International Championship snooker 2023 recap - Ronnie O'Sullivan into quarter-finals, Mark Selby and John Higgins out
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Updated 09/11/2023 at 11:25 GMT
Relive Eurosport's live text coverage of the last 16 of the International Championship snooker tournament as Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Anthony McGill to claim a place in the quarter-finals in Tianjin. There were early shocks as both Mark Selby and John Higgins were beaten by Tom Ford and Jordan Brown respectively. Judd Trump is also out of the tournament as his winning streak ended.
O'Sullivan clinches victory over Jones to progress at International Championship
Join us again on Thursday
That's it for our coverage of today's action in Tianjin. Be sure to log on again tomorrow from 11.15 GMT as we head into the business end with the quarter finals at the 2023 International Championship.
RESULT - O’SULLIVAN 6-2 MCGILL
McGill lines up a long red to the green pocket but it jostles with the jaws before popping back out.
It’s the last realistic hope of a pot at this tournament as O’Sullivan extends his lead and then slots in a pink to the bottom left pocket to leave the Scot needing a miracle.
O’Sullivan continues through what is effectively a victory lap as he a run of 53 secures a spot in the last eight against Ali Carter.
O’SULLIVAN 5-2 MCGILL (35-0)
The Rocket nicks the opening red and sinks a pink to the bottom right corner.
A triple plant on a red to the left corner earns a rush of applause and he screws back nicely for a pink.
It looks ominous for McGill at this point but O’Sullivan runs out of options with the pack still pretty much intact and errs on the side of caution with a safety off a break of 35.
AROUND THE TABLES
- Stephen Maguire 4-4 Ryan Day
- Barry Hawkins 3-5 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Ding Junhui 5-2 Pang Junxu
O’SULLIVAN 5-2 MCGILL
O’Sullivan ends the discussion with a diagonal brown up to the green pocket and clears up to the black to move within a frame of victory.
O’SULLIVAN 4-2 MCGILL (62-34)
This frame won’t be long remembered but it could be very significant in the outcome of this match.
O’Sullivan gives McGill one more sniff at reducing the arrears, but the Glaswegian Gladiator has lost some spark at present and at the umpteenth time of asking, The seven-time World Champion take charge.
A sublime double on the final red sizzles into the middle left pocket leaves McGill needing favours, but a careless attempt at a snooker behind the black means McGill is more than ready to return in search of snookers.
Ronnie knocks in the yellow but snookers himself on the green. McGill does indeed earn one foul before knocking in the green, but it's still a tall order to turn this around and you sense Anthony is just delaying the inevitable here.
O’SULLIVAN 4-2 MCGILL (4-27)
The Scot picks off a superb, slow-paced red up to the yellow pocket but it’s another false dawn as his run ends on six.
O’SULLIVAN 4-2 MCGILL (4-21)
Well, it’s gone very scrappy now.
The World No.1 sizzles a long red straight down the middle of the corner left pocket but that’s pretty much as good as it gets as he can only muster four.
Surely McGillcan't waste this opportunity from here...
O’SULLIVAN 4-2 MCGILL (0-21)
O’Sullivan tries to tease a red up to middle left but it catches the near jaw and flies back into play.
McGill can only eight from there and you get the feeling his failure to take these decent openings is going to cost him here.
O’SULLIVAN 4-2 MCGILL (0-13)
Anthony has the demeanour of a man who thinks it isn’t his day. He feels he gets a kick off a pot on the black to the corner right that leaves him too high on what would have been a routine red. He navigates his way past that obstacle but then leaves the ensuing black hovering over that same bottom right bag.
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'King of the doublers' Higgins fires red off cushion and into pocket
O’SULLIVAN 4-2 MCGILL
An incredible, long red to the left corner has the audience gasping but Ronnie’s cut on the black down to the same pocket teeters on the brink before staying out.
McGill looks to seize the initiative but can only knock in a solitary red.
O’Sullivan probably deserved a second bite of the cherry given how good that opening pot was (McGill may not agree!), and he produces another swashbuckling run to leave his opponent rooted to his seat.
