The 2023 Shanghai Masters Final will be played tomorrow between Luca Brecel, the reigning World Champion and World number 2, and Ronnie, the Defending Champion and World number 1. This is really a dream final line-up for the tournament that marks the return of World professional snooker in China.

The format is best of 21, first to 11.

Here are the scores

And the reports by WST

First Session

Brecel Secures Shanghai Lead

World Champion Luca Brecel holds a 6-3 advantage over Australia’s Neil Robertson heading into the concluding session of their semi-final showdown at the Shanghai Masters.

Belgium’s Brecel has never beaten Robertson, having lost all three of their meetings on the World Snooker Tour. He requires just four more frames to rectify that in today’s best of 19 encounter. The winner this evening will progress to face seven-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan over the best of 21 frames tomorrow for the title and the £210,000 top prize.

This morning’s match got off to a cagey start, with Brecel eventually winning a 43-minute opening frame. He then took the second on the black, before making it 3-0 courtesy of a break of 68. Robertson crucially composed a break of 95 to take the fourth and remain in contention at 3-1 heading into the mid-session interval.

When play resumed Robertson closed the gap to a single frame, before Brecel made his move and pulled clear. Breaks of 99 and 56 helped the 28-year-old on his way to three on the bounce and a 6-2 advantage.

Brecel then led 40-0 in the last frame of the session, but a loose safety allowed 2010 World Champion Robertson in to compose a steely 90 and reduce his arrears to 6-3 ahead of this evening.

Second Session

Brecel Reaches Shanghai Showpiece

World Champion Luca Brecel is through to the final of the Shanghai Masters after defeating 23-time ranking event winner Neil Robertson 10-7 in their last four clash.

Victory for Brecel sets up a mouth watering showdown with world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan in tomorrow’s title match. The clash will be contested over the best of 21 frames, with the winner taking home the £210,000 top prize. The last time the pair met came at last season’s World Championship, when Brecel prevailed 13-10 and went on to pick up a sensational maiden Crucible crown.

Belgian Brecel spurned the opportunity to usurp O’Sullivan at the top of the world rankings at the recent European Masters. He needed to make the semis to go to world number one, but was beaten 5-4 by eventual tournament winner Barry Hawkins in the last 16. There will be no movement in the rankings after tomorrow’s final, with the Shanghai Masters being an invitational event.

Today’s win is Brecel’s first ever victory over Robertson, who won their first three meetings. The Australian will have to wait in his quest for a first individual title since the 2022 Tour Championship. His only tournament victory last season came at the World Mixed Doubles.

The afternoon session saw Brecel emerge with a commanding 6-3 lead, but Robertson dug deep to remain in contention when play got underway this evening. The 2010 World Champion took the opening frame on the black to reduce his arrears, but a break of 84 in the 11th saw Brecel regain his three frame lead at 7-4.

Robertson continued to scrap his way back into contention and then took the next two frames to head into the mid-session one behind at 7-6. When play resumed Brecel moved two ahead with a break of 123, before the steely Robertson again responded with 109 to make it 8-7.

From there Brecel made his move to get over the line, taking two tight frames consecutively to emerge with a 10-7 victory and clinch his place in a first Shanghai Masters final.

“This was a tough game. We struggled a bit, but I’m happy to be in the final. Playing Ronnie is going to be hard, he hasn’t lost here for seven years so it will be a big challenge,” said four-time ranking event winner Brecel.

“I think I am much more attacking than Ronnie, he is a bit more tactical than me. I think I’m more attacking than anyone. Ronnie’s shot selection is a bit different from mine and he refuses more than me. In the balls he is the best, so if I miss my chances he will win easily. If I play well then I have a chance to win.

“I always want to win. It doesn’t matter who I play. I think my goal was to get to the semis at least. Now I’m into the final I look at it differently. It is about playing well and entertaining more than winning. That has always been my mindset, even when I played Selby in the world final. I tried to entertain, play quick and play well. I will try the same tomorrow.”

There were quite a few mistakes, from both players … just like yesterday. The conditions appear to be very humid. Luca was the better player right from the start, but Neal deserves a lot of credit for the way he fought; he was 6-2 down at one point.

here are some pictures shared on Weibo by various sources

Ronnie has booked his place in the 2023 Shanghai Masters final by beating Mark Selby by 10-7. It is Ronnie’s fourth consecutive Shanghai Masters Final.

