UK Championship snooker 2020 LIVE - Ronnie O'Sullivan crashes out in big upset

ByEurosport

Updated 30/11/2020 at 09:16 GMT

UK Championship snooker 2020 LIVE - Ronnie O’Sullivan slumped to a shock 6-5 defeat against Alexander Ursenbacher in the second round at the UK Championship. Mark Selby suffered no such drama as he thrashed Liam Highfield 6-1. Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy are on the evening billing. Watch the tournament live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app.

Shaun Murphy | Snooker | ESP Player Feature

Image credit: Getty Images

Thanks for your company

That concludes our live coverage for today, after two sessions that have really opened up this tournament. Ronnie O'Sullivan was eliminated by Alexander Ursenbacher in a final frame decider this afternoon, while Elliot Slessor comprehensively triumphed over Shaun Murphy this evening. Join us again tomorrow from 12.45pm for the start of the third round of the UK Championship.

Around the tables (best of 11)

UK Championship

‘Where’s the red??’ – Selt sinks ‘beauty’ of a fluke

00:00:41

02/12/2021 at 22:59

Jack Lisowski 6-2 Tian Pengfei

Liang Wenbo 6-3 Andy Hicks

Mark Williams 6-2 Akani Songsermsawad

Mark Joyce 2-6 Kyren Wilson

Shaun Murphy 1-6 Elliot Slessor

Pang Junxu 4-3 Noppon Saengkham

Igor Figueiredo 2-6 Joe Perry

Jordan Brown 3-4 Jamie Jones

Elliot Slessor beats Shaun Murphy 6-1

What a performance from Slessor! He lost the first frame of the evening, before keeping Murphy off the table for the next five to storm into the lead. After missing a red to the left middle when looking set to clear up and win the match, Slessor held it together superbly in a tense safety battle on the colours to cap a stunning 6-1 victory. He thoroughly deserved that, as he completely outplayed the seventh seed tonight. Slessor now advances to the third round, where he will play Lu Ning. His career record against Shaun Murphy, winner of all Triple Crown titles? Played two, won two.

Murphy 1-6 Slessor

The pink has now gone safe on the top cushion, which is good news for Murphy, as he only needs brown and blue. Slessor has left him a thin cut on the brown to the bottom left...and Murphy misses it! He played that with a lot of drag to try and hold for the blue. It's now a chance to the same pocket for Slessor, and it's there! Not only that, he nudges the pink over the bottom right and lands on the blue! That's a sensational shot. The blue is effectively frame ball, and Slessor drills it into the green pocket, screwing back for the pink. He then simply taps that in, and he's won an epic of a frame to win the match!

Murphy 1-5 Slessor (54-49)

Murphy traps Slessor behind the pink, with the brown stuck to the top cushion. Slessor gives away four when trying to drop deadweight onto it, a shot he then executes after being put back where he was. This is mighty tense.

Murphy 1-5 Slessor (50-49)

Slessor plays a really poor safety to leave Murphy a simple yellow to the left middle. Murphy tucks that in, followed by a dead straight green, before playing the brown safe with no pot on. These four balls now have an awful lot riding on them, and both players need brown, blue and pink for the frame.

Murphy 1-5 Slessor (45-49)

Slessor's choice of shot pays off, as Murphy hits one of the reds in baulk with his escape but leaves Slessor the other to the left middle. That goes, followed by the yellow, and followed by the final red which was near the left middle. Slessor can't get position on a colour though, and tucks Murphy in tight behind the pink again. From there Murphy fashions an excellent escape to hit the yellow, pushing it safe as he does so, and he's still in this frame.

Murphy 1-5 Slessor (45-45)

A break of 33 and counting puts Murphy ahead in the frame. The black follows, but he then leaves a red hanging in the jaws of the bottom left. Slessor pots the red, but rather than try and develop a red near the right rail, one of two remaining, he pots the black and plays a snooker with the white tight in behind the pink. That was a conservative shot and not in keeping with how he's played in the last five frames, but it might work out for him as he's put Murphy in all sorts of bother here.

Murphy 1-5 Slessor (5-37)

Only 20 for Slessor, as he thumps into the pack off the blue, splitting the reds but not landing on one. He leaves the white on the bottom cushion, and Murphy, who was looking at the exit door to the UK Championship there is still in business. His next shot might be his last though; a poor safety leaves Slessor a long thin cut on a red, which he snicks in before landing on a yellow to the right middle. There's a couple of wobbly shots at the start of the break, but a superb shot to pot the black and split a cluster of four reds below the pink spot leaves the frame at his mercy. Immediately though, he gives Murphy a reprieve - he's missed a straight red to the left middle! What a touch for Murphy, because Slessor looked home and hosed there.

