Ding Junhui came from 5-4 down to beat Mark Williams 6-5 in the opening round of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, boosting his hopes of doubling his tally of titles in snooker’s biggest invitation event.
The result means that, for the first time since 2011, none of the ‘Class of 92’ of Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Williams are in the line up for the quarter-final stages. In that year, Ding went all the way to the title, and the Chinese ace will hope that’s a good omen. The 37-year-old certainly had his fair share of good fortune today, enjoying a string of lucky moments in the closing stages of an exciting contest.
It’s the second match already this year to go to a deciding frame, and Ding finished in style by taking it in one visit. He already has a huge title under his belt this season having won the International Championship in November and can now look forward to a meeting with Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins at Alexandra Palace on Friday.
After sharing the first two frames, Williams led 41-7 in the third when he mid-cued, attempting blue to centre, and Ding punished him with 69 to go ahead. Williams responded with breaks of 57 and 70 to go 3-2 up, then Ding made 64 and 60 to edge ahead at 4-3.
A tremendous 136 total clearance, the new front-runner for the £15,000 high break prize, gave Williams frame eight. Ding looked set to go 5-4 up until he missed a straight-forward black at 66-0 in the ninth, and Williams eventually cleared from the last red to black to pinch it by a single point.
In the last two frames, Ding missed three attempts at difficult reds, but each time was lucky not to leave his opponent a clear chance. Williams twice attempted awkward reds to a centre pocket, but couldn’t find the target and Ding capitalised with breaks of 76 and 90 to reach the second round for the eighth time in all and first since 2019.
Williams turns 50 in just two months and victory today would have made him the oldest winner of a match at the Masters since a 56-year-old Eddie Charlton in 1986. The Welshman said: “Ding had a hell of a run of the ball, especially in the last two frames when he could have left me in. I lost count of the number of times he held his hand up to say ‘sorry’, it must have been ten or 11 times. Those are the fine margins. I have had plenty of run in my time, that’s the game. He still had to make two really good breaks.
“I tried my best. It’s a great venue and the reception when I came in was unbelievable. I loved it, it’s the best venue we play in and I hope I get back next year.“
Ding said: “At 5-4 down, I missed a long red and the balls went everywhere, and I thought maybe today is done. Then I saw a bit of luck, Mark didn’t have an easy one. He had to take a difficult one under pressure, and when he missed I saw my chance was there. It was the same in the last frame. My concentration and confidence was good after the interval, I didn’t think too much about winning or losing.
“I still want to be the best I have ever been. I’ve been watching videos of myself when I was young and I am trying to get that feeling back. I used to just pot the balls without thinking too much, just playing the shots very clearly. I still struggle sometimes but I am feeling better than before.“
Mark Selby hasn’t reached the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace since 2014 but on today’s evidence he is among the favourites for the Johnstone’s Paint Masters title as he romped to a 6-1 victory over Ali Carter in the opening round.
Selby looked close to his best last week at the BetVictor Championship League, notably making six centuries in a single day. And he carried that momentum into tonight as he outplayed Carter, rattling in two tons and three more breaks over 50. The Leicester cueman’s reward is a quarter-final meeting with Mark Allen or Si Jiahui on Thursday.
World number five Selby had a tremendous record at the Masters between 2008 and 2014, winning it three times and reaching two further finals. Since then it has been slim pickings in London as he has failed to go beyond the quarter-finals. Selby, winner of the British Open in September, will be quietly confident of a deep run this time as he seeks to become the only player other than Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry to lift the trophy for a fourth occasion.
He took the opening frame tonight with a break of 62, and added the 41-minute second by getting the better of a safety exchange on the final brown. Stepping up a gear, Selby fired breaks of 108 and 93 to lead 4-0 at the interval.
In frame five, Carter led by 62 points with four reds left when he failed to double a red to centre, and his tenacious opponent battled back and gained the snooker he required, then could have forced a respotted black but failed to pot the blue along the top cushion, allowing a relieved Carter to pull one back. But Selby regained the initiative with a 126 for 5-1, and he made an excellent 53 clearance in frame seven to settle the result.
“I felt a bit edgy at the start but winning the second frame was huge, if Ali had gone 1-1 it could have been very different,” said Selby. “I kicked on after that and felt comfortable. It’s always great playing in front of a full house here and it gives you motivation.
“My only concern was not getting in my own way and freezing, which I do sometimes. That’s something I am trying to work on. I enjoyed it and felt I was zoned in and focused. I have been there and done it in this event which will stand me in good stead if I get to the business end.“
Carter said simply: “Mark was very good and I was absolute rubbish. He strangles you and zaps you of confidence. I just wanted to get out of there in the end.“
Neither Willo nor Ding played really well. Maybe they were still a bit tired from their Tibetan adventure. The match was very eventful with all sorts happening at the table. It was certainly entertaining albeit not of the highest quality despite some big breaks from both.
