European Masters 2022 LIVE - Kurt Maflin faces Anthony McGill for place in semi-final after Ronnie O'Sullivan wins
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Updated 24/02/2022 at 21:50 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan takes on Ashley Hugill in round three of the European Masters as he looks to reach the quarter-final at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. Earlier there was a shock as Neil Robertson was beaten by Pang Junxu, continuing a weeks of shocks. Watch the European Masters and other top snooker live on Eurosport and discovery+.
'No one can rival him when he's playing like this!' - O'Sullivan seals win with ton
That's us for the night
Join us again tomorrow at 2.15pm GMT for the last eight!
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 5-3 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 3-5 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 5-2 Yuan Sijun
Anthony McGill beats Kurt Maflin 5-3!
That was a really enjoyable match, but Anthony can't finish it with a ton; he'll take the 91 though, and meets Liang Wenbo of Yuan Sijun next.
McGill 4-3 Maflin (68-0)
A black with the rest to right corner, what a pot that is, and Anthony is close. He goes red, black, red, and Kurt, despite making three tons, is on his way hame.
McGill 4-3 Maflin (44-0)
It's into the pack off the blue, things work out well enough because the next pot is a pearler to right-middle. Anthony looks set to close this out now.
McGill 4-3 Maflin (19-0)
Anthony doubles a starter that gets him on the black, then he starts picking at reds in baulk.
McGill 4-3 Maflin (0-0)
Kurt takes one on to the green pocket, misses it by a way and leaves a nicestarter to right-middle; Anthony misses it. Difficul game, this.
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 4-3 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 3-4 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 3-2 Yuan Sijun
McGill 4-3 Maflin
A run of 111, his third ton of the evening, and Maflin isn't going anywhere.
McGill 4-2 Maflin (10-58)
Kurt bags the black with the swan-neck in the process of constructing an opportunity to push the match into an eighth frame.
McGill 4-2 Maflin (10-5)
Oh Anthony. He misses a regulation red to left crner, anod now Kurt has another chance to close the gap. It's getting edgy aht there.
McGill 4-2 Maflin (10-4)
Oh Kurt. He misses the black, but Anthony daren't risk a started along the top cushion, cue-ball very close to object-ball, so we're going to have some safety. Not for long. Anthony us left more or less without option but to take on a long pot, so he commits to it and sends it down; this is another chance to finish things.
McGill 4-2 Maflin (1-0)
Eeesh! Nicely set up, he misses the next red along the top rail! I wonder if the situation was weighing on him - that was a chance to secure f&m and he knew it.
McGill 4-2 Maflin (1-0)
Kurt tries to take a red from the right of the tale, thwo-thirds of the way up, to left corner; he gets really close, but it squirts away. Worse, Anthony fluke-plants one in the cluster, lands on the broon, and has a chance to score some points here.
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 4-2 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 2-4 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 2-2 Yuan Sijun
McGill 4-2 Maflin
That's a brlliant break from Anthony, 85 all-told, and after sitting about for the best part of two frames, he's now one away!
McGill 3-2 Maflin (63-43)
Black to last red is the key shot - it's on the side cushion but near left corner. He's not perfect on it but he should be fine if he can get it down, given the green is pottable from almost anywhere. But he plays it really well, sees away the yellow, cuts home a delicate green, and he's nearly there.
McGill 3-2 Maflin (8-43)
Oh, Kurt. A double-kiss and Anthoyn's left an easy starter to right-middle, and this is a chance for Anthony - though the majority of remaining reds are clustered.
McGill 3-2 Maflin (0-43)
Runninout of positon a little, he sends an even better red long to the green pocket, but still no nowt, he goes in behind the black.
McGill 3-2 Maflin (0-31)
Is Kurt grooved? He strokes a red long to the yellow pocket and is up walking about the table before it's dropped, so nicely did he cue it. He's looking good now.
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 3-2 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 2-3 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 2-2 Yuan Sijun
McGill 3-2 Maflin
He can! A 103, and he's right back in this.
McGill 3-1 Maflin (1-81)
This is exactly what Kurt needed; can he turn it into a ton?