Murphy 1-5 Slessor (5-14)

It's going to need something unbelievably special from Murphy to turn the tide in this match. Since winning the opening frame he's scored just 21 points in the last five frames, all of which have been won by Slessor. Murphy has been steamrollered, but he's in first here; a foul by Slessor leaves him a cut on a red to the bottom right, and in it goes. He then follows that up by missing an off-straight brown to the right middle, and he returns back to his chair looking utterly resigned to defeat here. Slessor is in again, and up to 14 and counting already.

Around the tables

Jack Lisowski 4-2 Tian Pengfei

Liang Wenbo 5-2 Andy Hicks

Mark Williams 3-2 Akani Songsermsawad

Mark Joyce 2-4 Kyren Wilson

Shaun Murphy 1-5 Elliot Slessor

Pang Junxu 3-3 Noppon Saengkham

Igor Figueiredo 2-5 Joe Perry

Jordan Brown 3-3 Jamie Jones

Murphy 1-5 Slessor

Slessor pots the black and brings the final red off the right rail. That's a great shot, and he plugs it into the yellow pocket with the blue straight after it to secure his century. Slessor clears up to and including the blue for a 118, and he's won a fifth frame on the spin! He needs just one more for a place in the third round.

Murphy 1-4 Slessor (0-68)

A pink takes Slessor to 61, with 75 left on the table. He cannons a small cluster of reds as he does so and they're all in better positions now. One more red and a colour will leave Murphy needing a snooker, and Slessor pots both to make it so. Can he go on and make another ton?

Murphy 1-4 Slessor (0-40)

Slessor's up to 40, and making hay in this frame. The black is on to both corners and the reds, while close to each other, reveal new potting options as they disappear one by one. After losing the first frame this has been magnificent from Slessor.

Murphy 1-4 Slessor (0-11)

Murphy is right in the muck here, because Slessor doesn't fear him or reputations in general. Not only has he beaten Murphy before, he's knocked Ronnie O'Sullivan out of a couple of ranking events too. Things soon get worse; Murphy's break leaves Slessor a cut at a red to right middle, and in it goes; he then clanks in the yellow to go into the pack off one cushion, and they split very invitingly indeed. It's early in the frame, but Slessor is looking very dangerous.

Murphy 1-4 Slessor

The frame is in the bank. A stunning blue to the green pocket, requiring a close quarters prod that risked a push shot, puts it beyond doubt. The break ends on 72, and Slessor extends his lead to three frames.

Murphy 1-3 Slessor (0-50)

Slessor takes his break to 35, and banks a total of fifty points in this frame. He's looking really good here, and with only 67 left on red-colour-red will leave Murphy needing a snooker.

Murphy 1-3 Slessor (0-15)

Slessor cleans up another red, followed by the brown, but in potting a red near the jaws of the bottom left he's now tight to the left hand rail. He has to play safe again, and Murphy is getting away with it a little in this frame. Slessor is playing better and itching to get in against an opponent who's not quite at it tonight. He soon does; Murphy leaves a red over bottom right and Slessor dispatches it, followed by a blue that sends the white around the angles to land perfectly on his next red. This is a good chance.

Murphy 1-3 Slessor (0-2)

We go again! The players are back out for the fifth frame and it's an early chance for SLessor, but he can't drop a red into the right middle from behind the baulk line. He's left it for Murphy to the same pocket...but he misses on the lower knuckle and it's sat there for Slessor to clean up. He comes to the table all Johnny Adventurous, smashing the red in and hurtling the white into the pack, but while it spreads the reds invitingly he doesn't get position on pink or black and plays safe. Worth the effort though, and a sign perhaps of his intentions for the rest of this match. He soon booms in another red, and then misses a thin blue to right middle to keep going, but Murphy can't then tuck a red into the bottom left.

Around the tables

Jack Lisowski 2-2 Tian Pengfei

Liang Wenbo 4-2 Andy Hicks

Mark Williams 2-2 Akani Songsermsawad

Mark Joyce 2-3 Kyren Wilson

Shaun Murphy 1-3 Elliot Slessor

Pang Junxu 2-2 Noppon Saengkham

Igor Figueiredo 1-5 Joe Perry

Jordan Brown 3-1 Jamie Jones

Murphy 1-3 Slessor

Slessor cleans up the final red and the colours, and leads 3-1 at the interval. He's played so well here, and Murphy is right under it here. We'll be back in 15 minutes.

Murphy 1-2 Slessor (16-60)

The fourteenth red goes in and it leaves Murphy needing a snooker. Pink to right middle follows before Slessor misses a double on the final red, and misses. He's 44 ahead though with 35 remaining, and he's also fluked a full ball snooker on the red.

