Welsh Open 2023 as it happened - Mark Selby safely through after Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan win

ByEurosport

Updated 13/02/2023 at 23:13 GMT

Welcome to Eurosport's live coverage of the 2023 Welsh Open with Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Mark Allen the headline acts on the star-studded opening evening of action at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. Earlier on Monday, Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Oliver Lines 4-0. Stream top snooker action, including the Welsh Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.co.uk

‘It’s still going off!’ – Phone disturbs Lines against O’Sullivan then he runs out of position

Righto, that's us done for today

Join us again tomorrow at 12.45pm GMT. Ta-ra.

Welsh Open

Bingham and Zhou tumble out of Welsh Open amid controversial concession calls

26/01/2024 at 23:00

Around the tables

Noppon Saengkham 3-1 Liam Davies
Mark Allen 4-1 Alfie Burden
Jack Lisowski 4-0 Zhang Anda

Mark Selby beats Jamie O'Neil 4-2!

He meets Sia Jiahui tomorrow night.

Selby 3-2 O'Neill (85-0)

This has been a really solid comeback from Mark, who looked in dreadful touch and now looks very nice indeed.

Selby 3-2 O'Neill (47-0)

Mark slams home a fine recovery, red into yeller pocket, then runs out of position ... but slots a ball for which he didn't play. It's going his way out there, and he's making it go his way out there.

Selby 3-2 O'Neill (17-0)

Mark gets in early in frame six, has loose reds and a black that goes to both corners. This is a chance to get this match finished.

Around the tables

Noppon Saengkham 3-1 Liam Davies
Mark Allen 3-1 Alfie Burden
Jack Lisowski 4-0 Zhang Anda

Selby 3-2 O'Neill

It took 37 minutes but it finished how we expected it to. Three on the spin for Mark and he's a big favourite to bring this home.

Selby 2-2 O'Neill (59-7)

Trying to force something, Jamie tries a double to left-middle, leaves it to the same bag, and that will surely be 3-2.

Selby 2-2 O'Neill (52-7)

Good work from Mark, who has to work hard in this break; he eventually misses a red to left corner with the res, but Jamie refuses the nasty starter left.

Selby 2-2 O'Neill (12-7)

No matter: he's soon in again ... only to miss a pink to right-middle, and that is going to cost him.

Selby 2-2 O'Neill (12-6)

Ha, as I hit return Mark opts to play a decent safety, the more safety ensues before Mark tries to break the pack and gets a decent cue-ball; he does, but he still leaves one over left-middle that Jamie snaffles ... only to find the white in almost the only position on the table from which no colour is pottable.

Selby 2-2 O'Neill (6-5)

A good safety from Jamie allows him to steer home a long red, but he then misses a black off its spot and returns to his seat with the radge on. So Mark gets in again, and this is only going one way

Selby 2-2 O'Neill (0-4)

A safety exchange to begin frame five and Jamie will surely know he's not winning two straight from 4-3 down, so has to take this one. He gets four when Mark misses a thin contact, but this is an even battle currently.

Around the tables

Ryan Day 3-4 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 4-2 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 4-1 Sean O'Sullivan
Noppon Saengkham 2-1 Liam Davies
Mark Allen 0-1 Alfie Burden
Jack Lisowski 2-0 Zhang Anda

Selby 2-2 O'Neill

Mark closes out, and he's looking good now.

Selby 1-2 O'Neill (69-26)

Nope. He can't snuggle in behind the pink, Mark then pots another red to leave Jamie needing two snookers, and this is as good as over.

Selby 1-2 O'Neill (69-18)

By the time Mark misses, Jamie needs a snooker, but the way the balls are, he's got a chance...

Selby 1-2 O'Neill (29-1)

Jamie steers a starter to left corner but then overcuts the brown and Mark is soon at the table addressing the black. He's playing pretty nicely now, and I assume he'll miss as soon as I type this, but 4-2 now looks the likeliest outcome of this match.

Selby 1-2 O'Neill

A clearance of 124 and after two hounding frames, Mark will fancy himself from here.

Selby 0-2 O'Neill (67-4)

Much better from Mark, who is going to get into the board, and Jamie will be wondering it's got as good as it's going to get.

Selby 0-2 O'Neill (30-4)

Mark rolls in an opener, then keeps steady to guide a terrific black from on the side rail , across the table and into left corner. There was serious pressure on that - he's warming up.