Here are the scores:

As you can see, it was a high quality, hard fought match. Mark Selby was the better player for most of it and lead by 7-6 as they reached the last MSI … then Ronnie produced a sensational “run to the line”, winning four consecutive frames and finishing with two centuries.

This is WST report about the first session – Ronnie 4-5 Mark Selby

Selby Leading O’Sullivan In Shanghai

Mark Selby edged ahead of Ronnie O’Sullivan after the first session of their Shanghai Masters semi-final, establishing a 5-4 lead.

Today’s encounter marks the return of one of snooker’s most significant rivalries, which has seen the pair face each other in finals at all three Triple Crown events. It’s the first time they have met on the circuit since Selby’s crushing 9-3 win in the 2020 Scottish Open final. However, O’Sullivan leads the head-to-head standings 16-11.

Selby, who won the Shanghai Masters in 2011, has his work cut out if he is to complete the job this evening. O’Sullivan is unbeaten in Shanghai since 2016, having won the previous three runnings of the event between 2017 and 2019.

The opening stages saw O’Sullivan take the first two frames, before Selby pegged him back by winning the third and the fourth to restore parity at 2-2 heading in for the mid-session break.

When play got back underway it was seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan who regained the lead, but he was again reeled back in by Selby after a break of 63 from the Leicester cueman made it 3-3.

The standard was then pushed up a notch when O’Sullivan fired in a century run of 113 to again regain the lead. However, it was Selby who ended the session with back-to-back breaks of 101 and 99 to take the last two frames and move ahead for the first time in the tie at 5-4.

…

And this is WST report on the second session and the match – Ronnie 10-7 Mark Selby

O’Sullivan Into Fourth Straight Shanghai Final

Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan scored a brilliant 10-7 win over Mark Selby to extend his unbeaten run at the Shanghai Masters and make a fourth consecutive final in the event.

The Rocket has now won 18 consecutive matches in the tournament and hasn’t lost in the city since a defeat to Michael Holt back in 2016. O’Sullivan is a four time Shanghai Masters winner and won all three of the most recent runnings of the event, between 2017 and 2019.

This was the first World Snooker Tour meeting between O’Sullivan and Selby for three years, since the pair met in the 2020 Scottish Open final. Selby scored a comprehensive 9-3 win on that occasion, but today’s result now sees O’Sullivan lead the head-to-head standings between the pair 17-11.

It has been a week where seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan has needed to dig deep to remain in the running. He trailed John Higgins 5-2, before triumphing 6-5 in the quarters and overcame moments of severe pressure throughout today’s match by Selby.

O’Sullivan now progresses to Sunday’s final, where he will face either World Champion Luca Brecel or Neil Robertson over the best of 21 frames. The victor will take home the title and the £210,000 top prize.

The afternoon session saw Selby emerge with a slender 5-4 lead. When play began in the evening they traded the first two frames, before O’Sullivan took the 12th on the pink to level up at 6-6.

Selby regained his lead in the 13th with a break of 77 and then looked set to move two clear for the first time in the match. However, a missed frame ball pink off the spot on 65 allowed O’Sullivan in and he ruthlessly cleared with a stunning break of 66 to restore parity at 7-7.

That proved to be a pivotal moment, with further runs of 69, 109 and 118 from the 39-time ranking event winner making it four frames on the bounce to secure a 10-7 win and a place in the final.

“The start of the match wasn’t so good. Until 6-5 and 6-6 I was struggling a bit. I tried to hang in there and made a little technical change. I thought I had to try something and find some form. I changed my alignment and my shoulder to get closed and more on line to control the white. It was difficult, but I was pleased to find some form at the end,” said 47-year-old O’Sullivan.

“I’ve learned so much over the years (on the mental side of the game), that I know what to do. It is just whether I can be bothered to do it all of the time. Sometimes it is hard to be giving 100% all of the time. I’ve been doing this for 40 years so you get tired and the motivation is not the same as when you are younger. I accept that and it does get harder to keep doing it.

“I’ll have some nice dim sum tomorrow and maybe go for hot pot with friends, watch the snooker on the TV and relax. I’m doing some filming for Tik Tok tomorrow. Everyone likes Tik Tok in China so I will have to do some filming tomorrow.”

My good friend Tai Chengzhe is at the venue and sent me those superb photos. Thank you Tai!