Murphy 1-2 Slessor (16-46)

Another chance for Slessor now as he strokes in a long red to the bottom left, safe in the knowledge he would always be on the blue to the right middle. That goes followed by another nice cut on a red down the left rail, and he's got a real chance for a two frame lead at the interval. A nice recover shot on a pink to the green pocket after running out of position keeps his break going, and he's not far away now.

Murphy 1-2 Slessor (16-20)

It's a tense break as Slessor grapples for position early in this break but he's got it now, and he's running along nicely here. The black is welded to the top cushion but he has pink and blue to play for, with so many open reds to go for. This is a great chance, but he runs slightly out of position on the blue and overcuts it to the right middle. That could be a huge miss in the context of this match, as Murphy returns to the table. He can only add one red though as his attempt to swing around the back of the reds goes awry, and that's a let off for Slessor.

Murphy 1-2 Slessor (15-0)

Slessor leaves Murphy a gimme to right middle after missing a deadweight red to the bottom right by a wide margin. Murphy can only make nine though, failing to split the pack off the brown, and has to play safe. He's soon back in however, potting a red to bottom left with the rest and crashing into the pack off the blue. He's on an awkward one to right middle, bridging over the pack...and he's missed it and left it there for Slessor. Now then, Elliot...

Murphy 1-2 Slessor

He'll be 2-1 ahead shortly; Slessor takes his break to 62 and Murphy now needs snookers. Slessor's not done though, and wants the century. After lashing in a cut on a red to the bottom right it now looks on, and he gets it with the brown. That's a great break, and he clears up to the pink for a 111.

Murphy 1-1 Slessor (5-54)

It's a half-century for Slessor as he plugs yet another pink to bottom left. There's 67 left so he's inching closer to the winning line in this frame...

Murphy 1-1 Slessor (5-27)

A chance for Slessor now as Murphy makes a mess of a safety shot, missing a thin contact and then coming off the bottom cushion to hit the object ball full. That's left Slessor in the bottom half of the table, and he mops up a simple red and nudges another away from the pink to free it up. That's a clever shot; he's quickly up to 27 and counting, and there's a good pile of points on here.

Murphy 1-1 Slessor (5-0)

This is unlucky for Murphy. He kabooms in an opening red to land on the brown, which he sends into the yellow pocket at a similar velocity to smash into the pack. He splits them open nicely but doesn't land on one, and is forced to play safe.

Around the tables

Jack Lisowski 1-1 Tian Pengfei

Liang Wenbo 2-1 Andy Hicks

Mark Williams 0-2 Akani Songsermsawad

Mark Joyce 1-1 Kyren Wilson

Shaun Murphy 1-1 Elliot Slessor

Pang Junxu vs. Noppon Saengkham

Igor Figueiredo 0-3 Joe Perry

Jordan Brown 1-1 Jamie Jones

Murphy 1-1 Slessor

It's another chance for Slessor as Murphy leaves him a cross-table red from mid-range, and he thumps it into the bottom left. He adds 21 before leaving a red hanging in the jaws of the bottom left, but there's only 59 left on and Murphy concedes.

Murphy 1-0 Slessor (0-52)

Slessor gets back in, dropping a red into the right middle from baulk and coming down for the black. He's been blowing into his hands all evening so far, so it's obviously cold in the arena, but his game's warming up here. The black takes him to 35 in this break and over 50 in the frame, but he loses position when trying to open the remaining pack of reds and is forced to dump the white back in baulk.

Murphy 1-0 Slessor (0-17)

Murphy misses a red to the left middle at the start of the second, and what a reply from Slessor, who absolutely creams a red into the green pocket to land on the brown. What a stunning pot! Disappointingly though his break ends on 17 when he ends straight on the blue and unable to open the pack off it. Slessor takes the five points and plays safe.

Murphy 1-0 Slessor

Slessor adds six before going in off when potting a red. Murphy then adds another red, and Slessor gives away four more points. On we go though; as Joe Johnson states in commentary, this is fair enough in frame one, but if Ronnie's trend of playing on in most frames even when they're out of sight catches on, the game's rule makers might have to take a look at it. We're done here when Slessor goes in-off on the pink, and Murphy leads 1-0.

Murphy 0-0 Slessor (78-0)

After a prolonged safety exchange Slessor pokes a red out over the bottom right, which Murphy powers into the pocket. The green, another red and the pink follow, and Slessor needs five snookers. He'll play on to try and get a bit of table time.