McGill 3-1 Maflin (1-50)
Kurt knows he's got to win this so the pressure he's under is not insignificant. He's handling it well, though, redeeminng a slight overrun with a decent poke to left middle.
McGill 3-1 Maflin (1-11)
Ahahaha, Kurt misses a red to right corner, but the white scuttles off to pot a different one, just as it looks like he's left Anthony in. But he can't capitalise, eventually leaves a plant, and there are points out there for Kurt.
McGill 3-1 Maflin
A poor safety from Anthony hands Kurt a starter to right-middle, but following a yellow he misses a regulation cut to right corner and is now sat on his glutus maximus. So Anthony plants a red in the cluster then nicks in behind the green off the broon, and with reds all over the show, I've no idea how you get the white safe. But Kurt does, a three-cushion escape clipping the target-ball on its last roll.
Back come the boyz
McGill 3-1 Maflin
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 2-2 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 1-3 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 1-1 Yuan Sijun
McGill 3-1 Maflin
Anthony drains the next red, and heads into the interval in good heart.
McGill 2-1 Maflin (72-7)
Anthony runs out of position with four snookers required, the white landing against the black, so he plays safe. Kurt returns to the table; good luck with that, old mate.
McGill 2-1 Maflin (45-7)
Anthony is enjoying himself out there - there's been more smiling tonight than usual - and he's gradually clearing away balls. he's not at his fluent best, taking longer than you'd expect over shots as though second-guessing himself, but he's getting the balls down.
McGill 2-1 Maflin (7-7)
A win tonight would take Kurt pretty close to tour survival, but at the table again, he misses a red with the rest and Anthony cuts it home. Then he wallops the blue home, splatters the cluster, and begins picking.
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 2-1 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 0-3 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 1-1 Yuan Sijun
McGill 2-1 Maflin
This is developing into an intriguing contest. A run of 105 and Kurt is bang back in it.
McGill 2-0 Maflin (0-66)
Kurt strikes me as one of those players who's easily knocked off stride, but easily finds it again. He's all of a sudden looking very fluent.
McGill 2-0 Maflin (0-20)
A good safety earns Kurt a chance, and he badly needs this frame. Pink and black are engaged, but the way the reds are, there's plenty of scope for blues, and as I type that, he clears a route to the aforementioned pink.
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 2-0 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 0-2 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 1-0 Yuan Sijun
McGill 2-0 Maflin
That was low-quality fare but Anthony won't care; Kurt is suffering, and he knows it.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (54-54)
Oh, Kurt. Not only doe she miss the yellow, but he leaves it, and Anthony could clear these in his kip.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (45-54)
With the rest, Kurt drills the red into the top cushion and drops it into the green pocket! That's a great shot, but what a miss he perpatrates on the yellow! He can't play consecutive good shots, but in the meantime he's tight behind the brown.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (45-46)
Anthony cuts a red to right corner, but with a redon the side cushion, he'll need a few good shots to get to it, pot it, and get to a colour; he plays the first nicely, but he's an inch or two shoty of being behind it and can't quite force it down. He does, though leave it on the top rail, so Kurt can't pot it.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (33-46)
Off the brown, Jurt brings the white back into the pack but has no luck with position; the chase for the last three reds is on.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (33-31)
Not much of a while. Anthony pulls his cue on a yellow, so though it still goes down, he's not on a red, so plays safe. Not safe enough; Kurt finds a starter and really needs to get his arm going through this run.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (23-20)
Anthony, though, misses to the yellow pocket, then Kurt cues all the way across one to the green; he's not at it at all here, and he's going to be sat down a while now, because Anthony is at an inviting-looking table.
McGill 1-0 Maflin (14-20)
Both men miss long reds, then Anthony sends a lovely one long to the yellow pocket. But, er, my eight-year-old runs in and disturbs me so I miss seeing what he misses; nevertheless, Kurt is at the table potting. Until he misses a simple red to left-middle! The ball pop over the edge then pops back up again and he knows that's a huge oversight.
Around the tables
Dave Gilbert 1-0 Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick 0-1 Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo 0-0 Yuan Sijun
McGill 1-0 Maflin
I think the match-up here suits Anthony, who's got tight safety and is potting well.
McGill 0-0 Maflin (67-0)
Nice from Anthony, who looks in decent touch.