Here is the final frame, shared by ES on their YouTube Channel

And frame 15 with a bit of controversy … Ronnie was right and Mark Selby a good sport there.

Also some more pictures shared on social media, mainly by WST

All four quarter-final matches were played yesterday in Shanghai.

Ronnie beat John Higgins in a deciding frame, by 6-5, having trailed 2-5. He struggled for most of the match, battled hard and eventually found some form as he finished with two centuries. My report on that epic is here.

Here is WST report on the other matches:

…

Selby will be full of confidence heading into the last four, after he earned his place courtesy of a 6-1 demolition of Judd Trump.

The win is Selby’s first over Trump since 2015, having lost their previous five encounters. Today’s result is a dramatic reversal of fortunes against Trump for the four-time Crucible king.

It was Trump who took the opening frame this afternoon with a break of 70, but from there it was Selby who took full control of the tie. Breaks of 63, 75, 87, 80 and 83 helped him to six on the bounce and a place in the last four.

“As it turned out, Judd didn’t perform anywhere near as well as he can. When people like Judd play like that you have to try and capitalise. It doesn’t come round very often. Normally he is very good and unplayable or he plays to a good level,” said four-time World Champion Selby.

“China is an important part of our calendar and to not have it for three or four years has been tough. To come back with no restrictions is great and I speak on behalf of all of the players that we are happy to come back here.”

Australia’s Neil Robertson confirmed his place in the last four with a comprehensive 6-1 demolition of China’s Fan Zhengyi.

Robertson looked in deep trouble in his opening match against Ding Junhui, trailing 5-3, but he rallied to take the final three frames and emerge a 6-5 victor. Things were more straightforward for the 23-time ranking event winner this evening.

Breaks of 77, 62 and 107 helped 23-time ranking event winner Robertson to victory in just over two hours. He’s just one match from sealing a maiden appearance in the Shanghai Masters final. Standing in his way is World Champion Luca Brecel.

Brecel overcame Welsh Open champion Robert Milkins to book his semi-final slot. The Belgian had trailed 2-0 and 3-2 in this evening’s clash, but strung together four frames on the bounce to ensure he progressed to Saturday’s second semi-final.

I can’t comment on the Selby v Trump and the Robertson v Fan matches as I saw nothing of them. One observation though: strangely, whilst Ronnie and John Higgins have played each other a zillion times, Selby and Trump have clashed relatively rarely, considering they both reach the latter stages of events regularly. In general Trump had had the upper hand. Yesterday, Selby appeared very happy after the match, so he must be playing well.

Ronnie and Mark will play the first semi-final over two sessions – best of 19 – in Shanghai today. They will ply 9 frames in the first session, and a possible 10 in the second session. Based on what they have shown so far this week, I have to make Mark Selby favourite. That said, Ronnie yesterday really showed an iron will to win, so I certainly don’t write him off.

Neil Robertson won easily – by 6-1 – but it’s not as if he made a century in every frame. Fan was the only Chinese player remaining in the draw and that added a lot of pressure on his young shoulders? Comments from those who watched that match are welcome…

Luca Brecel beat Robert Milkins by 6-3 and this was a strange one. Milkins looked by far the stronger player in the first half of the match. He lead 2-0 and 3-2. After that, he appeared to lose both his game and his confidence. Luca didn’t score particularly heavily, but he came up with a lot of creative and unconventional shots, and got most of them. That type of game is difficult to play against.

Neil and Luca will play their semi-final tomorrow.

Here are some images of yesterday matches, minus the Ronnie v Higgins one), shared on Weibo by Sina Billiards

And also some pictures shared by Neil Robertson on Weibo. He’s meeting the fans after his win over Ding Junhui.

Ronnie beat John Higgins by 6-5 this morning (in Europe) in an extraordinary quarter-final match.

Ronnie was nowhere near his best and struggled with the humid conditions. It was 2-2 at the MSI, but Higgins had been the better player. When they resumed, Higgins seemed to run away with the match: he won the next three frames. In the next, Higgins was first in again and looked a certain winner … Ronnie however didn’t give up. He won that frame from 58-0 down, and took the next as well. At that point his highest break was a mere 44 … and them he found something from nowhere. He forced the decider with a 100, then scored a 130 in the last frame to steal the match.

Ronnie’s form was poor, he made many mistakes, which maybe isn’t that surprising given that he hasn’t played competitively since last April, but his attitude and resilience were exemplary.

