It was England 4-0 China in Shanghai today as all four quarter matches opposed an English player to a Chinese player and all four were won by the English player.
SHANGHAI MASTERS DAY FOUR: ROCKET DOWNS DING
Ronnie O’Sullivan prevailed in his first meeting with Ding Junhui on Chinese soil in 15 years, winning 6-3 to make the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
The pair are snooker’s biggest global superstars and have enjoyed a storied rivalry throughout their respective careers, but last played each other in China at the 2009 Shanghai Masters.
Victory for O’Sullivan extends his dominance in the head-to-head standings to 23-5. The Rocket continues his quest for a fifth straight Shanghai Masters title and has now won his last 20 games in the city.
The pair traded blows to find themselves locked together at 3-3 this evening, when O’Sullivan made his move. Breaks 131, 70 and 62 saw the seven-time Crucible king secure three on the bounce and seal victory. He now faces a blockbuster semi-final with 2019 World Champion Judd Trump.
“I don’t think either of us played anywhere near our best, but I just tried my hardest and I’m happy to get the win,” said 41-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan.
“Every match is a tough one in this tournament. You have the 16 best players in the world. We all play to a very high standard, each game is like a final. I’m pleased to still be in and looking forward to have a chance of winning this fantastic event again.”
Trump booked his place in the semis with a 6-2 defeat of Si Jiahui, in what was a repeat of this year’s German Masters final. Trump composed breaks of 74, 75 and 101 on his way to the win.
Mark Selby produced a four frame blitz to defeat Pang Junxu 6-3 and set up a last four meeting with close friend Shaun Murphy.
The Leicester cueman is making his first appearance of the new campaign, having vowed to carry on playing after calling his future into doubt at the end of last season.
Selby’s only previous meeting with Pang came in last year’s WST Classic final, where the four-time World Champion prevailed by a 6-2 scoreline. Today’s encounter saw Pang lead 2-1, before a burst of breaks helped Selby to charge to the line. Runs of 75, 60, 81 and 118 gave him four frames in a row and a place in the last four.
Murphy continued his impressive start to the week with a 6-2 win over Zhou Yuelong, who whitewashed World Champion Kyren Wilson yesterday. Murphy scored a fine 6-3 win over John Higgins in the last round and breaks of 57, 70, 66, 61 and 69 helped him to a comfortable win this afternoon.
RESULT! – O’SULLIVAN 6-3 DING
Ding makes steady headway towards an unlikely steal but with the balls so open, it’s definitely there for him.
A red down to middle right tees him up for the black that he uses to navigate down for a red on the bottom cushion. His positional play is perfection and he pops it away nicely. Another black leaves him slightly off on his angle for the final red down the right rail.
He produces a beauty of a cut and the crowd are loving it.
They want to see more snooker, but there’s a plot twist when he wobbles taking on the green off its spot. It does drop but he’s miles off in terms of position for the brown. He tries a cut with the rest but it won’t go down and he leaves a sitter for Ronnie after a break of 50-plus.
O’Sullivan knocks it in and takes care of the blue to seal his spot in the last four.
It’s a heartbreaker for Ding but overall The Rocket was too strong in the big moments.
O’SULLIVAN 5-3 DING
Ronnie sinks a red to middle right and the yellow off its spot takes him down to a pack that is now bearing fruit thanks to Ding’s initial attempt at the split.
The Rocket loses position briefly but thunders a long recovery blue up to the green bag and then a delightful nudge off a red tees him up for a simple pot to the bottom right.
There’s real danger for Ding now as Ronnie appears to be firing on most cylinders all of a sudden. The half century comes and goes as he picks apart the bones of a pack that has loose reds simply there for the taking.
A cannon into a red and pink tied together doesn’t come off, but the frame is done with a run of 70.
Ding needs three snookers and bizarrely returns for an excellent long pot down the right rail. However, he blows a much easier black and quickly concedes.
It had looked close at 3-3 but in the blink of an eye O’Sullivan has moved through a few gears and is now one frame from the last four.
O’SULLIVAN 4-3 DING
There’s a cagey exchange to open that comes to a climax when Ronnie leaves Ding in a precarious position in baulk with the reds well spread.
It inevitably leads to a chance for the five-time champion and he pops away a left-handed red to the yellow pocket before nicking in a green off its spot.
The Rocket works his way south, easing in reds and navigating around the black and the remainder of the pack to score cheaply and keep that board ticking along.
A pink to middle left is followed by a red down to the right corner that tees him up for a black and a screw back to begin eating away at the four reds left in what was once the pack.
