Baize Giants Set For Belfast As BetVictor Northern Ireland Open Draw Announced
The Waterfront Hall will once again host snooker’s greatest names in October as the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open returns to the heart of Belfast.
Kyren Wilson will defend the title having beaten Judd Trump 9-3 in last year’s final. The draw has been made and it’s packed with the sport’s all-time greats and up-and-coming talents, including Wilson, Trump, World Champion Zhao Xintong, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy and home favourite Mark Allen.
The tournament runs from October 19-26 and the top 32 seeds will all play at the Waterfront Hall over the first three days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). They will be joined by the 32 players who come through the qualifying rounds in Leicester in September. Once the full field is confirmed the match schedule will be announced.
The qualifying rounds run from September 4-7. Robbie McGuigan and Fergal Quinn will go head to head in the first round, both hoping to make it to the final stages of their home tournament. For the match schedule click here.
Ronnie hasn’t entered the event. In a way, it’s a good sign as it’s consistent with his intention to only enter events where he wants to commit.
Kyren Wilson will face Haris Tahir when he begins the defence of his Xi’an Grand Prix title in China in October.
Last year the world ranking event was staged for the first time in the historic city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi Province. Wilson beat Judd Trump 10-8 in a thrilling final and he will hope to defend the crown this year in the tournament which runs from October 7-13. The draw has been made and the matches held over to the venue are:
All other first round matches, best of nine frames, will be played at the qualifying round at the Mattioli Arena in Leciester from September 1 to 3. Click here for the match schedule. Notable fixtures include:
Mark Selby v Gong Chenzhi
Ali Carter v Allan Taylor
Mark Allen v Mitchell Mann
Zhang Anda v Farakh Ajaib
Si Jiahui v Chang Bingyu
Shaun Murphy v Liam Highfield
Michael Holt v Jimmy White
Luca Brecel v Sunny Akani
John Higgins v Liam Pullen
Stephen Maguire v Bai Yulu
Barry Hawkins v Hatem Yassen
Hopefully Ronnie will actually commit and play in this one. His match is held-over, so he won’t be at the qualifiers1. Fingers crossed.
Also, Iulian Boiko is a good opponent for Ronnie, he plays an open game and likes to attack.
Which he would hate … but, luckily, he’s being spared that. ↩︎
Jan Verhaas, one of snooker’s most experienced officials who has taken charge of six World Championship finals, has decided to retire from refereeing in order to focus on his roles as an assessor and tournament director.
The Dutchman first refereed on the professional tour in 1991 and has gone on to become one of the best respected officials on snooker’s international circuit. In 2003 he became the first referee from outside the UK and Ireland to take charge of the World Championship final, and went on to oversee the Crucible final in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2017.
Verhaas has also refereed the Masters final eight times and the UK Championship final on four occasions, as well as many other showpiece matches around the globe.
The 58-year-old refereed at the Halo World Championship earlier this year – his last match was Pang Junxu against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the second round – and subsequently made the decision that his role would change.
For more than 15 years, Verhaas has been involved in assessing and developing younger referees both in the UK and overseas, passing on his knowledge and experience to the next generation. Many current officials have benefitted from his guidance, improving their ability to referee at the highest level.
He will now dedicate more time to his new role of Referee Development Manager, as well as working as a tournament director and assistant tournament director at WST events.
“After the journey I have had across 35 years it wasn’t an easy decision, but I think it’s the right one and I’m at peace with it,” said Verhaas. “I am looking forward to the future ahead and looking back at the past with great memories.
“I will still be developing and assessing referees all over the world, working alongside the other assessors. It gives me enormous pride to help the younger referees to come through the ranks.”
Asked to name his favourite memory, he added: “My first world final in 2003 was a dream come true, that’s the same for any referee. It was nerve racking but I look back on that as a real achievement. It has been a fantastic career, I loved the big occasions and the big finals.”
WPBSA Chairman and WST Director Jason Ferguson said: “We congratulate Jan on an outstanding career as a referee and we look forward to continuing to work with him on the tour, hopefully for many years to come.”
“times are a changin… “
It’s inevitable, it’s part of life but Jan’s presence at the table will be missed by many, including me.