Selby 0-2 O'Neill (6-4)

Jamie leaves a longun to right corner and Mark snaps it home well. But he's soon missing with a thin contact after running out of position, then missing a pot to left corner, so Jamie rolls into the pack and we're back playing safety.

Around the tables

Ryan Day 3-3 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 4-2 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 4-1 Sean O'Sullivan
Noppon Saengkham 1-0 Liam Davies

Selby 0-2 O'Neill

No ton because a red to right-middle doesn't go down, but a 78 is enough for the world no106, who leads the no2 by two!

Selby 0-1 O'Neill (1-55)

Jamie's taking these well, and the way the balls are, could clinch this frame without playing a particularly difficult shot.

Selby 0-1 O'Neill (1-16)

Mark misses another easy ball - it's only a frame and a bit, but I really can't think when I've seen him play worse - and Jamie, who's only won one match all season gets in again. He'll know he'll never have a better chance to beat the three-time world champ.

Around the tables

Ryan Day 3-3 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 4-2 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 4-1 Sean O'Sullivan
Noppon Saengkham 0-0 Liam Davies

Selby 0-1 O'Neill

Not this time. Mark reduces the arrears slightly but Jamie escapes his snooker, gets back in, and his bid to remain on the tour gathers momentum.

Selby 0-0 O'Neill (6-63)

Jamie will know that if he allows Mark to win this frame, given how many horrible shots he's played, he's really struggling. So he has to bring it home and gets in again, but the last four reds are all on cushions. No matter: he strikes one really nicely with the rest that slides to right corner and a straight pink leaves Mark needing two snookers. But when he misses a red, one of the game's premier escapologists returns to the table.

Selby 0-0 O'Neill (6-25)

Jamie misses pink to left corner so Mark gets away, but a complex table means a serious contribution will take a lot of doing ... especially when you miss reds like that! Mark spurns a dolly ... then Jamie smacks into the jaws of left corner. This is scrappy stuff.

Selby 0-0 O'Neill (0-18)

Jamie steers the white on the long diag, knocking in a starter that's over the pocket ... but he soon snookers himself in the bunch so has to roll onto the yellow. Mark, though, is hating this, playing a third poor safety. Can Jamie take advantage?

Selby 0-0 O'Neill (0-1)

A safety exchange to begin, then Mark catches the middle jaws and leaves a mid-distance starter that Jamie takes ... only to cannon another red, knock the black into the pack, and play a tricky prod to baulk.

Off we go again!

Coming up next

Mark Selby v Jamie O'Neill

Around the tables

Ryan Day 1-2 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 3-2 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 3-1 Sean O'Sullivan

Judd Trump beats David Grace 4-0!

In the end, he was far too good for David without being that good, because that's how good he is.

Trump 3-0 Grace (68-33)

Nope, he leaves a red in the jaws so David returns to the table needing a snooker. He knocks in the starter ... the misses the black, and that'll be a handshake.

Trump 3-0 Grace (68-32)

Judd's been good in the second half of this game, and will fancy a ton to finish.

Trump 3-0 Grace (9-32)

Oh dear. David misses a red to right corner not unlike the one that cost him the last frame then Judd sinks a lovely starter to left-middle. There are reds everywhere and I fully expect this to be the end.

Trump 3-0 Grace (0-16)

Judd tries a plant, misses, and leaves the white centre-table. So David cuts home a really good starter and it's do or die now: he needs to make something happen, and also knows that if he misses it might be curtains.

Around the tables

Ryan Day 1-1 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 2-2 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 2-1 Sean O'Sullivan

Trump 3-0 Grace

A 46, Judd's highest break of the match, puts him within one of round two.

Trump 2-0 Grace (49-0)

There's one red in baulk but the others look extremely inviting - which was I mentioned the 147 so early and matter-of-factly. Let's see: go on Judd ... who jawses a black off its spot! I can't believe he's missed that, but then David does likewise with one along the top rail and that is going to cost him.

Trump 2-0 Grace (16-0)

David will know that he's played alright and that Judd hasn't really got going yet - ominous on the one hand, though if the latter doesn't happen, he'll feel he's still in with a chance. But as I type that, Judd caresses home a starter with the rest, a right-handed black follows, and there are points to be had as well as a chance for a maxi.