Murphy 0-0 Slessor (67-0)

Murphy gets to 20 via hitting the wrong red first when potting another to the bottom left, and its knocked him out of position. He plays safe off the blue, and there are still 75 points left on the table.

Murphy 0-0 Slessor (47-0)

Murphy sticks 24 onto his score, but runs out of position when trying to land on a red near the pack and he's forced to play safe. Slessor's subsequent containing safety is poor, as he leaves Murphy a red to right middle which is duly dispatched. After another awkward red with the rest he goes in and out of baulk off the blue to right middle, but misses a red to the same pocket that shoots off the bottom knuckle and sits up over the green pocket for Slessor. It's a thin cut...and he's missed it completely! Murphy mops it up instead, and he's in again.

Murphy 0-0 Slessor (6-0)

We're off in this best of 11, and it's cagey stuff so far. After an aeon of safety play Slessor has a go at a plant to the bottom right, but it doesn't go in. He's not left Murphy anything to go at, but instead finds himself in a vicious snooker as Murphy tucks the white in right behind the yellow and blue in baulk. Slessor can't escape, hitting the pink full in the face as he attempts to land on the pack, and he's left Murphy in.

Over to MC Rob Walker...

Boys are being baized as I type. It's worth noting that Murphy and Slessor have met once before and it was Slessor that won it, seeing off Murphy 4-1 in the Indian Open in 2017.

SLESSOR

His opponent tonight, Elliot Slessor, has risen to 56 in the world rankings off the back of qualifying for the World Championship for the first time in August. He's also a former ranking event semi-finalist, after beating Ronnie O'Sullivan on his way the last four of the Northern Ireland Open in 2017.

THE MAGICIAN

The winner of the 2008 UK Championship pulled off quite a trick to get through his first round match with Lee Walker; a brilliant attacking snooker in the final frame decider, with 1am approaching, swung the match in his favour right at the denouement.

THIS AFTERNOON

What a session we had this afternoon. The world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan was eliminated by Alexander Ursenbacher, while Lu Ning came within 19 points of becoming the first player to record five centuries in five straight frames in his victory over Matthew Selt.

Results:

Ashley Carty 2-6 Ricky Walden

Jamie Clarke 5-6 Kurt Maflin

Joe O’Connor 6-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Matthew Selt 0-6 Lu Ning

Mark King 4-6 Graeme Dott

Andrew Higginson 1-6 Stuart Bingham

Alexander Ursenbacher 6-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby 6-1 Liam Highfield

Good evening!

Welcome to live coverage of the evening session of day six of the UK Championship from the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. Tonight will see the conclusion of the second round. Our featured match tonight is Shaun Murphy versus Elliot Slessor, with the full list of matches in action below:

Jack Lisowski vs. Tian Pengfei

Liang Wembo vs. Andy Hicks

Mark Williams vs. Akani Songsermsawad

Mark Joyce vs. Kyren Wilson

Shaun Murphy vs Elliot Slessor

Pang Junxu vs. Noppon Saengkham

Igor Figueiredo vs. Joe Perry

Jordan Brown vs. Jamie Jones

---

Join us again at 6.45pm

With that dramatic upset in the bank, that concludes our live coverage for this afternoon. Thanks for your company and we'll see you in a couple of hours for the evening session, where our featured match will be Shaun Murphy versus Elliot Slessor.

Around the tables

Ashley Carty 2-5 Ricky Walden

Jamie Clarke 5-6 Kurt Maflin

Joe O’Connor 6-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Matthew Selt 0-6 Ning Lu

Mark King 4-4 Graeme Dott

Andrew Higginson 1-6 Stuart Bingham

Alexander Ursenbacher 6-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby 6-1 Liam Highfield

Alexander Ursenbacher beats Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-5

Well, what an afternoon that was! Ursenbacher led for most of the match until O'Sullivan poked his nose in front at 5-4. With his game seemingly falling apart, Ursenbacher gritted his teeth and not only forced his way to a decider but held his nerve superbly in the final frame in two separate visits to cobble together the points required. That's a brilliant victory for him, and a stunning upset in the second round of this Triple Crown event. O'Sullivan has won the UK Championship on seven occasions, more than any player in history; he's also faced Ursenbacher twice in his career, and he's lost them both. Well played that young man! Ursenbacher advances to the third round, where he'll face either Jordan Brown or Jamie Jones.

O'Sullivan 5-6 Ursenbacher

The additional 36 points from Ursenbacher is enough; O'Sullivan isn't playing on this time and he concedes. Alexander Ursenbacher has beaten the world champion!