What can I say? Just this …
Congratulations Jan, on a great career,
and all the best in your new endeavours and projects
Thank you for all you did for snooker, your legacy is immense.
Maybe not a big surprise after his efforts last week and the 200000 point/pounds earned that basically “secure” his season already … here is the minimal announcement by WST:
O’Sullivan Withdraws From Wuhan Open
Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of next week’s Wuhan Open in China for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to meet Allan Taylor in the opening round on Sunday August 24. He will be replaced in the draw with the leading player from the Q School rankings, Germany’s Umut Dikme.
The world ranking event in Wuhan runs from August 24-30.
I was still really expecting him to play for two reasons. First because he’s got Chinese sponsors in the past, but maybe that’s not the case anymore or maybe they are not particularly interested/involved in this event? Next because he had promised to commit to the events he entered but, of course, we do not know, and have no “right to know” what the nature of the health issues is. Some health issues can take a lot of time to “heal”. One example of such illness is glandular fever that affected Ronnie in the past. Alas, at times, health problems can even even become “chronic”. We have seen cases with other players: Ben Woollaston and Ricky Walden are examples. We can only hope for the best.
Neil Robertson described beating Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 to win the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters as the greatest victory of his career after sensational final in Jeddah.
O’Sullivan, who made two 147s in his semi-final on Friday, stormed back from 7-2 to 7-7 tonight and looked on course for perhaps his best ever final comeback. He edged 9-8 ahead and had half-chances for a winning break, but couldn’t reach the line and Robertson made a brilliant 87 clearance in the decider. The night of drama almost matched last year’s inaugural final when Judd Trump beat Mark Williams 10-9 on the last black.
“This surpasses winning the World Championship,” said Robertson after landing the trophy and £500,000 top prize, the biggest pay-day of his career. “I have had to answer a lot of questions like whether I can still beat someone like Ronnie in a final of this magnitude. To beat him here with so much on the line, it’s definitely my best win.”
It’s a 26th ranking title for Australia’s 43-year-old Robertson, bringing him level with Mark Williams in sixth place on the all-time list. And he boosts his tally of majors to seven, having captured the world title in 2010 as well as three UK Championship crowns and two Masters. He climbs to third place in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings and now has a vast lead at the top of the one-year list.
Just 16 months ago, Robertson lost to Jamie Jones in the final qualifying round for the World Championship, which meant he missed out on the Crucible and dropped well outside the top 16. Realising that his career was at a crossroads, he hired renowned sports psychologist Helen Davis and worked more closely with friend Joe Perry. The ‘team’ approach paid dividends as with the right support around him, Robertson was able to rebuild his self-belief and create a more structured approach to practice and tournament preparation.
Last season he won the English Open and World Grand Prix, climbing back into the world’s top eight, and now he has reached an even higher pinnacle. Robertson has regained his stage presence in the arena, playing with authority and backing it up with his renowned long potting and break-building class.
O’Sullivan’s total prize money for this event would have reached a record £680,333 if he had added the top prize to his maximum break bonus, but the 49-year-old came up just short of a 42nd ranking title and 24th major. Snooker’s all-time greatest has restored confidence this week after a season to forget in 2024/25, and fans worldwide will hope to see him compete regularly over the coming months.
Trailing 6-2 after the first session, O’Sullivan had a scoring chance in the opening frame tonight but on 33 ran out of position then over-cut a risky red to a top corner. Robertson took advantage with a break of 97 to go five frames clear, before O’Sullivan pulled one back with a tremendous 139 total clearance, his 11th century of the tournament and 1,300th of his career.
The Englishman then rattled in further runs of 97, 89 and 57 to close to 7-6. In frame 14, Robertson had a chance to regain momentum, but he lost position on 33 then missed a difficult red, and again O’Sullivan took advantage with a break of 80 to square the tie. Having lost five in a row, Robertson made a 75 to edge 8-7 ahead, and had chances in frame 16 but couldn’t take them. It came down to the colours and O’Sullivan laid a fiendish snooker on the brown, and from the chance that followed he converted an excellent mid-range brown, adding blue and pink for 8-8.