Around the tables

Ryan Day 1-1 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 2-1 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 1-1 Sean O'Sullivan

Trump 2-0 Grace

A really good break by David, er, trumped by a really good clearance from Judd. He's halfway there.

Trump 1-0 Grace (44-48)

Er, or not. He overcuts a black he shouldn't and Judd gets in then rubs it in, cutting a decent black of his own then, after going around the table to get about six inches closer to the final red, he digs in behind it, sends it along the top rail and into left corner ... and gets on the next ball! Colours off their spots and he looks primed to pinch another tight one.

Trump 1-0 Grace (20-40)

But after another safety exchange he gets in net and crafts a nice little contribution. The five remaining reds aren't nicely situated, but David plays a decent black to get on one, and he might just win the frame at this visit.

Trump 1-0 Grace (20-6)

But trying to pinch a bit of pocket slamming a green into its own pocket, he hits the jaws ... and gets lucky to leave nowt. Safety ensues, then David steers a starter to left corner, follows it with a blue ... then plays safe, unwilling to take on a big shot to keep the break going.

Trump 1-0 Grace (19-0)

David will be feeling feelings when Judd gets in early in frame two, quickly getting in and around the black spot and eliminating stray reds.

Around the tables

Ryan Day 0-1 Stuart Carrington
Hossein Vafaei 1-1 Lyu Haotian
Luca Brecel 1-0 Sean O'Sullivan

Trump 1-0 Grace

Thirty-eight minutes, but the expected outcome.

Trump 0-0 Grace (63-54)

David leaves a tricky green to right corner ... it disappears, and that will be the frame.

Trump 0-0 Grace (52-54)

He hits second time so Judd removes the final red, then lays a further snooker; this time, David escapes easily enough then lays a snooker of his own; Judd needs two goes at it, leaves a hard yellow that David rams to left corner ... and which disappears into the green pocket! But he/s not on the green itself, so round we go.

Trump 0-0 Grace (51-48)

Yup, it soon gets him back in, and the key will be developing what'll likely be the final red off the side. He can't quite, but can stick it on the bottom rail, blue, green and brown all in the road when David tries to hit it ... and he can't.

Trump 0-0 Grace (12-48)

But he soon runs out of position, then Judd misses with a thin contact and David sticks him back in, eschewing a thin red to right corner. Judd then misses again but hits third go ... and soon clips a beauty to right corner. Then it's in behind the green eve though the blue's on, trying to elicit an error that'll facilitate the frame, not one more pot.

Trump 0-0 Grace (11-33)

David directs a started into the near jaws of left corner ... and somehow it forces itself down! I didn't see that happening, but this is a decent chance to clinch the frame.

Trump 0-0 Grace (11-27)

David runs out of position and plays safe down the table; it's an attritional one now, and pre-match, both Angles and Nealf thought David could make a game of this; Jimmy thought Judd would win easy.

Trump 0-0 Grace (11-22)

David does then find himself snookered and cedes four escaping, but he's in next and gets to work with plenty of reds free and available.

Trump 0-0 Grace (2-0)

Judd floats a red from middle to left corner, but misses his second to right; I didn't expect that, but he's not played since losing a decider in the World Grand Prix final to Mark Allen so perhaps he's a little rusty. He gets the next starter too but on nothing, misses his snooker behind the black

And away we go!

Here they come!

Judd speaks

He says his game's in good shape and he feels confident going into the tournament - last season, he felt the same but he was losing close games whereas now, his opponents are missing at the right times.

From earlier

10:00 - Joe Perry 4-0 Mark King
10:00 - Shaun Murphy 4-0 Victor Sarkis
10:00 - Michael Holt 1-4 Tian Pengfei
10:00 - Stuart Bingham 1-4 Jackson Page
13:00 - Oliver Briffett-Payne 1-4 Robbie Williams
13:00 - Neil Robertson 4-1 Andrew Higginson
13:00 - David Gilbert 4-2 Marco Fu
13:00 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-0 Oliver Lines
14:00 - Kyren Wilson 4-1 Asjad Iqbal
14:00 - Mark Williams 4-2 Michael White
14:00 - Barry Hawkins 4-1 Ian Burns
14:00 - John Higgins 4-0 Alexander Ursenbacher

Tonight we have...