In the evening, it was the complete opposite. Mark Selby delivered a master class. If he can keep that level, he will probably win the tournament. Ali had no answers and, although he continued to apply himself, it was plainly evident that he was frustrated and, after the MSI, had given up hope and didn’t want to be there.
Ronnie was in the studio in the evening and gave an update about his own state of mind. He’s OK. He explained that by Sunday he was feeling OK to play, but had not wanted to delay making his decision in order to give whoever would replace him enough time to prepare. That was the right thing to do indeed. All things considered, he looked settled and thinking clearly. It’ reassuring.
Ronnie O’Sullivan ‘lost the plot’ as he explains Masters withdrawal and gives update on future
Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the Masters on the eve of the tournament with snooker fans and his fellow pros concerned about the seven-time world champion
Image PA
Ronnie O’Sullivan has explained his decision to withdraw from the Masters – and insists he WILL be back on the baize.
Snooker icon O’Sullivan was due to defend his title at Alexandra Palace with his first-round match against John Higgins slated to get the tournament underway on Sunday. But he unexpectedly pulled out after snapping his cue following a defeat by Robert Milkins in the Championship League on Thursday.
O’Sullivan has had well-documented mental health issues in the past, and there were concerns for his wellbeing from fans and fellow pros alike. But the seven-time world champion insists he is OK and will return to the sport.
“I’m alright, not too bad,” he said while working for Eurosport on Monday evening. “It was a nightmare decision really to make, if you’d have asked me Sunday if I was ready to play I’d probably have been ok to play. But it’s such a massive tournament.
“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself, a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.
“I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that’s unplayable, so I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play and such a big tournament that I thought whoever was to come in should have had at least a couple of days notice.”
Neil Robertson was the man to take O’Sullivan’s place, and he staged a miraculous comeback from 5-1 down to pip Higgins 6-5 and advance to the quarter-finals.
I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was to not play” .
On his cue, the Rocket added: “It was in the bin, one of them wheelie bins, but my mate said we can’t leave that here, so he got it out and brought it with us.”I’ve got a couple of other cues that I can start practicing with because there’s some tournaments coming up. I’m going to continue to play so I need to get used to the cue now.”
In words O’Sullivan fans will be relieved to hear, the 49-year-old even talked of a return to Ally Pally next year and still harbours aspirations of lifting a ninth Masters title.
“This is an unbelievable tournament, top 16, best players in the world, amazing crowd, I’ve won this tournament many times, been in 14 finals,” he said. “I’d love to come here and play again and hopefully be lucky enough to win the trophy again, that would be great.
After the evening match, in the studio, Mark and Ronnie had a very interesting and honest discussion about mental health
In the news there is also suggestion that Ronnie “faces” a lawsuit … This is misleading as I explained in this previous post.
7 thoughts on “The 2025 Masters Day 2 and Ronnie News”
Yes, it was very emotional and honest how O’Sullivan and Selby talked about the loneliness of snooker, football, and other topics. Like two old drinking buddies. However, to some extent, it sends an ugly message when he says something like, “Anyway, on Sunday, I’ll probably get some sleep and play.”
There’s a Hungarian saying: “If you had remained silent, you would have stayed wise.”
And yes, since 1992, we’ve received countless experiences from him / happy memories /, and it wasn’t that long ago—the last season—when, overall, he didn’t play well but fought his way to five tournament titles. But only the blind can’t see that in recent years, with these withdrawals, how he does it, and how often—it’s outrageous. Even the WST doesn’t believe him anymore; they continuously leave him out of a tournament’s preview articles*. I understand that he’s practically building his post-career life now, but for fans, it’s painful and infuriating how he’s been managing this in recent years. I hope he changes this (nope he’ll never change). There’s nothing wrong with someone not participating in a tournament; the issue is that he enters every event, then checks whether the sun rises from the left or the right side today, and if it shines at the wrong angle, he withdraws.
Personally I prefer when they leave him out of their build-up. He’s been a “promotion” tool for WST for the best of 30 years and he’s nearly 50. Let’s leave him in peace and try promote those who are the future instead.
That said part, a big part of the issue, a BIG part, is the “qualifiers” system. I said it before, I will say it again, there should be NO qualifiers. All players should go and play at the main venue. That way players would not be forced to enter events months before it happens because the qualifiers draw has to be made and qualifiers happen several weeks, even months, before the actual event. Qualifiers for the majors in tennis, featuring many more contestants than what we have in snooker, happen right before the event and in a close location to the event, and then they have 128 players in the main event. Snooker has only 128 pros. There should be NO qualifiers.