A break of 64 put O’Sullivan in charge of frame 17 and he went on to take the lead for the first time. He had an early chance in the 18th but failed to land on a red when splitting the pack on 16, and Robertson rolled a tough red into a centre pocket to initiate a superb run of 101 for 9-9. Again O’Sullivan was among the balls in the decider but was unlucky not to open the pack on 31. He later misjudged a safety to leave Robertson an opening, and he remained calm throughout, including a difficult last red to a baulk corner.
“I can’t explain what this means to me,” said Robertson. “When I was a kid back in Australia there’s no way I could have dreamed of beating Ronnie in a final like this. The way he played from 7-2 down, it was unbelievable, I barely did anything wrong. Then the brown he knocked in to go 8-8 was incredible. He was unlucky in the last two frames, he had two splits which didn’t go his way. I am so grateful just to share the stage with him and to put on a great match for the people in Saudi. The fans here have certainly got their money’s worth in the last two years!
“My son will be watching at home, I was trying to stay calm at the end while he would have been jumping up and down on the couch. (Wife) Mille would have been burying her head in the pillows not able to watch! I am glad that I could be part of something really special.
“It feels great to be back in this position. Coming here last year I was 28th in the world. Hopefully my story will inspire younger generations because you should never give up, you will get ups and downs but it’s not about how far you fall, it’s about how far you bounce.”
O’Sullivan said: “Neil deserved to win, he was the better player. I just tried to hang on to him and make a game of it. I was pleased to do that, he was outplaying me at 7-2. When I came here I would have been happy just to win a couple of matches. I was pleased with my performances.“
Here are some images shared by WST:
It was indeed a good match, played in great spirit. The red that Ronnie missed in the decider was indeed a very difficult and risky one. As usual, there will be fans saying he shouldn’t have gone for it. Had it got it, he would probably have won the championship and the same fans would have said that he’s a genius. Ronnie fascinates because the way he plays the game: he’s creative, daring, attacking. Often it works wonders – his record proves that – but, at times, it does costs him too. We have to accept that, it’s part of the package.
There are a lot of positives to take from this past week, in terms of ranking/seeding of course, but more importantly in terms of Ronnie’s mindset and positive attitude. How he reacted to being 7-2 down is extremely encouraging for the future.
Ronnie will play Neil Robertson today in the Final of the 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters. Yesterday, he beat Chris Wakelin by 6-3 in an extraordinary semi-final match. Earlier Neil Robertson had beaten Elliot Slessor by the same score.
O’Sullivan Makes Two 147s In Same Match To Earn Huge Bonus, And Reaches Final
Ronnie O’Sullivan became the first player in snooker history to make two 147s on the same day, earning a massive £147,000 bonus during an extraordinary 6-3 win over Chris Wakelin to reach the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
O’Sullivan previously hadn’t made a maximum since the 218 English Open, but tonight in Jeddah made two within just over two hours. The first came in the opening frame, then in the seventh frame with the score at 3-3, the Rocket repeated the feat of potting 15 reds with blacks and clearing the colours. He went on to take the next two frames – describing it as the best performance of his career – to set up a final clash with Neil Robertson over 19 frames on Saturday.
He earns the £147,000 bonus on offer for two 147s in the four majors this season, including this event plus the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship. O’Sullivan will also receive two thirds of the £50,000 bonus for a maximum break in this event – with the other third going to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who made a 147 earlier in the week – bringing tonight’s cheque to £180,333.
Last season, Jackson Page became the first player to make two 147s in the same match, during the World Championship qualifiers, though his breaks came on different days so all-time greatest O’Sullivan earns a new landmark as the first to complete multiple maximums in the same session.
Seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan now has 17 career 147s, making the first in 1997. At 49 years and 253 days he becomes the oldest player ever to score an official maximum.
After his perfect start to the match, world number five O’Sullivan made a 142 in the second frame for 2-0. Wakelin responded with a run of 70 before O’Sullivan’s 70 made it 3-1. The high scoring continued after the interval as Wakelin made a 125 in frame five then got the better of the sixth to threaten an upset at 3-3.
But O’Sullivan, chasing a 42nd ranking title and 24th major, rose to the occasion with his second 147 for 4-3, then made 67 and 50 in frame eight before closing out the match with yet another century, 134.
