International Championship snooker 2023 recap - Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Ali Carter in quarter-finals

Join us again tomorrow for Jordan Brown v Tom Ford in the first semi-final!

Zhang Anda 5-3 Ding Junhui

And Ding needs two snookers to win the tenth.

They made hard work of that, but it's Ronnie who progresses - he leads Ali 17-1 over their careers - and he'll meet either Zhang Anda or Ding Junhui next.

Now then. Ali gets a snooker behind the black, then seeking another, accidentally doubles the last red into the green bag. He grins ruefully, and if he can't sink his colour - the brown - I expect he'll shake hands because he'll need more snookers. But he nails it into the green bag, so round we go.

Ach, Ronnie misses a diagonal pink to left corner but, vexed as he is, he still leads by 50 with 43 left.

Nice from Ronnie, who calmly removes balls; he's seemed a bit more dialled-in since missing the red to middle, and this looks a lot like the end.

Oh Allister! He goes for a starter to right corner and gets so close he leaves it - and a whole lot else besides. Normal circumstances, curtains; by today's standards, who knows?

Ronnie leaves a starter and Ali punches it down, but oh, Allister. Tickling a red into left corner, hew improbably goes in-off, off the top cushion, then Ronnie misses a pot by a distance and at pace, somehow leaving noting.

Zhang Anda 5-3 Ding Junhui

Ronnie goes one away and maybe missing the ball then remonstrating with his cue focused his mind.

Another scrappy one, but a red into left corner secures it for Ronnie.

Er, or not. A poor positional shot forces Ronnie to play safe and his cue feels the full force of his disappointment. Then, a few shots later, he sinks a really nice starter into left corner and a lovely brown, glid to the green bag leaves him in prime position.

Ali runs out of position and plays safe, but leaves Ronnie a long one which he eases down. The black's on the top rail and pink on the brown spot, so crafting a break from here won't be easy, but the lingering fume of the previous frames might prove inspirational.

Stuck behind the brown, Ronnie hits the pink with his escape then, left a similar shot to the one Ali sunk last frame - off the side to pot a ball over the opposite corner - he misses and leaves a chance. The way this match is going, it's unlikely to be definitive, but players as good as these can roll in a huge break at any moment.

Zhang Anda 4-3 Ding Junhui

I've not a clue who's going to win this; neither man is playing especially well.

Ali tries one to the yellow bag and leave it on the lip, but Ronnie misses a red to left corner and though the black is between it and the white, and contact off the cushion will send it down so Ali comes off the side and sees it away. That'll be 4-4.

Needing just one more red for 4-4, Ali somehow stuns in a pink and the white just stops on impact; he's on nothing, and the lead is 51 with 59 on, none of those points safe.

Ali strokes down a nice diagonal starter and this is a really good chance to turn this into a best of three. Ronnie will be spewing, because that last frame should've been his.

Oh dear. Ali sinks black but sends a red into right-centre; Ronnie can't capitalise.

I take a comfort break and return to see Ali at the table draining a long red. But it'll take a serious effort to convert this into a telling contribution.

Zhang Anda 3-4 Ding Junhui

That miss by Ronnie - the red to middle - would have near enough killed the match. Now, though, it's very much alive.

Ali chips yellow into right corner - it's a very good pot, this, because the ball wasn't that proximate to the pocket - then sees off green and brown! Failing disaster, the gap is about to narrow.

Ali breaks the two, sinks the first ... and jawses the second! Oh Ali! Ohhhh maaaate! Ronnie still has the yellow issue,and with the green near the pink spot, it'd help if he could drain it en route back to baulk ... and he plays a fantastic shot .... only to miss the pot, along the rail, which did everything but drop! He doesn't leave it, though, so the chase is on.

Very quickly, Ronnie disappears balls ... then, playing position, misses to right-centre with the frame and almost the match at his mercy! This game! the clear-up, though, isn't easy because Ali will need two reds stuck together on the top rail and the yellow is in the middle of the bottom....

Terrific starter from Ali, creamed to right corner, but then potting his second red he goes in-off. Ronnie, though, can't capitalise, and it's Ali back at the table now ... until he catches a cut thick, and leaves a proper chance. He's in trouble.

Zhang Anda 2-3 Ding Junhui

Might that be the crucial blow?

The aforementioned decent safety - a telling one when he needed it - incites the error, and Ronnie clears up.

Ali punishes a screaming long starter into right corner, but just as he's looking settled, he finishes slightly out of position and misses a red to left corner you don't expect him to. If Ronnie can nab the frame from here, it might sort this match. But can he get onto the last two reds, just above black cush? Er, not really. The cannon works, but one ends up blocking the other, so it's a decent safety instead.