19:00 - Ryan Day v Stuart Carrington
19:00 - Judd Trump v David Grace
19:00 - Hossein Vafaei v Lyu Haotian
19:00 - Luca Brecel v Sean O'Sullivan
20:00 - Noppon Saengkham v Liam Davies
20:00 - Jack Lisowski v Zhang Anda
20:00 - Mark Selby v Jamie O'Neill
20:00 - Mark Allen v Alfie Burden

Not bad! As ever, we'll be focusing on table one with updates from elsewhere, which means Judd Trump v David Grace followed by Mark Selby v Jamie O'Neill.

Evening all

And welcome to another session of lovely snook!

JOIN US AGAIN SHORTLY

That’s it for the afternoon session, but we’ll be back very soon for an evening of more snooker from 18.45 GMT. See you then!

RESULT! - WILLIAMS 4-2 WHITE

Williams finally slaps down the last red and White decides to concede as a lengthy final frame comes to a close with Williams taking four on the spin.

White will feel he could easily have won the match with big leads at 2-0 and 2-1 up.

Instead, he fell away as Williams improved and once the two-time champion hit the front he never looked back.

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (69-18)

Williams cuts a difficult, pressure red to the bottom right and follows suit with a pink to the same pocket to leave White staring into the abyss.

He needs four snookers to turn it around but carries on regardless. He clocks up a break of seven and then swats a red away from the jaws of the pocket after Williams had gone so close to sealing the win.

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (41-11)

White gets a lucky break when he knocks a red on to one on the bottom cushion and is grateful to see it divert into the right pocket. He tries too gain some traction in the frame but then blows an easy pink to the middle left and it could well be curtains now…

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (41-0)

We’ve hit a bit of a stalemate now. Neither player is willing to budge an inch and you can see the safety scenarios playing out across their expressions between each shot.

Who will blink first? If it’s White, it’ll be curtains, but if it’s Williams we may yet have a decider….

AROUND THE TABLES

RESULT! - Barry Hawkins 4-1 Ian Burns

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (41-0)

That’s the shot of the match. Williams spies a three-ball plant on a red to the bottom left and executes it with aplomb.

Sadly for him, he doesn’t get the rub of the green landing on a colour and uses the blue to err on the side of caution with the safety.

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (40-0)

Williams takes care of another red and rolls a blue down to the middle right but can’t develop it further from there and chooses to retreat to baulk once more.

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (34-0)

White is in a bit of a pickle. He’s stuck close to baulk, behind the yellow and repeatedly fouls trying to come off two cushions to clip the red at the top of the pack. He executes it at the fourth attempt but the fouls help edge Williams closer to victory.

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (22-0)

Simply stunning. Williams finds a wonderful angle on a long red to the bottom left pocket and follows up with a snooker tight behind the brown. White finds a way out of trouble and a safety face-off ensues!

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE (21-0)

Mark starts his bid to settle this match in this frame in fine fettle as he nails a red to the bottom right and follows up with a delightful pink up to the middle left.

When he runs out of position he attempts a very tricky one-handed pot on a red with the rest and ends up miscuing horribly. It’s not the end of the world, but at least offers a now out-of-sorts White some hope of turning the tide back his way.

WILLIAMS 3-2 WHITE

White can’t produce a Williams-style revival and Mark steps in to move way out of sight and make it three frames in a row without coming anywhere near a clearance.

AROUND THE TABLES

RESULT! - Kyren Wilson 4-1 Asjad Iqbal
Barry Hawkins 3-1 Ian Burns

WILLIAMS 2-2 WHITE (55-0)

Mark’s angles are spot on as he cuts a blue to the middle left before producing an even better one on a red to the bottom right.

He works hard to keep his break going with a superb long red to the same corner but finally comes unstuck with the reds tight to the black.

WILLIAMS 2-2 WHITE (24-0)

White has been supreme with his long-potting today – until now. He can’t quite sink a red to the bottom right and he leaves one to the bottom left for Williams to take charge.

The two-time champion rolls a blue to left middle and then enjoys some good fortune when a red repeatedly jiggles with the jaws of the bottom right pocket before dropping.

The balls are awkwardly cluttered around the black and it means Williams has to go for a pink to the middle right. It’s very make-able but he can’t cut it past the near jaw and his break ends prematurely at 24.

AROUND THE TABLES

Kyren Wilson 2-1 Asjad Iqbal
Barry Hawkins 1-1 Ian Burns
RESULT! - John Higgins 4-0 Alexander Ursenbacher

WILLIAMS 2-2 WHITE

On another day White would have had this match sewn up.