Here are the scores

Here is the report by WST:

O’Sullivan Rallies To Extend Streak

Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan battled back from the brink at 5-2 down, to beat old adversary John Higgins 6-5 and clinch his place in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

Victory means O’Sullivan extends his unbeaten run in the event, which he won the three previous runnings of between 2017 and 2019. The Rocket has won his last 17 matches in Shanghai and was last beaten in the city by Michael Holt back in 2016.

This afternoon’s showdown was the latest instalment of one of snooker’s standout rivalries. With 70 ranking titles between them, O’Sullivan and Higgins have become accustomed to competing against one another on the sport’s grandest stage. Today’s result means 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan now leads the head-to-head standings 38-33.

Defeat will come as a bitter blow for 31-time ranking event winner Higgins, who has suffered a number of agonising losses in recent times. The Glaswegian hasn’t managed to pick up silverware in a knock out event since the 2021 Players Championship, having been runner-up in five events between now and then.

It was Higgins who made all of the running to gain a stranglehold on today’s encounter, with his opponent struggling to find his form. Higgins crafted breaks of 103, 115, 71 and 74 on his way to moving one from the win at 5-2.

At that point it appeared O’Sullivan had a mountain to climb, but Higgins began to falter with the finishing line in sight. He spurned chances to close out the tie in the eighth and ninth frames, with the battling O’Sullivan capitalising to close the gap to 5-4.

Englishman O’Sullivan found his best form at the crucial moment and made Higgins pay. A century break of exactly 100 forced the decider, where he deposited a sublime long red and conjured a total clearance of 130 to emerge a 6-5 victor. The result sets up a semi-final showdown with Mark Selby tomorrow.

O’Sullivan said: “He should have put me away really. He had enough chances. He was 5-2 up and in control of the game, uncharacteristically for John he didn’t finish it off. He looked a little bit disappointed with himself. I didn’t expect to do anything because I was really awful. I’ve been awful for about 18 months now and that is a long time to not find any form.

“When you’ve got a nice crowd and a nice venue it forces you to dig in, you don’t really want to lose. At this tournament you give it 100% all of the way. I have a good record here and it would be nice to get to the final.

“I don’t play to entertain, I just play the way I play. Judd is similar to me and Jimmy White was the same, we play an attacking game. Luca Brecel is amazing and I love watching him. He is my favourite player to watch. That is the way he plays the game. If you ask Judd and Luca if they play to entertain, they would just say they play their game. I think the crowd enjoy more attacking snooker though.”

Here is the pivotal frame 8, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel

And this is the decider, also shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel

And this is Ronnie’s – rather downbeat – post-match interview, shared by WST on their YouTube channel

And a few images, shared by WST on social media

Ronnie’s reward for his efforts is to play Mark Selby tomorrow over best of 19 frames… 🤨

The second round – last 16 round – at the 2023 Shanghai Masters concluded yesterday evening and yielded the following QF line-up:

• Ronnie v John Higgins
• Mark Selby v Judd Trump
• Fan Zhengyi v Neil Robertson
• Robert Milkins v Luca Brecel

Ronnie qualified for that round by beating Ali Carter by 6-3 and you will find my report on that match here.

This is WST report on the other matches played on Tuesday

(minus the part already quoted about Ronnie’s win)

Higgins continued his good form this season with a 6-3 win over 2015 Shanghai Masters winner Kyren Wilson. The Glaswegian fired in breaks of 63, 53, 57, 100 and 52 on his way to this afternoon’s victory. The 31-time ranking event winner made the semi-finals at the recent European Masters and will head into his showdown with O’Sullivan full of confidence.

Judd Trump came through a nerve shredding encounter with close friend Jack Lisowski 6-5. Trailing 43-1 in the final frame, he stepped up with a brilliant break of 74 to secure victory.

The Ace in the Pack is seeking a maiden Shanghai Masters title this week, having lost in three previous finals. Next up Trump faces Mark Selby, who also required a deciding frame to beat Hossein Vafaei 6-5.

Mark Williams and Robert Milkins claimed their last 16 spots with respective 6-1 wins over Pang Junxu and Bai Yulu. Williams will now face World Champion Luca Brecel, while Milkins goes up against Shaun Murphy.

