Ronnie is through to the round of 16 at the 2026 World Open, after beating Matt Selt by 5-0 today is Yushan.

Here is the report shared by WST:

World Open: Day Three

Shaun Murphy set up a blockbuster showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan at the World Open in Yushan, after thrashing China’s Xu Si 5-1.

The Magician hasn’t fared brilliantly against the Rocket over their career head-to-heads, with O’Sullivan leading 14-4. However, their most recent clash at this season’s Riyadh Season Snooker Championship ended in a 4-0 win for Murphy. 

Today’s win for Murphy saw him put on a break building clinic. Contributions of 84, 117, 61 and 59 saw him come from 1-0 down and lead 4-1. He then embarked on an ambitious maximum break attempt. Having potted 15 reds with blacks, after battling to get the white in position throughout, he missed a yellow to end his run on 120. 

Murphy said: “I just lost my composure I think. I was a bit excited. I made a 147 here last year. It would have been a great moment. I played a lot of great shots to keep getting on the black and then when I had them on a plate I lost my brain. It isn’t as easy as some people make it look. 

“I’ve been playing well for a season or two. I ran into Chang Bingyu at the Welsh Open and he played snooker from the Gods. I feel a bit sick of saying that but it has been like that. I’ve been running into superheroes playing unbelievable snooker. It is a test of perseverence snooker. It is about mental toughness. Can you keep going? With this event, the Tour Championship and World Championship to come. It is a great time to be hitting form.

“Any time Ronnie is in the event it adds a certain buzz to it. There is always that bit more media attention. As Ronnie says it isn’t as if he hasn’t been playing. A bit like when he took the year out and won the World Championship, it wasn’t like he didn’t play at all. It is a bit of a myth to say he hasn’t played any snooker. He looks in good touch to me. Some people might say he isn’t as sharp, others might say he is fresh. All this talk about an eighth World Championship. What a position to be in, some might say he has done it the right way and kept himself fresh. 

O’Sullivan booked his progression with a 5-0 whitewash win over Matthew Selt. 

The seven-time Crucible King compiled contributions of 77, 138, 96 and 52 to book his place in the last 16. Afterwards, he reiterated Murphy’s point about a lack of match time equalling a lack of work on his game. 

“I always prepare well. I know people question if I practise enough. Everyone has done that since I was a kid. They seem to think I just turn up. I prepare harder than probably any other player and I work harder. I think people just assume I only need to get out of bed and pot balls. That isn’t the case. I work very hard,” said 50-year-old O’Sullivan.

“I played alright today. I didn’t give him much room to do what he would have liked to do. I take credit for him not playing his best. Matt is a really good player and he plays to a very high level. I was aware I had to play to a high level.”

World number one Judd Trump sealed his last 16 place with a 5-2 defeat of Welshman Jackson Page. The Ace in the Pack top scored with a century run of 118. 

World Champion Zhao Xintong was a 5-1 victor against Englishman Sam Craigie and now looks forward to a last 16 meeting with Gary Wilson.

World number 17 Stuart Bingham’s chances of leap frogging Ding Junhui, moving into the top 16 and qualifying automatically for the Halo World Championship were ended with a 5-4 loss against Wu Yize. He moves on to face Masters Champion Kyren Wilson, who beat Allan Taylor 5-1. 

Jack Lisowski also bowed out of the Crucible race after a 5-1 loss to Mark Allen. The Pistol faces Zhou Yuelong in the last 16. 

Hossein Vafaei rallied from 2-0 down to beat Mark Williams 5-2, crafting a fine 127 break along the way. He now plays Zhang Anda, who beat Xiao Guodong 5-2.

There isn’t much to add about the match. Ronnie played well but not at his very best. That said he didn’t need to and he certainly scored heavily when in the balls.

Here are the scores for that match:

Some images shared on Weibo…

And videos shared by WST on Youtube

There isn’t much to add about the match.

Ronnie has an excellent record against Shaun Murphy, but every match is different and Shaun is a top player. I’m sure Ronnie will not take it for granted.

On another topic … Ronnie has NOT entered the 2026 Tour Championship, despite qualifying for it¹. This has been shared on social media by reliable sources. It is obvious that, at this stage of his career, Ronnie priorities aren’t all about his snooker. Life, wellbeing, time for family and other interests have taken precedence. He has nothing to prove anyway.

1. and despite the huge prize money./ranking points ↩︎