Scottish Open 2021 – Ronnie O’Sullivan wins decider to battle past Jamie Jones in incident-packed thriller

Updated 09/12/2021 at 22:42 GMT

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jamie Jones played out a thrilling Scottish Open tie that went the distance on Thursday night. In what was their first meeting, O’Sullivan edged it 4-3 with both players playing high-quality snooker but taking their frustrations out on the table. Stream the Scottish Open live and on-demand on discovery+.

‘He loses it there!’ O’Sullivan punches table in anger during match against Jones

Ronnie O’Sullivan was given a stern test but battled past world No 44 Jamie Jones when winning their decider in the Scottish Open last 16.

Both players hit the table in frustration during a thrilling encounter which also featured a wasp and high-quality breaks.

O’Sullivan eventually edged it 4-3, and he faces Martin O'Donnell or Li Hang in the quarters next.

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“He will win a ranking tournament, he hits the ball far too good," O'Sullivan said of Jones. "He was a brilliant junior, has come back onto the tour, and is a strong player. He played the better snooker tonight but maybe the experience won through.

“I felt like I made a few mistakes, but I’m trying. I got a flow now and again, but I was hanging on in there.”

O'Sullivan dazzles with quality red and pink combo against Jones

On whacking the table, O’Sullivan said: “I’ve whacked the table, then [Stephen] Maguire’s given the table a thud. I’m thinking ‘oooh’. It was quite funny.

“You’re just so frustrated. I’m then watching [Mark] Selby’s game thinking [Anthony] McGill is doing miracles and then Selby does two tons back to back. You’re watching such good snooker then trying to play your own game. It’s great out there.”

A wayward safety shot from Jones gifted O’Sullivan an opening in the first frame, and a quick-fire break of 96 helped ‘The Rocket’ go 1-0 in front.

Jones, a semi-finalist at the Scottish Open last year, hit back with an impressive 131 – his fourth century of the season.

The clearance alerted O’Sullivan he was in for a tough contest, and he made his frustrations clear in the third frame when punching the table after losing positioning.

An action-packed frame then saw a wasp land on the baize and ended when O’Sullivan fluked the red into the middle pocket when chasing snookers.

Leading 2-1, Jones had a chance to go two clear, but after a long red opened the pack, he whacked the table himself when the white cannoned off a red into the pocket as well.

Jones follows O’Sullivan’s lead in whacking table during Scottish Open encounter

O’Sullivan made the most of his opportunity back at the table with a 73, and having clearly composed himself he took a 3-2 lead with an 85.

Despite being a frame away from defeat, it was Jones who stepped up in the sixth frame, and a quality 94 forced a decider in his first match against the six-time world champion.

Jones had the first chance when potting straight after O’Sullivan’s break, and he put 29 on the board before a tricky blue rattled the jaws and stayed out.

A tense safety exchange followed before O’Sullivan potted a loose red, and a 66 put him within touching distance of the next round.

Chasing three snookers, Jones left the yellow open but a surprising miss from O’Sullivan kept the Welshman in the frame.

It was soon over, however, with O’Sullivan sinking a long green to clinch it.

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Stream the Scottish Open live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live via Eurosport and at eurosport.co.uk

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