And this is what happened yesterday as reported by WST:

Belgian Bullet Outpowers Welsh Potting Machine

World Champion Luca Brecel scored a superb 6-5 win over Welshman Mark Williams to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

Brecel is making just his second appearance since claiming a sensational maiden world title back in May, when he defeated Mark Selby 18-15 in the Crucible final. The Belgian narrowly missed out on becoming world number one for the first time at the recent European Masters. He needed to make the semis to achieve the feat, but a 5-4 loss at the hands of Barry Hawkins in the last 16 ended his chances.

Williams’ Crucible campaign last season was also ended at the hands of Brecel after a 13-11 defeat, meaning he has now lost their last two meetings. However, Williams still leads the head-to-head record, having won all four of their other encounters on the World Snooker Tour.

It was Williams who took the early initiative this afternoon, winning a truncated opening frame on the final black. He then crafted a break of 74 to take the second and lead 2-0.

Brecel came flying back into contention with the sort of snooker which saw him climb to the top of the sport earlier this year. Breaks of 77, 92 and 107 saw him surge in front at 3-2. Williams responded immediately though and a contribution 110 helped him to regain parity at 3-3.

The next two frames were shared, before Brecel moved one from victory at 5-4. He eventually potted a long range pink in the tenth to leave Williams needing the final red with a black and the colours, trailing by 35. However, the black was safe and he was unable to turn the frame around. Brecel progresses to face Robert Milkins in the quarters.

“He is very tough to face. There was one shot which was impossible and I knew he was going to knock it in. He did and that is typical Mark Williams. He is so tough,” admitted 28-year-old Brecel.

“I’ve not been practising yet this season. I have been practising in Shanghai, I always do at tournaments. I’m going to be practising, it isn’t going to be like this forever. I played well at the European Masters, that was unexpected. I have had some long travels and exhibitions in the USA. My time was all over the place and I did think I had a chance of winning the tournament in Germany. I’m not so confidence here but as long as you keep winning then you have a chance.”

Milkins sealed his progression thanks to a thrilling 6-5 defeat of 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy.

The encounter was a repeat of their Welsh Open final showdown from earlier this year, when Milkins prevailed 9-7 in the best moment of his career thus far. The 47-year-old enjoyed another important win over Murphy this evening.

With the score locked at 2-2, it was Murphy who made a significant move firing in runs of 95 and 134 to move 4-2 ahead. Milkins responded with three on the bounce, including a break of 120, to move just one from victory at 5-4. Although Murphy forced a decider, a decisive break of 64 from Milkins saw him make the quarters.

Australia’s Neil Robertson came from behind to behind to beat China’s home hero Ding Junhui 6-5.

The Thunder from Down Under endured a difficult campaign last season, failing to make it beyond the semi-finals of any individual event. However, this evening’s steely win will give Robertson a huge boost of confidence.

With Ding leading 5-3, 23-time ranking event winner Robertson hammered home contributions of 72, 71 and 65 to turn the match on its head and seal a significant deciding frame win. Next up he faces Fan Zhengyi in the last eight.

Fan scored a brilliant 6-3 defeat of world number three Mark Allen to earn his quarter-final berth.

Fan’s only other appearance in this prestigious tournament came back in 2018, when he was whitewashed 6-0 by Stuart Bingham. Since then the now 22-year-old’s reputation has risen greatly, having beaten Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of the 2022 European Masters.

Northern Ireland’s Allen was Player of the Season in the previous campaign and he came out firing this afternoon, making a break of 135 on his way to a 2-0 advantage. Fan took the next two to restore parity and head into the mid-session all square and when they returned he made his move. Breaks of 88, 91 and 84 helped him four of the next five frames and an impressive victory.

And a gallery of pictures taken during that round (source Weibo – Shanghai Masters account)

The Luca Brecel v Mark Williams match and the Neil Robertson v Ding Junhui match were both excellent. I didn’t see the other matches (yet). The crowds have been good, knowledgeable and fair.

Ding’s attitude was much more positive than in his previous match. The above report by WST doesn’t tell the whole story. Neil Robertson was 3-1 at the MSI. Ding then won four frames on the bounce to lead 5-3 indeed. In those four frames he scored breaks of 117, 89, 87 and 59. In the last frame, Ding fought for snookers despite the situation looking almost desperate.