The century alludes The Rocket as the final red refuses the invitation of the green pocket, but a break of 89 is more than enough to secure a two-frame cushion.
O’SULLIVAN 3-2 MCGILL
It’s only a very brief frustration for The Rocket as he quickly earns a second chance and eases out of sight.
McGill will rue such a careless start to the second session and will have to play catch-up once more.
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O'Sullivan makes 'timely' century to level against McGill
O’SULLIVAN 2-2 MCGILL (54-0)
Ouch. McGill returns from the interval and produces a heavy long shot that smashes a red near the bottom cushion and sends the pack fizzing nomadically across the table.
It’s enough to get O’Sullivan leaping out of his seat to assess the plentiful options available to him.
He tucks in a red to the green pocket to open and has the look of a man who knows this is already a frame-winning opportunity.
Sadly for Ronnie fans – it isn’t - and he’ll be slightly disappointed by that.
He begins to lose control of the cue ball and with six reds tightly knit together in the pack, opts for a safety nudge into the green in baulk.
O’SULLIVAN 2-2 MCGILL
A careless break-off from Ronnie allows The Glaswegian Gladiator to pounce and nick in a long red that was given an early nosebleed up in baulk by the green pocket.
McGill makes the most of the opening and looks to be having some joy with that carbon cue and black glove.
There’s shades of Michael Jackson in there and his fans will be urging: ‘ don’t stop til you get enough’ as he builds a very healthy lead.
A sublime, fine cut on a black to the left corner frees a red to middle left and a run of 82 is enough to send him into the interval all square.
If they keep going toe-to-toe like this, we could be in for a real ‘Thriller’ in this best-of-11-frame encounter.
That’s it for 15 minutes anyhow (and for the MJ song puns too – hopefully).
AROUND THE TABLES
- Stephen Maguire 2-1 Ryan Day
- Barry Hawkins 1-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Ding Junhui 2-2 Pang Junxu
O’SULLIVAN 2-1 MCGILL
O’Sullivan tucks in the penultimate red and a pink before missing the final red. The patchy form following that 133 clearance clearly agitates him but the two balls are enough to get him over the line and put him in front on the board.
O’SULLIVAN 1-1 MCGILL (71-19)
O’Sullivan is quickly in again but once again he falters before he can completely clear the finish line.
The World No.1 stuns a delicious long red in to hold for a black to the bottom left but a run of 24 means McGill will return despite needing snookers.
O’SULLIVAN 1-1 MCGILL (47-19)
O’Sullivan gets some joy with a speculative red that flukes in and the pendulum swings his way. A brown cut up to the yellow pocket is followed by another red and a blue to middle left.
He works his way down the table but gets careless on position after potting the pink and his next red is obstructed by the very same colour on its spot.
End of break and the frame is still up for grabs despite Ronnie’s handy lead.
O’SULLIVAN 1-1 MCGILL (21-19)
McGill snares the next opening with a red-blue-red-blue combo and suddenly he’s in the driving seat with the pack nicely spread around the black.
He screws back off one to nick the pink to the left corner but soon loses position. It’s a real let-down for the Scot as he has to play a safety with the rest from mid-table.
The Rocket may have been expecting to stay in his seat there, but now he has a lifeline…
O’SULLIVAN 1-1 MCGILL (21-0)
McGill leaves a red off a long attempt to bottom left and
Ronnie takes advantage with a red up to middle left.
He follows it with a blue to middle right and looks to be in decent nick until he lands too high on the pink. He can’t use it to cannon into the pack and has to apply a fine cut on an excellent pot with the rest. However, he fails to land on a red and has to settle for the safety.
O’SULLIVAN 1-1 MCGILL
Ronnie has first look at a loose red off McGill’s break-off and slams it to the bottom left corner with real authority.
A yellow up to the green pocket allows him to venture back down the table for a red to the left corner. He lands topside of blue and tickles it into the middle right.
He takes care of the final stray red above the black and ricochets nicely into the pack to tee up a frame-winning opportunity.
A flurry of routine black-red combos puts him out of sight and it’s all about whether he can notch up a century.
