’s result is a massive one for 2004 UK Champion Maguire, who failed to reach it to a single quarter-final last season. He has already achieved that this term at the Northern Ireland Open where he was beaten by Trump. Maguire earned his revenge today.

Breaks of 56 and 69 helped Maguire to move 2-0 ahead this evening, before a run of 88 saw Trump get his first frame on the board to make it 2-1. However, it was Maguire who took the fourth to head in for the mid-session 3-1 ahead.

When play resumed the first two frames were shared and Maguire then hammered home a run of 88 to move one from victory at 5-2. Trump pulled one back, but it was to no avail as the Glaswegian got himself over the line for an important 6-3 victory. Next up he faces a last 16 clash with Ryan Day.

“I feel very proud to beat Judd. The run he has been on, winning three back-to-back tournaments, is incredible. Especially with all of the good players that are out there just now. It is a good result for me to win the match and to beat Judd as well, because be beat me last week,” said 42-year-old Maguire.

“He would have wanted to keep that run going. Once you start winning matches, you get used to winning matches. In the back of Judd’s mind he knows it is going to come to an end at some point, whether it was this match or the next match. If anybody was feeling pressure today I’d imagine it was him. To me it was just another match.”

World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan is now certain to remain at the top of the world rankings this week, he scored a hard fought 6-4 win over Jak Jones this evening to progress.

The Rocket started the tournament with three players chasing his world number one spot. However, he is now safe after World Champion Luca Brecel lost out to Mark Davis yesterday and Mark Allen fell to a 6-4 defeat against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh today, as well as Trump’s exit.

O’Sullivan was pushed hard this evening by Jones, but eventually got himself over the line in the 10th frame with a stunning run of 130. He now faces Anthony McGill tomorrow evening.

McGill progressed thanks to an impressive 6-2 defeat of Jack Lisowski. The former Indian Open and Shoot Out champion put on a break building masterclass with runs of 129, 58, 63, 74, 73 and 54 on his way to victory.

Scotland’s McGill is currently experimenting with his game, using a carbon fibre pool style cue, as well as wearing a glove on his bridge hand. He believes that players need to be open to innovations.

McGill said: “I think you should always be open minded. If you’ve got a closed mind about anything then it can’t be good. I think snooker players are very set in their ways at times and resistant to change, especially from other cue sports. We have this snobbery about us and think we are the best. I’m sure we can learn a lot from other cue sports. I’m giving it my best.

“I watched Ronnie’s game against Ken Doherty in the first round. It was just gorgeous the way he played. It was phenomenal. I was lying in my bed watching it and thinking how does this guy ever get beat and how did I beat him at the Crucible? It will be an amazing atmosphere. The other night when I was playing I could hear the crowd during his match with Mark Joyce. It will be good to be a part of an atmosphere like that.”

China’s 14-time ranking event winner Ding Junhui moved a step closer to confirming his place in the final stages of the MrQ UK Championship with a 6-4 win over Gary Wilson, while four-time World Champions Mark Selby and John Higgins both progressed. Selby defeated Xiao Guodong 6-2 and Higgins overcame Dylan Emery 6-1.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CK4TexZlrvg%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%3A

Ronnie recovered from 0-2 down to beat Mark Joyce in the second round at the 2023 International Championship in Tianjin. Here are the scores:

As you can see, Ronnie made three consecutive centuries and the videos were shared by ES on their YouTube channel:

And the last frame of the match is there as well.

There were not many pictures to be found but here goes…

This is the report on the match, shared by Eurosport:

World No.1 Ronnie O’Sullivan dispatched Mark Joyce and progressed into the International Championship third round. A shock looked on the cards when Joyce claimed the opening two frames, but this sparked an impressive comeback from the Rocket, who made three century breaks to secure victory.

…

Ronnie O’Sullivan powered his way into the third round of the International Championship in Tianjin, China with a 6-3 win over Mark Joyce.World No. 1 O’Sullivan made three century breaks as he recovered from 2-0 down to advance. His reward is a match against Jak Jones.

Joyce took the first frame with a break of 60 after O’Sullivan made a costly miss on the red. He utilised some testing snookers in a safety battle at the end of frame two to double his lead, leaving O’Sullivan with plenty to ponder after a sluggish start.

However, the Rocket responded in emphatic style and motored on towards a superb break of 86 to halve the deficit, following that up with an even better clearance of 110 to wipe out Joyce’s lead.It was O’Sullivan’s 1220th career century and left the world No. 1 in a much better position heading into the mid-session interval.

When the players returned O’Sullivan moved in front for the first time in the match, expertly nudging the final red off the cushion after potting the brown on his way to a stunning clearance of 132.