The Luca Brecel v Willo match started in high scoring mode: Willo lead by 2-0, then Luca won three on the bounce, only for Willo to equalise at 3-3. At that stage they had scored 6 breaks over 50 between them, including a 107 by Luca and a 110 by Willo. Then it became tactical and most would expect Willo to prevail under such circumstances but Luca showed that he can play that type of game as well as anyone.

It’s an elite event and it shows in all aspects: the arena, the media coverage and the quality of the matches. I know that WPBSA has to provide opportunities for all the players, and that young players need time to develop, but it’s really events like this one who sell the game to the general public.

… and, as a conclusion, this is how Mark Allen dealt with his disappointment 🙂

… losers’ corner in the gym … (sic on twitter)

Ronnie beat Ali Carter by 6-3 in the second round at the 2023 Shanghai Masters. It was Ronnie’s first true competitive match of the season and I was not sure what to expect. He wasn’t at his very best, but he played well enough, especially after being pegged back to 3-3. Ali himself was playing well too. Both made some mistakes but that’s normal. Perfect performances in snooker are rare. It’s a difficult game and we should remember that.

Ronnie is clearly motivated to do well in this event.

Here are the scores:

And the report shared by WST:

Rocket Launch In Shanghai

Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Ali Carter 6-3 in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters, to extend his winning streak in the event to 16 matches.

The Rocket won the previous three runnings of the tournament between 2017 and 2019 and hasn’t lost in Shanghai for seven years. His last defeat in the city came in 2016 against Michael Holt.

This evening’s match was O’Sullivan’s first appearance of his 32nd season on the professional circuit, against an opponent he has fared well against historically. Victory extend’s his winning head-to-head record against Carter to 16-1. O’Sullivan now faces a mouth watering quarter-final showdown with John Higgins.

O’Sullivan took the opening two frames in tonight’s last 16 encounter, before Carter got his first frame on the board. Frame four appeared to be in the balance, with a number of red in difficult positions, but seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan manoeuvred them into the open and cleared with a brilliant 99 to make it 3-1.

Carter, who won the Shanghai Masters back in 2010, refused to fade away and got back into contention with runs of 68 and 83 to restore parity at 3-3. However, 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan then produced his best snooker of the match and burst clear to the finish. Breaks of 101, 74 and 81 helped him to three on the bounce to secure a 6-3 win.

“I’d love to win this tournament and even when it was a ranking tournament, it was a fantastic event. It is a great city here in Shanghai and I really enjoy coming to this place. I love to do well in the really big tournaments and this is a very important one,” said 47-year-old O’Sullivan.

“I’ve already put him in my legends list, so everyone knows what I think about John as a player. He has been playing really well so far this season. He looked really good in Germany and has looked phenomenal in his matches here so far. It will be a tough game, but if I can give him a decent match then I will be happy with that.”

And some more quotes, reported by David Caulfield

O’Sullivan, who has won the last three editions of the Shanghai Masters, was also asked about his opinion on young players in today’s game and who his all-time top five legends of the sport are

“I’d probably say Stephen Hendry number one, Steve Davis number two, Joe Davis number three, Ray Reardon number four, and maybe John Higgins as number five.”

“There are some great young players (these days). Everybody is about as good as each other, there’s no standout player. 

“When Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis were around, they were so much better than everybody else, so it was easy to just pick one.

“But now, you have maybe five, ten, or 15 players who are maybe all as good as each other.

“I think the sport needs someone. I think the sport is always more exciting if one player can dominate, because everybody wants to see that player lose.

“At the moment, there isn’t really one player dominating. There are many, many good players, there’s a lot of very good young players.

“(There are) some good players from Belgium – Ben Mertens is good and obviously Luca winning the World Championship. China has many, many good players. 

“Si Jiahui played fantastically in the World Championship – a great talent, a great player. It’d be nice to see one of them really dominate.

“Every sport needs one, like (Max) Verstappen. He’s winning everything, and people just want to see if he’s going to lose today.

“People want to watch the really dominant players to see if somebody can beat them, so snooker needs one of them.”

Ronnie will need to play better to beat John Higgins probably. john is certainly a lot match-sharper currently and is playing very well. But if Ronnie really wants it … we shall see.

Here are some more pictures shared on social media, by WST on twitter and various sources on weibo

Ronnie’s century, shared on YouTube by ES

The end of the match, shared on YouTube by ES

And Ronnie’s press conference, shared by WSY on their YouTube channel

The second round – last 16 round – will be played to a finish today. I will report and share my thoughts on that round tomorrow.