Ronnie O’Sullivan races into round four at UK Championship

The Englishman was briefly behind as Georgiou posted a 52 break in the opener – the first time O’Sullivan had dropped a frame in the tournament – but he duly reeled off six straight frames to take another convincing win.

"He's not human - the way he's playing at the moment I can't see anyone beating him," world number 99 Georgiou said.

O’Sullivan will next face either Matthew Stevens or Joe Perry.

The 40-year-old was pleased with his opponent's comments, but insisted there was a long way to go before he could start celebrating.

"It's nice to get that recognition because I've been in the sport for so long and won all the titles, but for a fellow pro to say that means they appreciate the way you play and that's the biggest compliment I could take away from snooker," said O'Sullivan.

"I'm not even half-way through the event and there's such a long way to go, but hopefully I can stay in as long as I can and enjoy it as long as I can."

Peter Lines' dream of a father-son final are over after he fell to Liam Highfield 6-2.

Son Oliver Lines, who stunned Judd Trump in the second round, is in action on Wednesday.

Mark Selby's passage was serene as he eased past Robert Milkins 6-1, while Belgian 21-year-old Luca Brecel won by the same margin against Yu De Lu.