It would have been a huge source of frustration for Joyce, who saw his table time limited after not potting a ball since the second frame.There was simply no stopping O’Sullivan, as the table beautifully opened up for him again and he worked his way to a majestic clearance of 116.

Joyce was finally given some table time and built up a break of 44, until a red rattled the jaws of the bottom pocket. O’Sullivan could not quite believe it when he missed a black to the opposite side and allowed Joyce back in.Joyce would eventually prevail after O’Sullivan failed with an attempted double and conceded the frame.

However, O’Sullivan would extend his lead after Joyce left the brown hanging over the top pocket and the world No. 1 claimed a break of 81 to take a 5-3 lead with two reds remaining on the table.

The Rocket wrapped up the ninth frame needed for victory as momentum shifted his way after Joyce missed with a long red to seal a 6-3 victory.

… other results on the day

All the results are on snooker.org as always

There were four notable upsets today: Luca Brecel, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson exited the tournament. Two of those results weren’t really surprising though as Neil has been in terrible form for a while and Luca has been partying, traveling and generally enjoying himself.

Here is the report by WST on today’s action:

Bullet Downed By Davis

World number 64 Mark Davis stunned World Champion Luca Brecel with a 6-3 victory to reach the last 32 of the International Championship in Tianjin.

It’s a significant result for the Englishman, who heartbreakingly lost out in the final round of World Championship qualifying last season to close friend Joe Perry 10-9. That was a result which appeared to cost Davis his professional status, until he was given a reprieve. Due to being ranked in 68^th position it was decided he would stay on tour, because of an independent tribunal, the outcome of which was pending at the time.

The win earns Davis a last 32 clash with China’s Pang Junxu, who beat his compatriot Fan Zhengyi 6-5. Defeat for Brecel means his hopes of moving to number one in the world this week are now over.

It was a dream start for Davis, who charged into a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval. The Hastings cueman compiled breaks of 51, 76 and 64 on his way to a clean sweep of the frames.

Davis had an opportunity to move one from the win in the fifth, but a missed red let Brecel off the hook and he got his first frame on the board. The world number two then fired his way back into contention with breaks of 87 and 94 to pull within one at 4-3.

Momentum appeared to be with the Belgian Bullet, but Davis turned the tide and composed contributions of 59 and 107 to take two on the bounce and wrap up a famous victory.

Davis said: “It feels brilliant. I’ve certainly not had many wins over the last two or three seasons against players with the calibre of Luca. I really enjoyed it. When I play World Champions, I try to enjoy it more because I’m coming towards the end of my career. I’ve struggled to do that over the years and I think that helped me.

“I should have gone 5-0 up and had a good chance. I missed a red and that is when the old voices come into your head and say that this is going to go wrong. Fortunately, the work I did with Terry Griffiths years ago and now Chris Henry, got me through. Even though I had a massive lead I know what it is like. The voices can start coming and I can massively struggle, but I didn’t really.”

Current world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan progressed with a 6-3 defeat of Mark Joyce. The Rocket composed breaks of 86, 110, 131, 116 and 81 to come roaring back from 2-0 down and progress. His last 32 opponent is Jak Jones. After today’s win he admitted that remaining world number one is not his current priority.

“For me it is about the titles, leaving a legacy and leaving targets for everyone else to try and chase. Hopefully I will be dead by the time they catch my targets,” quipped 39-time ranking event winner and seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan.

“I was happy to win today and I’m happy to be in the next round. Mark played well to start with. I made a couple of mistakes and he punished me. He looked good so I knew I had to play better. I was pleased I was able to get into the game and eventually win.”

Judd Trump continued his red-hot form and quest to move to the top of the rankings with a 6-0 whitewash over Welshman Michael White.

The Ace in the Pack has racked up a remarkable three consecutive ranking titles in recent weeks, capturing silverware at the English Open, Wuhan Open and the Northern Ireland Open. Today’s win is his 22nd straight victory and he is yet to drop a frame this week. Next up he faces a tough last 32 assignment against Stephen Maguire.

Zhou Yuelong kept up his ruthless run of form against Anthony Hamilton, registering a 6-0 win. He has now whitewashed Hamilton in their last three meetings and has won the last 21 frames they have contested.

Teenage tour rookie Liam Pullen scored the biggest win of his career so far, coming through a deciding frame to beat Thai number one Noppon Saengkham 6-5.

Zhang Anda fired a barrage of breaks at Mark Williams to score a 6-3 win. Zhang made contributions of 77, 85, 67, 77, 128 and 83 during the encounter.

Shaun Murphy succumbed to a 6-3 loss against Dominic Dale, while Mark Selby came through with a 6-2 victory against Stuart Carrington.