A red along the bottom rail means it’s all about whether The Rocket can secure the first century of the match. A super pink to the bottom right bag means it’s looking likely before a black to the same pocket leaves him on the brink of the ton.
The penultimate red sets him up for the pink to the right corner and the century is there.
A Hollywood shot on the final red means the clearance is on and he duly mops up the colours to complete a fabulous 131 up to the black.
O’SULLIVAN 3-3 DING
Ronnie has no way out of the snooker safely and Ding kicks off another run with a simple red to bottom left.
We’ve not really seen much in terms of significant breaks but Ding Junhui does just that here, methodically mopping up some routine pots.
He works his way up to the final red to nick it down to middle right and slips in a brown to the yellow pocket. A long yellow down to bottom right helps him take care of a some of the unorthodox spread of colours, but he can’t tease the blue from left to right into the green pocket and has to make-do with a break of 74 and parity on the board.
O’SULLIVAN 3-2 DING (0-23)
Ding cuts a lovely red to open and then watches in hope as the cue ball hits one middle pocket jaw before diverting across to the other, clipping the upper jaw and just about staying out.
He can’t drill in the yellow but is back in straight away and a gorgeous positional shot allows him to arrow a red to the right corner and cannon up into the pack.
The split is very favourable but he has to take on a red up to middle left to land on the brown and give himself the chance to come off the cushion and back down the table.
He does the same via the green but he lands too high on a red to bottom left and can’t find the angle for the black.
He ends the break on 22 and gets a welcome slice of fortune with a snooker in-behind the blue and yellow tucked together in baulk.
O’SULLIVAN 3-2 DING
Scorchio! The Rocket sandwiches a deft brown to the yellow pocket with two belting reds to regain some lost rhythm.
The Englishman suddenly surges through the gears but can’t nudge the final two reds and the black glued to the bottom cushion and has to end on 29.
The trio of shots that led to him pulling clear were trademark Ronnie though!
O’SULLIVAN 2-2 DING (44-0)
Ding doesn’t do enough with his safety despite the let-off and The Rocket is quickly back in, playing his best shot in some time with a pot on the pink that helps him burst into the pack.
The five-time champion makes easy work of a succession of the routine red-black combos around the disintegrated pack, but Ronnie’s run ends on 37 when he can’t find the fine angle on a a cut on a red to the left corner via the rest.
O’SULLIVAN 2-2 DING (7-0)
There’s a tense safety exchange following the interval and Ronnie is first misjudge his retreat to baulk with an untimely cannon leaving a mid-range red on for Ding down the right corner.
The Dragon fails to bypass the jaws and thumps the cushion in frustration before slumping towards his chair.
O’Sullivan nicks in a red to make him feel even worse but after a blue and another red, an ugly cannon off the black ends the run abruptly.
It’s been that sort of match for Ronnie since that 85 in the opener.
O’SULLIVAN 2-2 DING
This time The Rocket makes the error and Ding is able to sink a long brown and land on the blue that helps him seal the frame. He clears up to the black to level up heading into the interval.
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING (41-47)
My oh my, this is scrappy. Ding gets a double kiss on another safety and leaves the green on. Ronnie nails it to the bottom right but then gets his own nick off the blue which means the brown close to the baulk cushion isn’t potable.
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING (38-47)
O’Sullivan is the first to lay the trap on the face-off on the yellow and lure the foul.
The Dragon is first to blink when he escapes at the second time of asking and The Rocket pops the yellow into the middle right before blowing a big chance with the routine green.
On we go!
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING (31-47)
The Dragon takes care of the remaining four reds but he adds too much zip to an attempt on a yellow to middle right. He was trying to come off two cushions for the green.
It means this keenly-contested, but far from high-class frame, is still up for grabs!
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING (31-26)
Ding’s safety isn’t the best and Ronnie knocks in the long red to try and get his own Mojo flowing again.
A classy blue to middle left takes him off two cushions with a delicious helping of right-hand side. He lands perfectly on a red down to the left corner that he despatches with aplomb.
The seven-time World champion has some sort of flow but there’s another gasp of surprise from the audience as a basic miss on a red to the right corner ends his run on 30 and leaves a wide-open table for Ding.
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING (1-26)
The Rocket takes advantage of Ding’s adventurous near miss on a black to middle right but fluffs his lines on a make-able yellow up to its own pocket.
Ding seizes upon the reprieve, clipping a routine red away at baulk and nudging down the black to middle right. It not only takes him down to the pack but also gets the black back on its spot.