McGill 0-0 Maflin (41-0)
Anthony catches a cannon thick and from then on he's chasing, eventually missing a red to left corner. So Kurt takes one a cut-back to the same pocket - that's what he does - misses - and hands Anthony another chance to put the frame away.
McGill 0-0 Maflin (19-0)
This is a big night for Kurt, who needs ranking points to stick on the tour. His win last night was an odd one - at nearly 3-1 down, he'd almost given up, then he stole frame four and rediscovered himself. But it's Anthony who's in first, and though the pink's on the broon spot, he's got blue and black with which to work.
The boyz they baize
Results from earlier
Sunny Akani 2-5 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 2-5 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 5-3 Yan Bingtao
Evening everyone
And welcome to our evening. We'll be focusing on Anthony McGill v Kurt Maflin, but also going on we've got:
Dave Gilbert v Pang Junxu
Fraser Patrick v Tom Ford
Liang Wenbo v Yuan Sijun
That's us done for the afternoon
Join me at 6.45pm GMT for Maflin v McGill!
Around the tables
Sunny Akani 2-4 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 1-4 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 2-3 Yan Bingtao
Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Ashley Hugill 5-2!
Ashley played well, but made too many unforced errors to beat someone of Ronnie's calibre. Next for TMNTPETPUAC, it's Fraser Patrick or Tom Ford.
O'Sullivan 4-2 Hugill (53-8)
No you don't! Ronnie finally releases the black, then misses a regulation pot to right corner! Can Ashley punish him? Er, no. He catches the black too thin and leaves himself with no red then, playing safe, doesn't get the white far enough down the table and when Ronnie sinks it, it's effectively the end.
O'Sullivan 4-2 Hugill (45-0)
Ronnie frees the pink, the continues removing reds to allowi the black to pass into the corners, drawing nearer to victory all the while. It's hard to see him missing, but he's made messes of a few easy balls this week, so you never know (you do know).
O'Sullivan 4-2 Hugill (6-0)
Ashley hits the wrong side of a red trying a long pot to right corner and leaves Ronnie a simple starter. The way Ronnie's been potting, that might mean curtains.
Around the tables
Sunny Akani 1-4 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 0-4 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 1-3 Yan Bingtao
O'Sullivan 4-2 Hugill
One mistake was all it took, yet another ton - 105 this time - meaning that Ronnie needs one more, while Ashley needs three straight.
O'Sullivan 3-2 Hugill (40-8)
The frame is disappearing fast as Ronnie disappears balls - his long potting isn't what it was, but he's still dynamite in the balls.
O'Sullivan 3-2 Hugill (7-8)
Again, it's Ashley in first, but playing a cannon on the red next to the black to ruffle the pack that's next to it, he misses the pot. There aren't many loose balls so no need to despair just yet, but we all know how this scenario usually resolves.
Around the tables
Sunny Akani 1-3 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 0-4 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 1-3 Yan Bingtao
O'Sullivan 3-2 Hugill
The break finishes on 73, and this is getting interesting.
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hugill (0-73)
In commas they're discussing the balance between attack and defence when you play Ronnie, but I think Ashley's issue is that he was nervous at the start so didn't play well. He's bang in the match now, though!
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hugill (0-38)
Ashlety gets himself in, and again has a chance to get to within one; here comes the split. He goes in gently off the blue, presumably feart to dig in too hard lest he miss, and that's just about alright. He's on one with others he'll be able to get to, and this is a framewinning opportunity now.
Around the tables
Sunny Akani 1-3 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 0-2 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 0-3 Yan Bingtao
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hugill
That one poor shot opened up a complex table and Ashley is going to pass a very unpleasant interval.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hugill (41-49)
Oh man, Ronnie plays a sensational shot off the black, screwing down the table off the side to get behind the final red along the bottom cushion. This'll be 3-1.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hugill (25-49)
A poor shot from Ashley - who follows the removal of a red by poking the black onto the side - allows Ronnie to drop in a red left for him, then drop in behind the big boy, and down it goes. That's a tremendous oversight - Ashley could've knocked the pink safe - and it might cost him a frame he worked so hard to win.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hugill (1-48)
Having removed all the easy reds, Ashley now has to deal with those close to black cush and doesn't get high enough on the pink to make disturbing one easy. So he tries a blue to the yellow pocket, misses, and manages to leave nowt.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hugill (1-23)
But he hangs tough and clips a long red to right corner, then sets about adding to his score. He's playing at his own pace, nice and considered, and for the second afternoon running, Ronnie might somehow find himself with a 2-2 interval score.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hugill (1-0)
Ronnie's cueing nicely here and he snks a fine long red to left corner. But because it doesn't go down clean, he's not on a colour, laying a snooker behind the yellow instead; Ashley escapes, but he's well behind in the exchange.
