Northern Ireland Open as it happened - Ronnie O'Sullivan cruises past Andy Hicks, Mark Selby survives scare
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ByEurosport
Updated 11/10/2021 at 20:30 GMT
Relive all the action from the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Monday boasted a bumper day of action with John Higgins, Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan all in action as well as players like Shaun Murphy and Mark Williams. Can anyone stop Judd Trump from defending his title again?
'Selby is getting a taste of his own medicine' - Star escapes torrid snooker
Thanks for your company
Join me tomorrow at 1pm for more fun!
Around the tables
Williams M 2-1 Slessor
Lines 2-0-0 Woolaston
Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Andy Hicks 4-1!
A run of 90 ends on the yellow just when another ton looked assured. But Ronnie looked pretty good out there - we shouldn't forget that Andy made him play - and meets Alfie Burden next.
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hicks (66-19)
Uncle Joe says that Ronnie now is a more complete player than ever before and he'll be delighted to know that I agree - he knows his way around a table. But he's not as good because his potting isn't as good, and when that was on there was nothing anyone could do to beat him; see the 2004 World Championships, where he played probably the best snooker ever seen. Anyway we don't need to choose because we've got both, and this is nearly over now.
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hicks (37-19)
Ronnie leaves Andy a tempter, red to middle but with the white close to the baulk cushion, and he knows that if he takes it on and misses, it could be curtains. Shonuff he takes it on and misses .. but is it curtains? It looks that way I'm afraid, TMNTPETPUAC effortlessly rolling in balls.
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hicks (6-19)
It never rains. Andy flicks the blue off the break and Ronnie pots a decent starter ... but a kiss takes him out of position, so he looks to play safe off the green, missing it. Snookered, Andy takes that green as a free ball then makes his way down the table, quickly splitting the pack to send reds everywhere. Problem is, he's on none of them, so plays back up to baulk, irritated.
Around the tables
Williams M 2-0 Slessor
Lines 1-0 Woolaston
O'Sullivan 3-1 Hicks
Andy looks exceedingly pensive as Ronnie punishes him; he's played ok tonight and tried to go for things, but a run of 65 sees him needing three straight to stay in the competition. Good luck, old mate.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hicks (14-37)
Perhaps! Andy runs out of position, then Ronnie misses a cut to the corner by a fraction ... but Andy can't quite tickle it home, and a double-kiss means that Ronnie absolutely can. This is surely going to be 3-1.
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hicks (0-30)
Oh Andy! He rushes a red and overcuts it by a good - or a bad - few inches. Ronnie then plays an attacking safety, meaning an error from either player could mean the frame ... and he's the one who makes it, not bringing the white near enough to the bottom cushion, and Andy clips in an opener then the brown and another red. Do we got ourselves a ball-game?
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hicks (0-17)
Ach, Andy rams home a red then a brown, fine pots both, only to finish bang in the cluster but on nowt. Still, he plays a decent safety, and trying to catch a stray ball thin, Ronnie misses it entirely. The reds are pretty tightly packed, but given who he is playing this is a chance for Andy...
Around the tables
Williams M 2-0 Slessor
O'Sullivan 2-1 Hicks
And now it is, a tremendous pink to the green pocket sealing the deal with the white finishing on the bottom cushion, in case of a miss. Fat chance, and a gorgeous red follows before he calls it a frame.
O'Sullivan 1-1 Hicks (66-4)
That's the thing with playing Ronnie; you're always moments away from a lovely pot you'd never manage, and he rolls in a fine red to the green pocket ... but the balls are still vexed with that airborne rest shot, ceding him no position. No matter,they're powerless when faced with is onslaught and he's soon back at the table removing them; this is nearly 2-1.
O'Sullivan 1-1 Hicks (16-4)
Andy gets first go when Ronnie plays a very poor red but he can't make anything of it and a fine cut - a fine, fine cut - gets Ronnie back with his hand on the table. But not for long; he runs out of position and we're back playing safety.
Around the tables
Williams M 1-0 Slessor
O'Sullivan 1-1 Hicks
A clearance of 55 levels the match for Andy, but really he oughtn't to have smelled that frame. You can't take anything for granted in this game and perhaps he did there.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hicks (59-33)
Eesh, Andy wobbles in the green, but he makes it, and this is going to be 1-1!