A tricky red up to middle left before a delightful nudge off the pink to gain access to another red to the bottom left puts him firmly on course and he does hit that century mark with the final red to middle left.
The colours all follow off their spots as the World No.1 completes a sublime 133 clearance to notch up the 1224th ton of his glittering career.
O’SULLIVAN 0-1 MCGILL
This time it’s McGill who halts the safety impasse when he spies a red in the middle of the open pack and guides a splendid, long pot to the left corner.
The Scot then plays a lovely snooker in-behind the green. Ronnie fails off two cushions with his first attempt at the escape but does make contact on his second.
However, he leaves a red to the right corner that McGill squeezes past the blue. The World No.19 then tucks that colour away to get it back on its spot and clears up to the final red.
He lays another snooker behind the green, but Ronnie doesn’t get out his seat with the frame well gone.
AROUND THE TABLES
- Stephen Maguire 1-0 Ryan Day
- Barry Hawkins 0-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Ding Junhui 1-1 Pang Junxu
O’SULLIVAN 0-0 MCGILL (30-57)
A lengthy tactical joust is eventually brought to an end by an excellent red up to middle left from The Rocket.
He intelligently takes care of a stray red up near baulk and screws back off a pot on the yellow to take care of a red to the bottom left.
The pink follows but his attempt to bring the cue ball around the table goes awry when he catches a colour. It’s end of break on 17 and he continues to trail in what has developed into a cagey and somewhat patchy opening frame.
O’SULLIVAN 0-0 MCGILL (13-57)
This time it’s Ronnie’s turn to miscue off two cushions as he tries to nick a red to the south-west of the pack from baulk.
The Rocket’s second and third attempts aren’t much better as McGill sits back and lets the seven-time world champion misfire his way into further trouble.
It takes eight attempts for O’Sullivan to get the thin touch he was targeting, but he seems quite content with that given the lay of the balls at present.
O’SULLIVAN 0-0 MCGILL (13-33)
The Rocket sets about punishing the miscalculation by sweeping in a mid-range red to the bottom left, but he can’t make double figures. A break of nine ends with a blue to the middle right that refuses to go down as he tried to rescue poor positioning.
A let-off apiece in the early sparring.
O’SULLIVAN 0-0 MCGILL (4-33)
McGill strikes first blood with a superb long red from right to left that sizzles into that left corner pocket.
He follows that by teasing a black to the opposite flank and sets about building a tidy tally until an unfortunate kick leaves him too far north of the black.
He can’t hide his frustration as a run of 33, with the balls relatively well placed, comes up shy. He tries to play a snooker up to the yellow, coming off two cushions, including baulk, but gets his angles wrong.
It’s a foul and miss that leaves the door open for Ronnie.
H2H
This is their eighth meeting in a professional ranking event. The Rocket leads 6-1 overall and will be a strong favourite again today.
RESULTS FROM THE EARLY MORNING ACTION
- John Higgins 3-6 Jordan Brown
- Mark Selby 3-6 Tom Ford
- Ali Carter 6-1 Daniel Wells
- Lyu Haotian 3-6 Zhang Anda
GOOD MORNING!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE updates from the 2023 International Championship. The Round of 16 action is underway in Tianjin and we’ve got a belter coming up for you as Ronnie O’Sullivan locks horns with Anthony McGill. The boys will be at the baulk from 11.30 GMT.
What happened yesterday? Trump run halted by Maguire, O'Sullivan overcomes tricky Jones
Judd Trump’s bid to win a fourth straight ranking tournament came to an end as he was beaten by Stephen Maguire in the third round of the International Championship in Tianjin, China.
Trump has been on a tear over the last month, winning the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open.
He was looking for a 23rd straight win, but lost out 6-3 to Maguire to suffer his first defeat since losing to Hammad Miah at the British Open in late September.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, meanwhile, reached the last 16 with a battling 6-4 win over Jak Jones.
Jones battled back from 4-2 down to level the scores. Although he appeared to have the momentum, he couldn’t make another opportunity count as O'Sullivan took a scrappy ninth frame to move one away from victory and finished with a flourish as he made a break of 130.
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