Ronnie beat Joe O’Connor by 5-3 today to book his place in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Grand Prix. It wasn’t straightforward and, TBH, it wasn’t a high quality match. For some reason both players appeared to struggle with the conditions and were far from their break-building best. Ronnie in particular struggled badly early in the match. There was not one century in the match which is rather unusual nowadays.
Ronnie will now face Xiaoguodong in the round of 16.
As alwatys, all the detailed results are available on snooker.org.
Here are the scores for that match:
And here is the report shared by WST:
World Grand Prix 2026 Day Two Round-Up
Nine Chinese players have reached the last 16 of the World Grand Prix – a record for any ranking event – and among them is Crucible king Zhao Xintong who scored a superb 5-3 win over John Higgins on day two in Hong Kong.
Alongside Zhao in Thursday’s last-16 line up are Zhou Yuelong, Yuan Sijun, Wu Yize, Chang Bingyu, Zhang Anda, Pang Junxu, Si Jiahui and Xiao Guodong, underlining the increasing strength of Chinese players at snooker’s elite level.
It has been a mixed season for Zhao so far – he won the invitational Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in November but in ranking events he has reached just one semi-final and is in danger of missing out on this month’s Sportsbest.io Players Championship, for the top 16 on the one-year list. But from 2-1 down today against Higgins, he stepped up to the challenge and took four of the last five frames with top breaks of 60, 121, 73. Frame eight came down to a respotted black, and a rare weak safety from Higgins gifted his opponent the chance to pot the black to a baulk corner for victory.
“Towards the end, John gave me a few relatively easier chances and I managed to take them, so I think I was quite fortunate today,” said Zhao, who now meets Mark Selby. “I just tried to play in the way I normally do and stick to the style I believe in. I have confidence in my own game, and I feel that if I can perform to my normal level and show my form, then I can beat anyone. This is my first time playing in Hong Kong, so close to home, and to be able to compete in such a big event here means a lot to me.“
Ronnie O’Sullivan moved a step closer to a first ranking title in over two years as he beat Joe O’Connor 5-3, coming from 2-0 down to win five of the next six frames with top breaks of 65, 72 and 72.
“I don’t think a lack of sharpness is my problem because I have always played less tournaments than other players,” said O’Sullivan, who will face Xiao Guodong next. “I think my bad game is a lot worse than it used to be, and my good is not as good. That’s the reason I am not winning as much. I am probably not a very good player any more and I have to accept that. I am trying to find a way to keep playing without it driving me crazy. I posted about Novak Djokovic the other day, he is the best in any sport at managing emotions and we all try to be like him, but it’s not easy.“
Defending champion Neil Robertson was thrashed 5-1 by Jak Jones, who has only recently returned to action after being forced to take several weeks out with a broken right hand. “That’s a really big win for me,” said 2024 Crucible finalist Jones, whose top break today was 80. “The hand is still painful but it is healing well. I broke two of the bones and that’s not an injury you want as a snooker player.”
World number one Judd Trump saw his hopes of winning back-to-back ranking titles ended by a surprise 5-2 reverse against Yuan. Trump won the German Masters in Berlin on Sunday and after flying to Hong Kong – where he lives for much of the year – he hoped to continue his hot streak, but was outplayed by world number 31 Yuan whose top break was 103.
Yuan, who also has cause for celebration away from the table as he recently got married, said: “I was a bit nervous at the start, but once I made a century in the opening frame, I felt much more settled. I had never beaten him before, so the closer I got to winning, the stronger that desire to finally win became. Hong Kong is one of the most important events for us Chinese players, so I really hope I can keep winning.”
Si top scored with 102 in a 5-2 win over Gary Wilson while Scottish Open champion Chris Wakelin enjoyed a 5-0 whitewash of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh with a top run of 96. Ali Carter, a semi-finalist in Berlin last week, recovered a 3-1 deficit to edge out Mark Allen 5-4 win a top break of 86. Pang impressed in a 5-1 win over Shaun Murphy, firing runs of 73, 134 and 130.
Ronnie head a great friendship with John Virgo and shared this on X:
My thoughts are with John’s family and friends in these difficult moments. I had the privilege to meet John a few times at exhibition events. He knew a lot about his sport that he loved deeply, he was friendly and very funny and he still could play a bit despite various physical issues.
I wonder if the Angels welcomed John in Paradise with his favourite question: “Where is the cue ball going?” 1… that would be fitting and I’m sure he’d love that.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 