Instead, it’s all square as Williams repeats the trick of hitting back from the jaws of defeat, brilliantly cuing in a pink close to the right cushion to snatch the frame with a superb 76 clearance.

WILLIAMS 1-2 WHITE (0-63)

It’s the same issue again for Williams. He lacks the pace as he aims to find a way out of trouble from baulk and coughs up another foul. It’s a much better effort at the second time of asking and he just about remains in the mix in this frame.

WILLIAMS 1-2 WHITE (0-59)

Mark looks out of sorts again. He fails with a simple enough escape attempt on three occasions from behind the brown and White edges ever closer to re-establishing that two-frame lead.

WILLIAMS 1-2 WHITE (0-46)

Williams misses a long red to the yellow pocket by some way and White immediately shows him how it’s done with a stunning red to the bottom right corner that leaves him plum on the black.

He’s forced to work hard for position to keep the break going as he cuts a thin red to the middle left before making solid use of the rest to despatch the green.

Eventually, he runs out luck with his positioning, coming up short on a possible red to the middle right after fizzing the brown to the green pocket.

He opts for a simple safety and strolls back to his seat with a lead of 46 in under his belt.

“It’s like getting on a bike!’ - O'Sullivan reacts to win over Lines

AROUND THE TABLES

Kyren Wilson 1-1 Asjad Iqbal
Barry Hawkins 1-0 Ian Burns
John Higgins 3-0 Alexander Ursenbacher

WILLIAMS 1-2 WHITE

Williams shows no signs of rustiness despite hardly being involved until this point.

The key shot comes when he looks to disrupt a red tight to the pink on its spot. He polishes that off too the middle right and then sinks the final red to the bottom left.

Williams cleans up from there to secure a 70 clearance and reduce the arrears when he really should have been staring down the barrel at 3-0…

WILLIAMS 0-2 WHITE (0-62)

Once again it’s White seizing the initiative. He builds a steady break with more rock-solid potting and is slightly unfortunate to not develop a better scenario when his pot off a black to the bottom left doesn’t result in a more favourable split of the pack. He responds with a tough pot on a red to the middle right and soon follows that with another tricky red down the left cushion via the rest.

It puts him in a frame-winning position, but he then inexplicably blows a simple red to the bottom left and Williams has a lifeline.

WILLIAMS 0-2 WHITE

White’s ability to nail pretty much all of his long pots so far today has put him in a very strong position here.

He’s followed up with some excellent angles when he’s run out of position, notably cutting a red to the bottom right pocket and once again he eases through the gears to move two up with a break of 44.

WILLIAMS 0-1 WHITE (0-35)

White returns to the table too quickly from Williams’ point of view and he once again shows his eye is well and truly in with another splendid long red.

He sinks a yellow to the middle left and then produces a run of impressive, attacking pots to correct positional issues.

Eventually, he slips out of his groove with a red to the bottom left, but gets off the hook when Williams misses a similar shot.

'Took a long time for Ronnie to get going' - Foulds and White on O'Sullivan's win over Lines

AROUND THE TABLES

RESULT - Oliver Briffett-Payne 1-4 Robbie Williams
Kyren Wilson 0-0 Asjad Iqbal
Barry Hawkins 0-0 Ian Burns
John Higgins 1-0 Alexander Ursenbacher

WILLIAMS 0-1 WHITE (0-9)

That’s frustrating for White. He puts himself into a strong opening position with a sumptuous pot on a long red to the bottom right pocket.

The break doesn’t last beyond a black and further red though, as his screw back lacks the pace he wants and he ends up missing a cut on a blue to the middle left.

WILLIAMS 0-1 WHITE

That’s top drawer! White sizzles a long red to the yellow pocket and then works his way past a puzzled frown at the pack to pull clear.

He spreads the reds and preys off pink and then black before easing up the table to despatch the brown to the yellow pocket. He polishes off the final two reds with aplomb in the knowledge the frame is in the bag and ends up with a very tidy 81 clearance.

WILLIAMS 0-0 WHITE (19-30)

The shake of the head and the grimace say it all as Mark sees there’s limited scope to take this beyond a low scoring break. It ends on 19 and he’s left a half chance for White to take control.