Around the tables
Sunny Akani 1-2 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 0-1 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 0-2 Yan Bingtao
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hugill
Well done Ashley, love. He's settled now! 77 and the frame; do we got ourselves a ball-game?
O'Sullivan 2-0 Hugill (0-65)
Ach, immediately afterwards he runs out of positon and plays safe, but when Ronnie misses to right-middle there's an easier ome there for Ashley, and he quickly sets about securing the frame.
O'Sullivan 2-0 Hugill (0-36)
He can't, running out of position and playing safe, but when Ronnie misses a red by a surprising distance, he sinks one diagonnaly to left corner. That was a decent pot, and he's starting to settle, I think; I hope.
O'Sullivan 2-0 Hugill (0-21)
Ronnie leaves a mid-distance one and Ashley clunks home nicely; can he parlay it into a significant contribution? He's going to have to.
Around the tables
Sunny Akani 1-0 Ryan Day
Jordan Brown 0-0 Graeme Dott
Fan Zhengyi 0-1 Yan Bingtao
O'Sullivan 2-0 Hugill
Ronnie takes a yellow following a red, which means no century - 96 will have to suffice - but he'll cope.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hugill (61-0)
Serenely, Ronnie reaches the snookers-required stage, and there are just enough balls on the table for him to make another ton.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hugill (32-0)
Ronnie's cue-ball control isn't where it usually is, so he has to chase, eventually conceding defeat and playing safe. But he's soon back at the table, Ashely trying to force a long one parallel with the side rail to right corner but jawsing it; that's the closest he's got to one of theose so far, but snooker being snooker, I think that's going to cost him the frame.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hugill (8-0)
Spooked, as you would be, Ashley tries the Mark J break and sinks the first red, but can't progress from there, then Ronnie misses one to left-middle. So Ashley has a go at a long one and doesn't get close, then when Ronnie misses a cross-double and leaves it, he misses ac ut to middle. He's not settled yet, and when Ronnie bags the ball he missed, making hsi way up to the black in the process, he must be fearing the worst - and rightly so.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hugill
Ahahahaha! A total clearance of 141, and it appears that Ronnie is alright at snooker.
O'Sullivan 0-0 Hugill (76-0)
Ronnie did this against Zhang Anda too, winning frame one in a single visit. But he couldn't find much form thereafter, so I guess Ashley can hang onto that. Good luck old mate!
O'Sullivan 0-0 Hugill (23-0)
Ashley is 81 in the world and has beaten Ali Carter and Jack Lisowski to get to this point - a pretty decent effort. Ronnie, meanwhile, is, alongside Yan Bingtao and Anthony McGill, one of only three top-16 players left in the draw. And he's away almost immediately, left a red to cut to right corner, and if Ashley was feeling nervous at the prospect of the biggest match of his life, that will now be intensifying.
The boyz baize...
Earlier today
Dave Gilbert 5-4 Barry Hawkins
Pang Junxu 5-4 Neil Robertson
Noppon Saengkham 0-5 Liang Wenbo
Yuan Sijun 5-2 Ricky Walden
Hello!
Ready for a bit of Ronnie O'Sullivan? Course you are, and he's playing the in-form Ashley Hugill in a field that is opening up for everyone. Let's see what happens!
Pang stuns Robertson to book spot in last 16 of European Masters
Neil Robertson became the latest big-name casualty at the European Masters after suffering a 5-4 loss to Pang Junxu.
With the likes of Judd Trump, John Higgins, Mark Allen and defending champion Mark Selby falling before the business end, Robertson joined them in exiting prior to the weekend.
Read more here
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