I’m not happy with Ronnie serial withdrawals, but I’m not happy with WST “system” either.
Home Nations have already introduced the tiered system: is that not a success? Low-ranked pros can still have the early rounds way before the actual tournaments and it is bad for THEM, but it does not affect top players (and it did not affect the top 16 anyway as they usually had heldover matches).
I agree with you Monique, he owes us nothing!
Mean while, I have been trying to post a comment to your blog (the text below) for some time now, three days maybe, without success. I don’t know why it doesn’t go through. So, I’m trying now without links. Maybe that was it. So here once more:
I’m so hoping Ronnie gets all the help he needs and will eventually feel better (now we know that he does, thank God!). I also hope that everybody will take Jason’s very wise advice to be kind!
Here in Finland, the exhibition matches between Ronnie and John Higgins on January 25th are still on the calendar and the media has of course been busy writing about the situation. Robin Hull (the organizer) has assured the media directly, and on his own social media accounts to his followers, that Ronnie’s staff has confirmed that these events will take place. So, the matches in question will hopefully be the next opportunity to see Ronnie play live.
Event info can be found in Facebook events with the name “The battle of legends – Ronnie O’Sullivan & John Higgins” and ticket info by googling the words: The Battle of Legends: Ronnie O’Sullivan vs John Higgins. There are also Robin Hull’s web page (147 Snooker FI).
One of the news articles: (here again the original link maybe does not go through, so try to google with the article’s title in Finnish if you want to see the original article: Kohu-uutinen Ronnie O’Sullivanista herätti huolta Suomessa – “Kanavamme kuumenivat saman tien”)
Above mentioned article’s translation (done with using Google Translate):
The scandalous news about Ronnie O’Sullivan raised concerns in Finland – “Our channels immediately heated up.”
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan is coming to Helsinki in two weeks despite his surprise withdrawal from the Masters, the organizer of the big event, Robin Hull, confirms to MTV Sport. A huge surprise regarding O’Sullivan was revealed on Friday afternoon: the defending Masters champion has withdrawn from the tournament starting on Sunday due to health reasons.
The decision of the champion, known for his capricious nature and having had a poor season, immediately caused concern in Finland as well, as O’Sullivan is due to face fellow snooker legend John Higgins in two exhibition matches in Helsinki on 25 January.
The event’s organiser, former Finnish snooker professional Robin Hull, knew the reason for the call immediately when MTV Sports reached out to him shortly after the O’Sullivan news.
– Our channels immediately heated up as people were worried.
– This will not affect the Helsinki event in any way, Hull confirmed.
Hull, who has no further details about the reason for the Masters withdrawal, had been in immediate contact with O’Sullivan’s support staff. It was O’Sullivan’s fifth withdrawal of the season, and he also left the Championship League midway through the tournament on Thursday.
– We just got confirmation. Finland is 100% in the plans, Hull said. Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan played two exhibition matches against Gary Wilson at the Tampere Hall last summer. The English great enjoyed the experience.
– Ronnie has mentioned it to me personally that the last Finland gig was so great that he is waiting to come back here, Hull summed up. The matches between O’Sullivan and Higgins will be held at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre.
“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself, a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.”
He exhausted himself playing lucrative exhibitions over the holidays in China, so he was not ready to play the Masters where he was defending champion. I’m sure many will point at his need to make as much money as possible, but it’s still a huge letdown and disappointment to the fans who hoped and expected him to play at a real tournament, not just the exhibition circuit.
.
I believe that had he not played in the CLS he would have been OK for the Masters. On the first day of the CLS he had to play four matches, and they didn’t go too well. He hoped for good practice and got frustrated instead. And … he owes us fans nothing. He gave us plenty over 30 years.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yes, it was very emotional and honest how O’Sullivan and Selby talked about the loneliness of snooker, football, and other topics. Like two old drinking buddies. However, to some extent, it sends an ugly message when he says something like, “Anyway, on Sunday, I’ll probably get some sleep and play.”
There’s a Hungarian saying: “If you had remained silent, you would have stayed wise.”
And yes, since 1992, we’ve received countless experiences from him / happy memories /, and it wasn’t that long ago—the last season—when, overall, he didn’t play well but fought his way to five tournament titles. But only the blind can’t see that in recent years, with these withdrawals, how he does it, and how often—it’s outrageous. Even the WST doesn’t believe him anymore; they continuously leave him out of a tournament’s preview articles*. I understand that he’s practically building his post-career life now, but for fans, it’s painful and infuriating how he’s been managing this in recent years. I hope he changes this (nope he’ll never change). There’s nothing wrong with someone not participating in a tournament; the issue is that he enters every event, then checks whether the sun rises from the left or the right side today, and if it shines at the wrong angle, he withdraws.