O'Sullivan 5-5 Ursenbacher (0-51)

O'Sullivan goes in-off, and Ursenbacher has a long red to the bottom left from the D. He's stroked these in for most of the afternoon...and does so here, the match is now there for him to win at this visit! This is so tense, but Ursenbacher starts stitching together the mini-break that will win it, and a red to go 68 ahead does just that. For the second time in two attempts, he's going to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan, and pumps his fist Henmania style to celebrate. What a moment for him!

O'Sullivan 5-5 Ursenbacher (0-47)

Ursenbacher looks cooler than ice cold here, but in potting a red to run through into the pack he loses control of the white and can't land in any kind of potting angle on the black. That's a touch for Ronnie, because that was close to being over. As it is, he comes to the table with much to do.

O'Sullivan 5-5 Ursenbacher (0-16)

It's Ursenbacher that's in first, drilling another lovely long red into the bottom right to land perfectly on the black. that goes, as does another red and black, and he's got plenty to go at here.

O'Sullivan 5-5 Ursenbacher

Ursenbacher goes all Paul Newman on us, and pots two reds in one shot. Still O'Sullivan plays on, before Ursenbacher plugs the last red and up to the blue, before going in-off on the pink. Ronnie pots pink and black, it's Ursenbacher's frame, and we're into a decider folks!

O'Sullivan 5-4 Ursenbacher (14-77)

It's all on here for Ursenbacher to force a decider. A plant to right middle helps his cause, and he quickly adds the 33 that leaves O'Sullivan needing snookers. Ursenbacher eventually adds 40, and leads by 63 with just 51 on. O'Sullivan plays on, but it looks like we're going all the way here.

O'Sullivan 5-4 Ursenbacher (14-37)

On 37 Ursenbacher loses the white, and risks a red to the yellow pocket rather than play the percentages and put the white safe. It misses, and he's left it on for O'Sullivan. The miss feels ominous, but on 14 O'Sullivan overcuts a simple red to the bottom right and Ursenbacher is back in.

O'Sullivan 5-4 Ursenbacher (0-32)

Ursenbacher strokes in a long red to the bottom right, and he’s on the black. He’s really under pressure now and needs something here. He’s up to 32 quickly and has plenty of reds to go for; he really needs to convert this chance.

Around the tables

Ashley Carty 2-3 Ricky Walden

Jamie Clarke 5-4 Kurt Maflin

Joe O’Connor 5-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Matthew Selt 0-6 Ning Lu

Mark King 3-3 Graeme Dott

Andrew Higginson 1-6 Stuart Bingham

Alexander Ursenbacher 4-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby 6-1 Liam Highfield

O'Sullivan 5-4 Ursenbacher

A break of 59 secures the frame for O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan 4-4 Ursenbacher (66-9)

Only nine for Ursenbacher as he misses a black off its spot. He's really struggling now, but at least hasn't left anything for O'Sullivan. It's only a temporary reprieve for Ursenbacher though, as Ronnie soon plugs a red into the right middle from off the bottom cushion, and he's in position to seal this frame now. He's quickly up to 29, and when he adds a pink that takes him past the winning post in this frame. He's been behind all day and playing terribly, but he's about to go one up with two to play.

O'Sullivan 4-4 Ursenbacher (31-0)

Ursenbacher misses a long red to the bottom right, and he's left O'Sullivan in here. The enormity of what Ursenbacher might have been able to achieve from 4-2 up seems to have got to him in the last few frames, and O'Sullivan is quickly into it here. He's up to 31 already, but a kick on a red leaves him high on the black, and he overcuts it to the bottom left and misses. Now then Alexander, what have you got?

O'Sullivan 4-4 Ursenbacher

A red and blue go down for Ursenbacher before he's forced to play safe. There's 37 in it with 43 remaining, so O'Sullivan needs one more red to leave Ursenbacher needing snookers. He gets his chance with a thin cut to the bottom right...and it's there! No colour follows so O'Sullivan plays a snooker. After a few safety shots he then picks off the final red, and we're soon done here; best of three now, for a place in the third round.

Elsewhere, we almost had a new record for the great game of snooker...

O'Sullivan 3-4 Ursenbacher (56-13)

Ursenbacher is sticking to his attacking principles, but the reds aren't going in like they were; he goes all out and one here, misses and leaves O'Sullivan in again. He quickly adds 35 and looks a banker to draw level in the match, but in potting the pink he carelessly loses position on the reds and has to play safe. There's 59 left on here so Ursenbacher is still in it, but from his own safety he sticks a red over the bottom left. That should be it, but after potting the red Ronnie then misses the pink to the right middle! This frame is a mess. He's left Ursenbacher in, and we've still got a frame on here.