WILLIAMS 0-0 WHITE (0-30)

White purrs into action and appears to have hit his groove right from the off, but suddenly blows a very make-able pot on a thin red to end the break at 30 and hand Williams a chance he probably wasn’t expecting.

NEXT UP

Home favourite Mark Williams takes on fellow Welshman Michael White on table 1.

AROUND THE TABLES

13:00 - Oliver Briffett-Payne 1-2 Robbie Williams
RESULT - Neil Robertson 4-1 Fraser Patrick
RESULT - David Gilbert 4-2 Marco Fu
RESULT – Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-0 Oli Lines
Upcoming - Kyren Wilson v Asjad Iqbal
Upcoming - Mark Williams v Michael White
Upcoming - Barry Hawkins v Ian Burns
Upcoming - John Higgins v Alexander Ursenbacher

White's verdict on the Rocket's victory

"Definitely not match sharp, but he still produced."

RESULT! - O’SULLIVAN 4-0 LINES

The Rocket finds his groove and that means it's over for Lines.

A long red is followed by a run of red-black combos before a cannon into the pack opens the table up for a frame-winning visit.

Indeed, Oli remains rooted to his seat as Ronnie briefly drifts up to the blue before being forced to take on the brown to the green pocket to stay on course.

The Rocket doesn’t look back from there as he clocks up a break of 91 to ease into the second round.

O'Sullivan knocks in 'ominous' long red then misses blue off its spot

O’SULLIVAN 3-0 LINES

Ronnie sinks a pressure pot on a red to the bottom right pocket and then despatches the black to the same destination.

He cuts the first of three reds close to the bottom left cushion into the pocket and works his way through the next two with a lovely ricochet helping him to take care of the pink too.

The key shot arrives when the yellow is sunk to its own pocket off baulk. It’s a special pot, particularly as he lands beautifully on the green for a simple knock into the middle left.

From there, it’s rather routine as he chalks up a superb 68 clearance to move within a frame of victory.

‘It’s still going off!’ – Phone disturbs Lines against O’Sullivan then he runs out of position

O’SULLIVAN 2-0 LINES (11-64)

The table has turned rather ugly with a cluster of reds and the pink all in close proximity to each other near the bottom left pocket.

Lines finally breaks the deadlock but can’t get over the line. He needed one more red to clinch the frame but gives the seven-time world champion a glimmer of hope that he could yet steal in again.

O'Sullivan capitalises on Lines error to win first frame

AROUND THE TABLES

13:00 - Oliver Briffett-Payne 0-1 Robbie Williams
13:00 - Neil Robertson 2-1 Fraser Patrick
13:00 - David Gilbert 2-2 Marco Fu

O’Sullivan admits he would ‘like’ to be in Players Championship

O’SULLIVAN 2-0 LINES (11-30)

Wow – how scrappy is this?

O’Sullivan comes up short after a simple red is followed by a blue to the middle right.

Lines steps in but then sees the cue ball fly into the pocket for a foul.

The Rocket can’t take advantage… but then neither can Oli!

Both players a struggling to find real rhythm out there as we approach the hour mark.

O’SULLIVAN 2-0 LINES (0-30)

Déjà vu for Oli!

Yep, once again he produces some excellent early snooker with a blue to the middle left pocket that allows him to ease the cue ball down the table to prey on red-black combos.

He looks to put himself in a frame-winning position with a side spin into the pack, but somehow finds the gap between all of the balls and is left stranded up by the green pocket.

AROUND THE TABLES

13:00 - Oliver Briffett-Payne 0-1 Robbie Williams
13:00 - Neil Robertson 2-0 Fraser Patrick
13:00 - David Gilbert 2-1 Marco Fu

O’SULLIVAN 2-0 LINES

The answer is, of course, a resounding ‘yes’.

O’Sullivan notches up a break of 30 up to the pink to once again close out a frame where his opponent made the early running.

O’SULLIVAN 1-0 LINES (28-26)

Ronnie closes his eyes and sighs deeply as he doesn’t get the flick off the black he wants to provide him with a chance of a pot. It brings an end to a break where he worked across what has turned into a tricky table.

Lines can’t do enough defending the resulting safety and Ronnie gets in again. Will he complete the job this time?

O’SULLIVAN 1-0 LINES (17-26)

O’Sullivan grimaces as a cannon off the black leaves him with a tough pot on it to the bottom left. He doesn’t shirk the challenge and beautifully cuts it into the pocket but he can’t control the cue ball and he’s forced to play safe following a break of 16.