“It’s crazy really, I have never played that well in a match before,” said O’Sullivan, who has not won a tournament for 17 months. “In practice I have been feeling good for the first time in two years, but taking it to the match table is another thing. You have to get playing well, cueing well and get your mind right. I felt that focus last night against Kyren Wilson and I tried to take the same attitude into tonight.
“There were a few really good positional shots in the second 147 which I had to get right. The black off the 15th red wasn’t easy as I had to just get past the pink, but it went well, it was a pretty good break.
“It will be tough against Neil, he’s an amazing player, we have had good matches over the years. I am on a downward curve at my age against some fantastic players. I’m not going to win like I used to, the likes of Kyren, Judd Trump and Zhao Xintong will be favourites for tournaments. But if I play well I’ve got a chance.”
Wakelin, who still earned a career high pay-day of £100,000, said: “I was just dominated from the first ball, Ronnie was incredible. I played three bad shots and I was 2-0 down. It has still been a really pleasing week.“
The final gets underway at 1pm local time with eight frames, and the balance from 7.30pm. First to ten will bank £500,000 and the coveted trophy, with the runner-up to receive £200,000.
In all there have been 222 maximums in snooker history and five this season.
I haven’t much to add really. It was engrossing stuff, it was magic.
Whatever happens today, a lot has been achieved this week already in terms of ranking/seeding. With 200000 points earned for reaching the final, Ronnie has already secured his place in the top 16 of the one year list: he’s provisionally second, Neil Robertson is first. Ronnie is provisionally 4th in the 2025 UK Championship seedings projection, 8th in the provional 2026 Masters seeding and 7th in the provisional Crucible seedings.
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Seven: Sless Is More! Elliot Floors Williams
Elliot Slessor beat a former World Champion in the deciding frame for a third consecutive day as a 6-5 victory over Mark Williams put him into the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
This is by far the best week of Slessor’s 12-year career as his biggest pay-day was previously £21,500 and he is now guaranteed £100,000. And the 31-year-old from Tyneside won’t want the run to stop yet as one more win would lift him into the world’s top 16 for the first time. On Friday afternoon in Jeddah he’ll meet another former Crucible king in Neil Robertson, who saw off Ali Carter 6-4.
Slessor, currently ranked 29th, started this event with a 4-1 win over Ben Mertens, then recovered a 4-1 deficit to beat Lan Yuhao 5-4. He went on to edge out John Higgins 5-4 and Stuart Bingham 6-5 before today’s success against world number three Williams. He’s into his fifth ranking event semi-final and another win tomorrow would earn a first final appearance.
Breaks of 62, 130 and 70 helped Slessor build a 5-2 lead before Williams pulled one back with a 74. In frame nine, Slessor was on 60 when he narrowly missed a tricky red to top corner, and his opponent battled back to pinch it on the black, before taking the tenth with a 51 for 5-5.
Both players missed chances in a nervy decider and it came down to the colours. Williams, runner-up in this event last year, went in-off when attempting safety, and Slessor took advantage with a cracking long yellow, then converted awkward pots on green and brown to cross the line.
“I am very relieved because I was feeling sick going into the decider, I thought I had missed my chance,” admitted Slessor. “It’s definitely a match I would have lost from that position three or four months ago. I have been working very hard on trying to hold myself together and waiting for the next chance. Usually in deciders I break off then someone makes a hundred so I don’t know what’s happening here! I’ll keep riding the wave.
“In the past I would have lost my temper or got impatient in those situations but I have worked on my temperament because you have got to keep swinging and you never know what could happen. I am very proud of myself to have beaten some tremendous players.
“In the last frame I was left with the long yellow, I fancied it and I hit it well. The green and brown were also tough but I jut told myself to keep my head still and commit to it. I have not been thinking about the money or ranking points, I am just trying to concentrate frame by frame.”
Australia’s Robertson battled to a hard-fought win over Carter to reach his 54th ranking event semi-final. After a slump in form which led to him dropping out of the top 16, Robertson bounced back last season by winning the English Open and World Grand Prix and climbing back into the top eight. And the 43-year-old looks to have continued that momentum into the new campaign. He already has one ranking title in the Middle East to his name having won the 2008 Bahrain Championship and remains in the hunt for a 26th career ranking crown.