O'Sullivan 3-4 Ursenbacher (20-13)

O'Sullivan leaves an early chance in the eighth for Ursenbacher, who uses the rest to plug a short red into the bottom right. There's points on here, and this is a big visit if he is to go on and pull off this upset. On 13 though he misses a black off its spot, leaving it over the bottom left. O'Sullivan then gets himself in with a double to the right middle to land on the black, and he's quickly into the lead in this frame. He can only make 20 though before losing position on the reds, and plays safe.

Around the tables (best of 11)

Ashley Carty 2-2 Ricky Walden

Jamie Clarke 3-4 Kurt Maflin

Joe O’Connor 4-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Matthew Selt 0-6 Ning Lu

Mark King 3-2 Graeme Dott

Andrew Higginson 1-5 Stuart Bingham

Alexander Ursenbacher 4-3 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby 4-1 Liam Highfield

O'Sullivan 3-4 Ursenbacher

A 21 from O'Sullivan secures the frame, part of a total break of 51.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Ursenbacher (42-1)

O'Sullivan's ticking along nicely here on 42 until a red to the left middle rolls around in the lip of the pocket and off both knuckles to spit back out. He's really struggling today.There's a chance for him to cut the deficit to one now though, as Ursenbacher's long effort on a red down the right side of the table misses and sits up over the yellow pocket.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Ursenbacher (22-1)

Ursenbacher booms in the first red of the seventh frame, but doesn't land nicely on a colour and plays in behind the yellow. It's O'Sullivan that gets in next though, with a long red into the bottom right to bounce off the bottom cushion and come up for the blue. He's up to 22 quickly; we've seen him turn his best on like the flick of a light switch before, and he could really do with that kind of transformation here.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Ursenbacher

This is brilliant from Ursenbacher, who negotiates a difficult green to brown with the rest with almost effortless ease. He then picks off the remaining colours - Ronnie's actually out of his chair and leaving the arena before he pots the straight black to left middle - and Ursenbacher is two frames ahead. We could be in for a huge upset here.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Ursenbacher (42-27)

O'Sullivan misses a cut on a green to the bottom right, and his break ends on 29. He's really not at it here, and with 43 remaining Ursenbacher is well in this. He pots red then green, but plays an awful shot when trying to play a snooker off the final red that leaves Ronnie an ultra thin cut to the bottom left. He misses it, and on his next shot fouls when trying to thin clip the red and leaves it on for Ursenbacher. If he can hold it together for these next eight shots Ursenbacher can nick another one...

O'Sullivan 2-3 Ursenbacher (32-19)

Better stuff from O'Sullivan, as he hoses a red into the bottom right and lands plum on the blue. It doesn't take long for it to come apart again though; the next time he goes up for the blue he thunders said ball into the left middle and the white straight into the yellow pocket. He's really not at it here, but Ursenbacher gifts him another chance immediately. He's quickly up to 19 and has just developed three reds near the black spot that could now win him this frame.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Ursenbacher (6-14)

O'Sullivan misses a red to left middle. He can only leave the red he's playing, and he has; Ursenbacher imperiously cuts it into the yellow pocket. Once again though he can only add five before losing position and playing safe. He needs to make more of these opportunities while Ronnie is not at his best. He's played a good safety though, which extracts four points from O'Sullivan before he can eventually find a path to baulk.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Ursenbacher (6-5)

A shot to nothing on a red followed by a thin cut on the brown get O'Sullivan going in the sixth frame, followed by a brilliant red to left middle after he'd drifted out of position. From there however he misses a routine yellow and he's left Ursenbacher in again. He's been sloppy today, but then so has Ursenbacher; he can only add five before failing to land on the pink and it's end of break.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Ursenbacher

An additional 30 points takes O'Sullivan past the winning post in this frame. He only pots one more red before losing position again, but Ursenbacher's seen enough and that's the frame to O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan 1-3 Ursenbacher (36-11)

O'Sullivan's break curtails on 36 as he clips the yellow going in and out of baulk off the blue, and he has to play safe. He's left one for Ursenbacher into the bottom right though, and it's in with position to follow on the yellow. Ursenbacher's got a chance here if he can get down and split the remaining pack of reds. He leaves himself a long red to the green pocket though and misses it, leaving it there for O'Sullivan to come back and clean up.

O'Sullivan 1-3 Ursenbacher (24-0)

We're back, and O'Sullivan has dropped in a red to the yellow pocket followed by the brown to get things moving in the fifth. He's flying here, and up to 24 and counting with several more reds in the open to play for.