Bereft of options, Ali plays a strange shot, rolling up into a red on the side rail. So Ronnie sends it down via cut-back and gets to work - though, as Nealf points out, the balls are running awkwardly in this match. But then, as I type, Ronnie misses to left corner, leaving plenty ... except Ali jawses his starter! That might be a frame-loser ... except Ronnie sends the white down after the red! He doesn't leave anything though, so off we go again with safety.

Zhang Anda 2-3 Ding Junhui

Revenge is best served steaming hot! Ronnie immediately regains the lead with a late clear-up, and Ali will be feeling peaky.

NOW THEN! Ali rams a mid-distance red straight down the side of the table ... and it stays out! Can Ronnie avenge the theft of the previous frame? The colours are on their spots...

Ali breaks the cluster off the pink and he's played with lovely composure so far today. I fully expect him to polish off the frame at this visit - but of course, this is a difficult game so who knows.

Ali misses to right corner and leaves Ronnie a chance, but a poor positional shot means he soon has to play safe ... before, eventually, leaving a long starter over the pocket. Down it goes, and the way the balls are, this is a decent opportunity.

Zhang Anda 2-2 Ding Junhui

Well done Ali Carter! A composed clearance levels the match at the mid-sesh! See you in 15 for the conclusion!

Good work Ali! He clears the reds and is now favourite for the frame! The pink, though, isn't much above black cush, so brown to blue, to get an angle to drop onto pink means two crucial shots and a potentially difficult pot to cement the snaffle...

The split goes well, who knew, but with the frame not quite secure he gets stuck in between reds so tries sending one long to the yellow bag; it looks for all the world like it's in, but it stays out and over; can Ali steal?!

The tide might've changed here. Ronnie is quickly in and quickly removes the loose balls; if the split goes well, he'll be two in front.

Zhang Anda 1-2 Ding Junhui

Yup, Ronnie does the necessary. Ali might be concerned he's playing the better safety and still losing.

Ronnie breaks the pack, and though he'll need the difficult red on black cush, he can, at the least, rack up a decent advantage.

Ronnie snicks another lovely long starter into right corner and now the table is much more inviting...

Ali jumps the white whether by accident or design, hits a red - not the one he played for, reckons Fouldsy - and leaves nothing. Excellent work.

Eesh, Ali misses a red to right corner and Ronnie drains a tremendous starter to the opposite bag. There's a lot of work to do if he's to record a serious score here, and shonuff he soon plays safe off the yellow ... snuggling right in behind the brown, close to the baulk rail. That is a brute, because the yellow - off which he got a lovely second kiss - is now blocking the route down one side of the table.

Again, it's Ali who wins the safety, getting away to right-middle when Ronnie leaves him one, and if this continues he's a really good chance of besting his old foe.

Zhang Anda 1-1 Ding Junhui

Ronnie was the better player in that frame, but I wonder if Ali ends up rueing not stealing it when he had the chance

Ronnie runs out of position so plays safe ... and again, Ali wins the safety exchange that follows. But then, he undercuts what looks like a straightforward red to left corner ... but Ronnie can't polish off, instead finding himself snookered. And when he hits the wrong side of the red, he leaves a chance along the top rail ... only for Ali to miss the pot! That will surely mean 1-1.

Ronnie quickly gets in and drains a lovely recovery-pot into right-centre. He's about the black spot potting balls, and though he'll soon have to break the pack, currently he's picking at it to fine effect.

Zhang Anda 0-1 Ding Junhui

Tom Ford 6-4 Barry Hawkins

Stepohen Maguire 5-6 Jordan Brown

A 51 then a 65, and Ali is in front.

Not for (that) long. Again, it's Ali who plays the telling safety, Ronnie foul-misses twice and the second time leaves an opening. Ali is going in front!

Oooh, Ali runs out of position - even Nealf thinks he's on a red - so he plays safe and Ronnie, who loves playing in China, complains to the ref that camera-clicks from the crowd are distracting. But the frame remains in the balance.

These two aren't keen on each other, which is a good basis for any contest. And it's Ali with the first chance: he wins a safety exchange after ceding four with a foul, and the table isn't uninviting. He runs into trouble by landing the ball in the pack, but wise spider-deployment resolves that situation, and this is now a frame-winning opportunity.

And welcome to Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ali Carter in the International Championship quarter-final!

What happened yesterday?

World No. 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan moved into the International Championship quarter-finals with a comfortable win over Anthony McGill in Tianjin.

On a day of shocks that saw Mark Selby and John Higgins suffer early exits, O’Sullivan showed no such wobbles as he racked up a 6-2 victory to extend his head-to-head dominance over the Scot to 7-1.

The Rocket will face Ali Carter next for a place in the semi-finals as he continues his bid for a second title of the season, but first ranking trophy, following his Shanghai Masters victory in September.

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