Robertson led 4-2 today with a top break of 139, the 991st century of his career. Carter pulled one back with a run of 80, then snatched the eighth on the last black after Robertson had missed a short range frame ball red to a baulk corner when leading 71-25. The 2010 World Champion was able to regroup and regain the lead in the ninth with a break of 71. The tenth was a scrappy affair but Robertson took it by potting the last red along a side cushion and adding the points he needed.
He said: “When I lost form a couple of years ago I did all the right things, setting up a team around me of (psychologist) Helen Davis and Joe Perry so I have a good core of people I trust. Joe is here this week because it’s such a big event and he has been brilliant. I felt it was a matter of time before things would turn around.
“Elliot used to come and practise with me, he is very keen and always trying to get better. He often messages me asking for advice. I have a lot of time for him and he has done tremendously well this week. He is a hard battler and digs in when things get close“.
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Seven: Fireworks From O’Sullivan In Jeddah
Ronnie O’Sullivan produced another stirring fight-back at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, coming from 5-3 down to beat Kyren Wilson 6-5 to reach the semi-finals and raise his hopes of a first title in 17 months.
Arguably the best player in the world on current form having won four titles last season plus the recent Shanghai Masters, Wilson had chances to win in the closing stages but couldn’t take them and O’Sullivan left his fans elated by coming out on top in a thrilling finish. He’s into his 95th ranking semi-final and will meet Chris Wakelin on Saturday night, just two wins away from the trophy, the £500,000 top prize and a 24th major title.
O’Sullivan hasn’t lifted silverware since the Riyadh Season World Masters in March 2024 and hasn’t landed a ranking crown since the World Grand Prix two months earlier, and struggled with form and confidence for most of last season. The 49-year-old has started the new campaign with a new cue and refreshed attitude, and will have gained confidence from dramatic 6-5 wins over Chang Bingyu last night – from 5-2 down – and world number two Wilson tonight.
After losing the first frame, O’Sullivan responded with breaks of 88 and 116 to lead 2-1. Wilson made 75 and 67 to go 3-2 ahead but missed a tough pot on the penultimate red in frame six as O’Sullivan levelled. Last year’s World Champion Wilson looked the stronger player when he fired runs of 69 and 80 to lead 5-3, before O’Sullivan’s 110 halved the gap.
Wilson’s best winning chance came in frame ten but on 19 he misjudged a red, clipping the black first, and his opponent punished him with 118, his third century of the match. Early in the decider, Wilson missed a tough pink to a centre pocket, letting O’Sullivan in for a break of 46. After a tactical exchange, O’Sullivan drilled the third-last red from distance into a top corner which proved the winning shot.
“It was a tough match, I had to rely on Kyren to make a few mistakes,” said the seven-time World Champion, who had lost his previous three meetings with Wilson. “I was trying to stay with him because he will always be the stronger player these days. That was my aim, to make him work hard. I felt ok all night but I am still not playing enough good shots consecutively, I throw in some bad ones. I can use my experience, be patient and make it hard for my opponent.
“I get treated very well here so to do well in this tournament was a big ambition. Now I’m in the semis I’d like to do even better. We both had great support tonight from the fans, they were cheering my name at the end. I guess they remember seeing me when I was young and now I’m nearly 50, so they know I won’t be around for much longer and they want to see me play well towards the end of my career.”
Wakelin built on last night’s superb 6-5 win over Zhao Xintong by beating Barry Hawkins by the same scoreline. The 33-year-old is now guaranteed £100,000 which is his biggest career pay-day, eclipsing the £75,000 he earned for reaching the final of last season’s International Championship. He’s into a fifth ranking semi-final and first in a major.
Breaks of 61, 65, 79 and 86 helped world number 16 Wakelin build a 4-1 lead, before Hawkins recovered to 4-4. The next two were shared then Wakelin started the decider with an excellent 55, and with the remaining reds close to cushions he was able to nurse his lead to the winning line.
“It was very difficult, Barry is one of the toughest players on the tour, so I’m thrilled to come through 6-5,” said the former Shoot Out champion, who beat Neil Robertson and Mark Allen at the Crucible to reach the quarter-finals. “My long game was good to go 4-1 up. I made some mistakes after that but I knew I could still knock in the long ones when I needed to. I know I’ve got the game to win the semi-final and that’s the most important thing. I will give it my best shot.”