O’SULLIVAN 1-0 LINES (1-26)

Oli comes out on top from the safety face-off to develop another break.

He tucks away an excellent black to the bottom left with the rest and screws back into the pack to split the reds. He’s unlucky as he doesn’t land on a pot-able red that offers decent position and he again opts for caution by retreating to baulk.

The Rocket thunders away a long red to the bottom right to earn a ripple of applause, but he can't do anything more and it remains a frame very much up for grabs.

O’SULLIVAN 1-0 LINES (0-12)

It’s already a recurring theme for Lines.

Once again he sets about making an early impact but can’t push the scoreboard as he’d like. He runs out of position on the black and is faced with an acute cut to the bottom left pocket that he duly misses. He opts for a safety to baulk but knows that's another wasted opportunity.

AROUND THE TABLES

13:00 - Oliver Briffett-Payne 0-0 Robbie Williams
13:00 - Neil Robertson 1-0 Fraser Patrick
13:00 - David Gilbert 1-0 Marco Fu

O’SULLIVAN 1-0 LINES

The Rocket makes intelligent use of the yellow, blue and pink to finish off the final two reds and pinch the opener with a 51 clearance up to the black.

O’SULLIVAN 0-0 LINES (12-46)

O’Sullivan can’t wriggle out of the snooker without leaving a red on. Lines follows that up with a blue to the middle left that allows him to split the pack of reds.

The frame is there for the taking but once again he makes a hash of it from a positional point of view. He’s faced by a make-able red to the bottom right pocket but can’t convince it to pass the jaws and you sense he may pay the price for that now.

O’SULLIVAN 0-0 LINES (12-34)

Ahead of the match Jimmy White analysed Oli in the Eurosport studio and said one of the main issues with his game is that he is too tactical and doesn’t score high enough.

He runs out of position early in this break but then cuts a lovely black into the bottom left pocket via the rest.

You can see what the Whirlwind means though as a simple enough shot on a red means he has to retreat up the table due to a poor angle on the black, leading to a snooker behind the yellow that ends his break on 33.

O’SULLIVAN 0-0 LINES (12-1)

The Rocket looks to be getting into an early groove but gets a disappointing ricochet off the black and then plays a loose safety that spreads the pack of reds and sees the cue ball clip the blue midway up the table.

O’SULLIVAN 0-0 LINES (0-1)

Lines is up and running with a controlled, long pot to sink a red to the bottom right pocket. He’s placed nicely for the black but contrives to miss it to the bottom left, to gift Ronnie an early chance to take charge.

HERE WE GO!

O’Sullivan to break.

Morning round-up

Joe Perry wasted little time in getting his Welsh Open title defence off the ground in style with a 4-0 victory against Mark King at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. The top seed finished with breaks of 62 and 52 to secure a last-64 meeting with Mark Joyce. Shaun Murphy hit a 134 break in easing to a 4-0 win against Victor Sarkis.

Read our report on the 10am action here.

RESULTS FROM EARLIER

The 10.00 GMT matches have concluded with details below:

- Joe Perry 4-0 Mark King
- Shaun Murphy 4-0 Victor Sarkis
- Michael Holt 1-4 Tian Pengfei
- Stuart Bingham 1-4 Jackson Page

H2H

This will be their second meeting with O’Sullivan prevailing 4-2 in the first encounter at the Northern Ireland Open back in 2019.

GOOD AFTERNOON

Hello and welcome to LIVE updates of the opening day of snooker at the Welsh Open in Llandudno.

We’ll be focusing on seven-time World champion Ronnie O’Sullivan as he starts his bid for a fifth Welsh Open crown against Oliver Lines.

O’Sullivan and Trump in action on opening day of Welsh Open

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump will be the headline acts on the opening day of the Welsh Open in Llandudno.

It is a star-studded affair at Venue Cymru, with O’Sullivan leading the charge in the afternoon session on Monday against Oliver Lines.

While O’Sullivan is sure to have plenty of support, the Llandudno faithful will have home favourites to cheer on later in the afternoon - with Mark Williams in action against fellow Welshman, Michael White.

Neil Robertson and John Higgins are also in action on the opening afternoon against Fraser Patrick and Alexander Ursenbacher respectively.

Defending champion Joe Perry gets things underway against Mark King.