*
https://www.wst.tv/news/2025/january/10/world-open-launched-in-Jiangxi/
https://www.wst.tv/news/2025/january/13/star-names-set-for-llandudno/
Personally I prefer when they leave him out of their build-up. He’s been a “promotion” tool for WST for the best of 30 years and he’s nearly 50. Let’s leave him in peace and try promote those who are the future instead.
That said part, a big part of the issue, a BIG part, is the “qualifiers” system. I said it before, I will say it again, there should be NO qualifiers. All players should go and play at the main venue. That way players would not be forced to enter events months before it happens because the qualifiers draw has to be made and qualifiers happen several weeks, even months, before the actual event. Qualifiers for the majors in tennis, featuring many more contestants than what we have in snooker, happen right before the event and in a close location to the event, and then they have 128 players in the main event. Snooker has only 128 pros. There should be NO qualifiers.
I’m not happy with Ronnie serial withdrawals, but I’m not happy with WST “system” either.
Home Nations have already introduced the tiered system: is that not a success? Low-ranked pros can still have the early rounds way before the actual tournaments and it is bad for THEM, but it does not affect top players (and it did not affect the top 16 anyway as they usually had heldover matches).
I agree with you Monique, he owes us nothing!
Mean while, I have been trying to post a comment to your blog (the text below) for some time now, three days maybe, without success. I don’t know why it doesn’t go through. So, I’m trying now without links. Maybe that was it. So here once more:
I’m so hoping Ronnie gets all the help he needs and will eventually feel better (now we know that he does, thank God!). I also hope that everybody will take Jason’s very wise advice to be kind!
Here in Finland, the exhibition matches between Ronnie and John Higgins on January 25th are still on the calendar and the media has of course been busy writing about the situation. Robin Hull (the organizer) has assured the media directly, and on his own social media accounts to his followers, that Ronnie’s staff has confirmed that these events will take place. So, the matches in question will hopefully be the next opportunity to see Ronnie play live.
Event info can be found in Facebook events with the name “The battle of legends – Ronnie O’Sullivan & John Higgins” and ticket info by googling the words: The Battle of Legends: Ronnie O’Sullivan vs John Higgins. There are also Robin Hull’s web page (147 Snooker FI).
One of the news articles: (here again the original link maybe does not go through, so try to google with the article’s title in Finnish if you want to see the original article: Kohu-uutinen Ronnie O’Sullivanista herätti huolta Suomessa – “Kanavamme kuumenivat saman tien”)
Above mentioned article’s translation (done with using Google Translate):
The scandalous news about Ronnie O’Sullivan raised concerns in Finland – “Our channels immediately heated up.”
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan is coming to Helsinki in two weeks despite his surprise withdrawal from the Masters, the organizer of the big event, Robin Hull, confirms to MTV Sport. A huge surprise regarding O’Sullivan was revealed on Friday afternoon: the defending Masters champion has withdrawn from the tournament starting on Sunday due to health reasons.
The decision of the champion, known for his capricious nature and having had a poor season, immediately caused concern in Finland as well, as O’Sullivan is due to face fellow snooker legend John Higgins in two exhibition matches in Helsinki on 25 January.
The event’s organiser, former Finnish snooker professional Robin Hull, knew the reason for the call immediately when MTV Sports reached out to him shortly after the O’Sullivan news.
– Our channels immediately heated up as people were worried.
– This will not affect the Helsinki event in any way, Hull confirmed.
Hull, who has no further details about the reason for the Masters withdrawal, had been in immediate contact with O’Sullivan’s support staff. It was O’Sullivan’s fifth withdrawal of the season, and he also left the Championship League midway through the tournament on Thursday.
– We just got confirmation. Finland is 100% in the plans, Hull said. Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan played two exhibition matches against Gary Wilson at the Tampere Hall last summer. The English great enjoyed the experience.
– Ronnie has mentioned it to me personally that the last Finland gig was so great that he is waiting to come back here, Hull summed up. The matches between O’Sullivan and Higgins will be held at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre.
“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself, a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.”
He exhausted himself playing lucrative exhibitions over the holidays in China, so he was not ready to play the Masters where he was defending champion. I’m sure many will point at his need to make as much money as possible, but it’s still a huge letdown and disappointment to the fans who hoped and expected him to play at a real tournament, not just the exhibition circuit.
.
I believe that had he not played in the CLS he would have been OK for the Masters. On the first day of the CLS he had to play four matches, and they didn’t go too well. He hoped for good practice and got frustrated instead. And … he owes us fans nothing. He gave us plenty over 30 years.
You hit it on the head, Monique. Totally agree.