Hawkins became the latest victim of the so called ‘Ding Curse’ as the last 22 consecutive times that Ding Junhui has lost in a tournament, the player that has knocked him out – in this case Hawkins – has lost in the next round.
Here are the scores for Ronnie’s match
and some more images …
A century in frame 3
Another one in frame 8
And the final frame decider shared by WST on YouTube
This is a really good result for Ronnie. The 100000 ponds and points put him provisionally back in the top 16 both ahead of the World Championship and a at the end of the season.
First of all thank you so much to everyone for the nice words shared in comments yesterday as this blog celebrated its 10th anniversary. Thank you 💖 !
Back to the baize… here is what happened in Jeddah yesterday. I’m not really able to comment as I didn’t watch anything yet. Family visiting gets priority…
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Day Six: Rocket Completes Huge Fight-Back
Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled off a sensational come-back from 5-2 down to beat surprise package Chang Bingyu 6-5 and set up a Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters quarter-final with Kyren Wilson.
World number 104 Chang, playing in the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time, threatened a huge upset when he led 5-2, but O’Sullivan found another gear and played superbly over the last four frames to keep alive his hopes of a first title in 17 months. Cheered on by local fans, the seven-time World Champion faces an intriguing clash on Thursday night with Wilson, a player he has recently described as the best in the world on current form.
Breaks of 57, 68, 80, 64 and 66 helped China’s 23-year-old Chang establish a 5-2 advantage, as O’Sullivan made several unforced errors though he did compile runs of 84 and 85 in the two frames he won. The 49-year-old then made a 103 for 5-3 and dominated frame nine to draw within one.
Chang had his best match-winning chance in the tenth, but leading 53-37 he missed a tricky pot on the penultimate red to a top corner. O’Sullivan potted the red, leaving the cue ball on a side cushion, then played the shot of the tournament so far to cut in the pink and gain position on the last red. He cleared the table for 5-5 then, typically, made a 125 in the decider.
“I have realised now I took this game for granted before because when I was struggling I lost my confidence and lost my swagger and that’s something you can’t fake,” said world number five O’Sullivan, into his 148th ranking quarter-final. “I had it for such a long time without even realising it. Tonight I got it back in spells and remembered I used to feel like that a lot. That’s what made me win so much. I just don’t have that enough now. I wish I could turn the clock back and appreciate it more. These days I am twitching shots and throwing fast ones in, I feel like a numpty. I did feel good in spells tonight but I missed easy balls, my arm doesn’t get through the ball like it used to.”
World number two Wilson has won seven out of seven matches so far this season and tonight beat Si Jiahui 6-3. Earlier this month he landed the Shanghai Masters crown, beating O’Sullivan 6-3 in the quarter-finals, and the Kettering cueman has won the last three meetings between the pair, a sequence he will hope to extend this week. Breaks of 70, 70, 67, 77 and 73 helped the 2024 World Champion to a comfortable win tonight.
Chris Wakelin, who knocked Neil Robertson and Mark Allen out of the World Championship this year, took another big scalp with a 6-5 success over Crucible king Zhao Xintong. World number 16 Wakelin took a 3-1 lead with a top break of 106 then lost four frames in a row, but battled back to win the last three.
“I believe in myself,” said Wakelin. “If I can go deep this week it would cement my top 16 place. Even if I won this tournament, I don’t think people would see me as a top player. But if I can consistently prove it to myself I don’t care what anyone else thinks. At the Crucible I ran out of steam in the quarter-finals, I was mentally exhausted. My goal this season was to get fitter so I have been doing more running and that’s going well so far.”
He will now meet Barry Hawkins who also enjoyed an impressive fight-back, recovering a 5-3 deficit to beat Ding Junhui 6-5. Hawkins made 99 and 84 for 5-5 then dominated the decider in three scoring visits. The Londoner was runner-up at the UK Championship and German Masters last season and will hope he can go one step further this week and claim a first major crown.
Here are the scores for Ronnie’s match:
And the highlights of the match, shared by WST on YouTube
Ronnie O'Sullivan 