Around the tables

Ashley Carty 1-2 Ricky Walden

Jamie Clarke 2-2 Kurt Maflin

Joe O’Connor 2-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Matthew Selt 0-3 Ning Lu

Mark King 2-1 Graeme Dott

Andrew Higginson 1-3 Stuart Bingham

Alexander Ursenbacher 3-1 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby 3-1 Liam Highfield

O'Sullivan 1-3 Ursenbacher

He can! That’s brilliant from Ursenbacher, who dishes up with 34 to take the frame, inclusive of a difficult yellow and green which were both close to the top cushion. He leads 3-1 at the interval, we’ll be back with you in 15 minutes.

O'Sullivan 1-2 Ursenbacher (55-24)

Ursenbacher misses the second last red while using the rest and sticks it up over the left middle for O’Sullivan. That goes down, followed by the black, and Ursenbacher needs all 35 possible remaining points to tie. In the safety battle though O’Sullivan goes in-off! Ursenbacher can now win, can he mop these up for a sensational steal?

O'Sullivan 1-2 Ursenbacher (47-15)

It goes wrong on 42 for O’Sullivan as he misses a routine red to the right middle. That’s a shocker, and Ursenbacher then doubles a red to right middle before taking on a long black to the green pocket. It misses, but he soon gets another chance at a red to left middle which he cuts in. It’s an awkward table, but he can get back into the frame here.

O'Sullivan 1-2 Ursenbacher (33-8)

Ursenbacher gets a red down but no more, and it’s O’Sullivan that gets in next. It needs a good recovery pot on the blue early in the break to keep things going, but he’s quickly up to 28 and looking good for another frame-winning break here.

O'Sullivan 1-2 Ursenbacher (5-7)

A chance for Ursenbacher at the beginning of the fourth here, as O'Sullivan misses a long one to the bottom left and leaves it on into the yellow pocket. Ursenbacher puts that away, but can only make six before missing a deadweight pink to the right middle. That's such a poor shot, but it doesn't const him too heavily as Ronnie can only make five in response before losing position and playing safe.

O'Sullivan 1-2 Ursenbacher

O'Sullivan makes 68 before a push shot chucks four the way of Ursenbacher. He's well over the winning line in this frame though, and Ursenbacher's lead is cut to one frame.

O'Sullivan 0-2 Ursenbacher (42-7)

Ursenbacher leaves O'Sullivan a red to the left middle from off the bottom cushion, which is soon dispatched. That's a much more difficult shot at 2-0 behind. O'Sullivan is away and very quickly up to 39, with the table set fair to finish this in one visit.

O'Sullivan 0-2 Ursenbacher (3-7)

An excellent long red from O'Sullivan gets him going in the third, followed by a thin cut on the yellow to land almost straight on a red to left middle. He then misses said red by trying to force position on the pink; that's put Ursenbacher in, but he can only make seven before missing a black to the bottom right, amazingly leaving O'Sullivan on nothing despite splitting the reds and leaving the white in the middle of the table.

Around the tables (best of 11)

Ashley Carty 0-1 Ricky Walden

Jamie Clarke 1-1 Kurt Maflin

Joe O’Connor 1-0 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Matthew Selt 0-1 Ning Lu

Mark King 0-1 Graeme Dott

Andrew Higginson 1-1 Stuart Bingham

Alexander Ursenbacher 2-0 Ronnie O’Sullivan

Mark Selby 2-0 Liam Highfield

O'Sullivan 0-2 Ursenbacher

What a pot from Ursenbacher! He tags in a superb long red into the yellow pocket, shifts the remaining one into play and lands virtually straight on the pink. He clears up to the blue, and that's the frame. O'Sullivan is playing on, but Ursenbacher soon doubles the blue and cuts in the pink to take a 2-0 lead. I'd say 'not overawed' would be a good summary of his efforts so far.

O'Sullivan 0-1 Ursenbacher (19-58)

Ursenbacher's break goes to 35 by potting the pink and nudging a red over the right middle. That's a very good shot. After potting the red he can't get nicely on a colour, and opts to play safe rather than take a green with the rest. There's still 43 on here, so O'Sullivan can still win this frame.

O'Sullivan 0-1 Ursenbacher (19-36)

Only 19 for O'Sullivan, who struggles for position throughout his break before missing a red to the bottom left with the rest. Ursenbacher is back in; there are four reds in awkward positions in all parts of the table, but he could develop a healthy lead with what's in the open.

O'Sullivan 0-1 Ursenbacher (5-22)

Ronnie hasn’t quite got going here, and a poor safety sees the white catch the blue and leave Ursenbacher a short red to the bottom right using the rest. That goes, but he can’t get on the pink and has to play safe. O'Sullivan soon leaves him another chance though, and Ursenbacher drills a mid-range straight red into the bottom right to land on the pink this time. He's quickly up to 21, and could make a decent score here with the pink currently having to be spotted on the black spot. It goes wrong on the next red though, which he misses to the bottom right. O'Sullivan steps in to plug a red into the yellow pocket, and he's up and running in the second.