The Dragon tries to nudge a few more reds free of the pack, but again he misjudges pace and it’s end of break at 25.
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING (0-1)
There’s a gasp from the audience as Ding misses a mid-range red to the right corner.
O’Sullivan follows suit with a left-handed, failed attempt at a cut on another red to that same pocket.
The Dragon uses the rest to cut a stray red to the left corner but his attempt lacks pace and he ends up south of the black with nothing on.
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 DING
It’s Ding looking the more assured in this frame and a lovely red puts him back in the box seat.
A black down the left rail with the rest shows he’s feeling it now and he takes care of the remaining reds via routine black-red combos and a blue to middle right.
The pink is in a tricky spot near the lower left cushion but it won’t impact whether he wins this frame or not.
The yellow is routine and a potentially awkward green is dealt with across the baulk cushion to its home pocket. He lands beautifully above the aforementioned pink to sizzle it down the left rail and finishes off an 81 clearance with a clinical black to the left corner.
O’SULLIVAN 2-0 DING (8-37)
Could that be the catalyst for the Chinese star to kick-start his form?
A lovely red from left to right nestles snugly in the middle pocket and he works his way from brown, red and yellow down to a cannon off two cushions into the pack.
It gets a ripple of applause and rightly so. It keeps him ticking over but his attempted bullet red to come off a couple more cushions and back down to the pack goes pear-shaped when the cue ball cannons into the green and stops short, leaving his run to halt on 17.
O’SULLIVAN 2-0 DING (8-20)
The Rocket can’t quite find the flow that saw him clock up an 85 to begin this match with and he’s forced to play safe after a run of eight.
O’SULLIVAN 2-0 DING (0-20)
Ding is first to show with a routine red and he then cuts a blue to middle right but, again, his attempt to pick apart the pack goes wrong.
O’Sullivan is in but his long red up to the right corner also fails to convert. It’s suddenly gone very messy but that will probably suit Ding at present as he’s just not got going.
Ronnie’s miscue gave him a second bite at the cherry but his run of 14 is a tad meagre.
O’SULLIVAN 2-0 DING (35-1)
O’Sullivan doesn’t look the gift horse in the mouth and with five reds remaining he’s already out of sight.
He takes care of one to the middle right and also knocks in a blue but, perhaps in-keeping with the crappy nature of this frame, he can’t bunt a long brown into the left corner pocket and it all comes to an end with plenty of balls remaining and no decent break to take note of.
Not that Ronnie will care; he’s two frames to the good!
O’SULLIVAN 1-0 DING (35-1)
Ding produces a splendid pot on a red along the bottom rail to the right corner but blows a tricky black to the opposite pocket and the door opens for Ronnie.
O’SULLIVAN 1-0 DING (35-0)
Ding is the first to blink in a brief safety exchange and Ronnie takes charge.
There’s a fair bit of work to do but he makes full use of the table, moving up to baulk to polish off a stray red with a green to its own pocket.
The Rocket gets fortunate with a nick off the middle left pocket jaw but can’t take full advantage with a red down the left rail refusing the invitation to the bag.
O’SULLIVAN 1-0 DING (19-0)
Ouch. Ding’s safety goes awry as the cue ball catches the green on its spot en route to baulk and ends up in the pocket!
The Rocket dives in again but this time his position goes AWOL when he comes off the lower left cushion and ends up tight to a red west of the pack. He can’t attempt the pot and has to play safe off a run of seven.
Ding isn’t having a good time out there just yet and fouls again when he catches a red at the top of the pack and sees the cue ball make a beeline for the left corner!
O’SULLIVAN 1-0 DING
A neat red up to middle right kicks things off for the five-time champion and he quickly sets about preying upon some routine red-black combos before straying up to baulk to cut the brown over the mouth of the yellow bag to maintain position on the reds south of what is now a diminished pack.
It soon becomes apparent this is a frame-winning situation and Ronnie clips a red to middle left before spearing a pink down to the left corner.
He’s down to the final four reds and they are all simple enough, but after getting down to the penultimate one he surprisingly catches the near jaw with a pink attempt to the middle right and his break ends on 85.
There’s no century but it’s a strong start from The Rocket.
O’SULLIVAN 0-0 DING (0-4)
Enter The Dragon indeed!
Ding opens with a special, long red pot up to the green pocket and follows with a yellow to its home bag.
The run continues with a fine cut on a red to the bottom left but his attempt on another tricky cut on a brown to the yellow bag doesn’t come off. Worst still his cannon into the red works perfectly and leaves an inviting table for The Rocket.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 