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hicks (59-33)
Or not! Ronnie looks serene then misses a red with the rest in the air - why?! - so Andy clips in a beauty, the white coming down from outside the semi-circle and clipping a ball from the middle of the table into the right corner. This is a chance, as good a chance as he's getting, and he gets nicely behind the final red meaning black to yellow will be the key shot and here it comes ... he plays it well!
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hicks (46-5)
Andy gets in and takes on a long red to keep the break going, but he catches it thin, losing the white in the process, and the way the balls are, that's going to be the frame.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hicks (33-0)
Andy leaves a long one and obviously Ronnie spanks it home, but a kiss off a red on his way back to baulk means end of break. He can see the black but opts to try for the green, clipping the blue en route, so he changes tack and plays the black but off the side cushion; nicely done.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hicks (33-0)
Yep, after a spot of safety Ronnie clips in a red from centre to top left, then hides the white behind the brown which is close to the side cushion. All Andy can do is nestle into the pack, but he plays it well and it's he who gets the next chance, a long red to left corner ... but he misses and that puts Ronnie in. He gets to 15 and looks to have run out of position, but look at that! He tickles a red along the top rail - Ronald, that is indecent! - goes down the table to keep things moving, then back up to the business end only to run out of position shortly thereafter.
O'Sullivan 1-0 Hicks
The run ends at 76, a red to the green pocket not quite making it. But already, Andy is in trouble.
O'Sullivan 0-0 Hicks (76-20)
Andy will be fuming that he had The Most Naturally Talented Player Ever To Pick Up A Cue playing nonsense for half a frame and failed to capitalise, because Ronnie looks smooth now; he's not as good as he was, but he's still the best around the black spot and at working out breaks He's also wearing an old skool Casio digital watch.
O'Sullivan 0-0 Hicks (15-20)
Ronnie goes at what looks a straightforward red, missing - he's not comfy yet - then Andy gets on the board with a short run of 14. This is getting scrappy now, neither player able to punish the errors of the other, until Ronnie uses a ball sent into baulk by Andy to snuggle in behind the green; Andy escapes but leaves one, and in seconds Ronnie is ensconced at the business end, developing pink and black
O'Sullivan 0-0 Hicks (1-0)
Andy hasn't beaten Ronnie in 26 years - though they've not played in 10 - and Ronnie needed just 46 minutes to beat Stuart Carrington yesterday. But Ronnie misses a long red and leaves a nasty little cut-back for Andy ... he misses, so Ronnie sees it away with a swerve off the cushion, his route to it blocked by both red and blue. In the process, he develops the black, but can't pot it or anything else so back up to baulk he goes
Has everyone calmed down?
No? Eeeexxxcellent.
Here they come!
Mark Selby beats Cao Yupeng 4-3!
That was a tremendous match, full of quality and excitement. Join me again in 10 minutes for Ronnie O'Sullivan v Andy Hicks!
Around the tables
Mark King 4-0 Barry Hawkins
James Cahill 4-0 Fergal O'Brien
ORDER OF PLAY MONDAY OCTOBER 11
10:00
- Yuan Sijun [94] v Alfie Burden [112]
- Lü Haotian [56] v Allister Carter [22]
- Mitchell Mann [93] v Xiao Guodong [27]
Mon 11 Oct 13:00
- Liang Wenbo [26] v Luca Brecel [37]
- Shaun Murphy [5] v Bai Langning (a)
Estimated 15:00
- James Cahill (a) v Fergal O'Brien [73]
- Mark King [55] v Barry Hawkins [11]
- Cao Yupeng [86] v Mark Selby [2]
19:00
- Ronnie O'Sullivan [3] v Andy Hicks [104]
- Mark Williams [10] v Elliot Slessor [47]
Mon 11 Oct - estimated 20:00
- Oliver Lines [67] v Ben Woollaston [43]
- Robert Milkins [35] v Kyren Wilson [6]
- John Higgins [7] v Farakh Ajaib [88]
- -
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