O'Sullivan 0-1 Ursenbacher

The frame is soon secured, and Ursenbacher makes 67 before missing the black on his way to the colours. Ronnie then comes to the table to pot some of the colours and get his arm going. It'll be interesting to see if he perseveres with his tactic of playing on when the frame is long lost; he calls it practice, but it drew a bit of criticism when he employed this tactic at the Northern Ireland Open last week. Either way, Ursenbacher takes the lead.

O'Sullivan 0-0 Ursenbacher (21-51)

Ursenbacher is a confident player, and he's taking these nicely. A good shot on the 12th red of the frame with the rest splits the remaining three away from the black, and the green follows to secure his half-century.

O'Sullivan 0-0 Ursenbacher (21-15)

O'Sullivan drills in another red but loses position again after potting the blue. His safety goes awry too, catching the knuckle of the middle and leaving Ursenbacher a plant to the bottom right. A few pots wobble early in the break and he needs another plant to keep it going, but Ursenbacher has a nice spread here and this is a good chance.

O'Sullivan 0-0 Ursenbacher (14-0)

Ronnie breaks off in this best of 11 for a place in the third round, and he gets the first scoring chance. Ursenbacher misses a shot to nothing to the bottom left, and the white hits the blue on its way back to leave Ronnie in the middle of the table with a straight red to the bottom right. That goes, but he can only put 14 together before losing position on his next red and playing safe.

MC ROB WALKER SPEAKS

Boys are being introduced to baize here, it's time to go.

URSENBACHER

Imagine going up against that. Well, that’s the task facing young Alexander Ursenbacher today. The 24-year old is currently ranked 66 in the world and qualified for the World Championship in August, where he was defeated 10-2 by Barry Hawkins in the first round. He does have one thing in his favour here – a 100% record against The Rocket, after beating him 4-2 in their one and only meeting at the Welsh Open in 2019.

ROCKET MAN

Ronnie O’Sullivan, then; he’s won more UK Championship titles that any player in history – seven, to be precise, the first of which came when he defeated a peak Stephen Hendry 10-6 in the 1993 final at 17 years old. The Rocket launched in this tournament and, as the World Championship in August proved, is still soaring.

RESULTS FROM LAST NIGHT

Here’s a quick recap of the results from yesterday’s evening session, and there was a shock in there; Chang Bingyu knocked out ninth seed Mark Allen in a final frame decider.

Oliver Lines 1-6 Xu Si

Chang Bingyu 6-5 Mark Allen

Jak Jones 6-2 Simon Lichtenberg

Gerard Greene 3-6 John Higgins

Michael Holt 4-6 Hossein Vafai

David Gilbert 4-6 Robert Milkins

Barry Hawkins 6-1 Robbie Williams

Judd Trump 6-3 Dominic Dale

Good afternoon!

Welcome to live coverage of the afternoon session of day six of the UK Championship from the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. Our full schedule for today is below, and our featured match this afternoon is Ronnie O’Sullivan versus Alexander Ursenbacher.

UK CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY SCHEDULE

Afternoon (1pm)

Mark Selby v Liam Highfield
Ashley Carty v Ricky Walden
Mark King v Graeme Dott
Andrew Higginson v Stuart Bingham
Jamie Clarke v Kurt Maflin
Matthew Selt v Lu Ning
Joe O'Connor v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Alexander Ursenbacher v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Evening (7pm)

Jack Lisowski v Tian Pengfei
Liang Wenbo v Andy Hicks
Mark Williams v Sunny Akani
Mark Joyce v Kyren Wilson
Shaun Murphy v Elliot Slessor
Pang Junxu v Noppon Saengkham
Igor Figueiredo v Joe Perry
Jordan Brown v Jamie Jones

When is the UK Championship and how to watch?

The tournament runs from Monday, 23 November until Sunday, 6 December. Eurosport will broadcast the event. Check here for TV listings, or alternatively here for details on how to stream the event live on eurosport.co.uk and the app. In addition to the live streaming, daily reports and highlights will be published online on the Eurosport website.

What is the format?

All matches are the best of 11 frames until the final which is contested over the best of 19 frames on Sunday, 6 December.

The UK Championship – part of snooker's Triple Crown series – was due to be held at the York Barbican, but due to the global health pandemic, all remaining World Snooker Tour events in 2020 – including the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship, Scottish Open and World Grand Prix – will continue to be staged behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

UK Championship

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