Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ryan Day
Day Stuns O'Sullivan To Set-Up An All-Welsh Second Round Clash
Ryan Day produced one of the best victories of his career to set-up an all-Welsh second round clash with Matthew Stevens on Thursday, after beating Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open.
Day was never behind as he beat The Rocket for the first time in four meetings in front of a packed audience at the at Newport Centre
It added to the Pontycymmer man's qualifying round victory over Jimmy White on Monday where he played some superb snooker to win 4-0.
And O'Sullivan had no excuses despite missing the German Masters with illness and smashing his car on a notorious blackspot near his home last week.
Day, with his new cue and new confidence, began the way he finished against Jimmy White by leaving O'Sullivan rooted to his seat in the arena for much of the match.
O’Sullivan had a chance to compile a decent break but missed a long red from the bottom of the table to the yellow pocket.
Day hit back and put the Rocket under pressure straight away, with some excellent shots, to compile a 109 clearance and settle his nerves nicely.
And, having hit his 150th professional century in that frame, he made it 151 with a brilliant clearance in the second frame.
O'Sullivan, though, maintained the fantastic standard of the match as he potted a long red to get on the black and proceeded to amassed exactly 100 to draw his arrears back to just one frame.
Day was not shaken by this and hit back with a 31 break before putting O'Sullivan into a dreadfully tough snooker behind the brown. O’Sullivan gave away five misses before laying a chance for the home favourite which he gratefully accepted to put himself 3-1 up and within sight of victory.
The match electricity cranked up a bit more as well when O'Sullivan had a chance to go for a maximum even though the reds were split over the table. He tried but missed when his eighth red but went on to win the frame and make it 3-2.
And O'Sullivan had his chances to level the match in the sixth, he clawed back to within three points of a low-scoring frame and needed to clear the last red off the side cushion after potting the pink.
Unfortunately for him, he missed the pink off the spot and, despite leaving himself awkward on the yellow, green and brown that he needed, Day summoned up the courage to finish it off to the cheers of the home crowd.
Afterwards Day said: "I continued from Monday evening and, although I missed two longish reds in the fifth frame, they were not easy chances.
"And in the last frame, there was no chance to finish the match off until he missed the pink and nudged the red over the pocket. So I am delighted to have beaten him.
"I felt really good and confident. My main aim today was go out and enjoy it and not get caught up in who I was playing and get caught up in the occasion.
"Each match that I have played now is a step in the right direction. To beat Ronnie on that stage is only going to stand me in good stead."
And he said of his match with Stevens: "We are the best of pals so to play him will be great and I'm really looking forward to it."
O'Sullivan signed a few autographs and was out of Newport Centre as quickly as he used to race around the green baize.
Before he went to his car, though, he said: "All credit to Ryan, he has played a good match and got a couple of centuries. I didn't play too bad, to be honest, it was just the way the balls went.
"My preparation is not as good as it used to be due to circumstances. I could have done with a few matches so it has not been a good season in as far as missing a few tournaments is concerned.
"But that is how it was and it is a case of making the best of it."
Shaun Murphy v Matthew Stevens
Stevens Turns On The Style To Beat Murphy
Matthew Stevens continued his march in the Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open on Wednesday - and in some style, knocking out 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy by four-frames-to-nil.
The Carmarthen ace has not been to the latter stages of the tournament that often over the years but, after taking his place in the first round on Monday with victory over Anthony Hamilton, he saw off Murphy’s challenge in just over an hour.
Murphy admitted he hardly had a shot of note in the match, saying: "Matthew just tied me up in the long grass."
And that was reflected in the middle of his 4-0 victory with a 133 break followed by a 60 break. Both times, Murphy didn't pot a ball.
When he had his chance to get at least something back, Murphy could not take advantage. He broke down on 24 in the fourth frame and, after an 18, Stevens struck 32 which, more or less, finished the matter off.
The world rankings will be updated for a third and final time after the Welsh event and, with a 22 ranking at the moment and with most of the players above him up to number 14 no longer involved at Newport, Stevens can achieve a return to the elite top 16 if he wins the event.
For now, he is happy to get past Murphy, saying: "I felt a totally different player today (from the Hamilton match which was a final qualifier).
"I felt a lot more relaxed and it shows the way I played. I'm really happy to have beaten Shaun - I will take beating him any day. It is a good achievement.
"The first frame was the turning point where I nicked it on the black and I didn't look back after that. In a short race, the first to four frames, the other guy is under it if you win the first two.
"So it is nice to win like that. I didn't give him many chances.
"It is great to be in the last 16 of the Welsh. I don't think I have been here for a while and the main thing is I feel well and am enjoying it and that is what counts.
"There have been times when you have been struggling and not playing well before you start. It now feels like I have come back to form. I have played a lot of matches this year and I'm pretty sharp hitting the ball so I hope it continues."
It was the fourth time that Stevens has beaten Murphy recently but the 2005 World Championships final, where the Rotherham man shocked everyone to take the title, still sticks in the Welshman's mind.
"I have won the last three times so this is the fourth time on the trot. It definitely helps if you have beaten somebody a few times, going into the match knowing you can win.
"But, obviously, I would change all those four for the ones he has beaten me in," laughed the Carmarthen ace.
Stephen Hendry v Joe Perry
Welsh Win Secures Hendry's Crucible Place
Seven times world champion Stephen Hendry has secured his qualification for a record 26th consecutive Crucible appearance by retaining his top 16 place on Wednesday thanks to comfortable four-frames-to-nil win against Joe Perry.
Hendry, the former world number one, had been in serious ranking list trouble with the final review of positions before Sheffield taking place after the Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open in Newport this week.
But, as he has been his trait throughout a glorious career, Hendry does not give up easily, especially when it would mean qualifying for the event which he dominated through the 1990s.
He is 14th on the official list but, with hardly anyone below him making an impression at the Welsh Open, the threat to his survival has all but gone.
The Scotsman's accuracy took him to a 57 break in the first frame, with 48 the killer blow in the next.
At 44-30 in the third, Perry was trapped in a snooker and took three attempts to get out of it but left the Scot a clearance chance which he accepted.
And, with Perry not troubling the scorers in frame four, Hendry was home, dry, happy and relieved with a 78 break to clinch the game and progress to the second round.
He said: "I would have been gutted if I would have to qualify for the Crucible."
John Higgins v Dave Harold
Higgins Downs Harold On Way to Quarters
John Higgins has been through a lot due to his family tragedy recently but he has bounced back with immediate effect in Newport this week as he continues the defence of his Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open title.
Higgins, 35, played like a well-oiled machine in reaching the last eight by beating Stoke veteran potter Dave Harold.
In fact, Harold said he was playing the best snooker of a long career at the moment but still found himself watching from his chair for most of his second round match.
Higgins looked wobbly in beating Gloucester teenager Jack Lisowski on Monday, his first match back since the death of his father John Snr which caused him to withdraw from the German Masters in Berlin.
The world number one fired in breaks of 55 and 65 in the opening frames before Harold took the third.
A classy break of 136 break in the fourth - the second highest of the week so far - put him one frame away from victory and his safety game put Harold away in the last as he cleared up with a 35.
Afterwards, Higgins said: "It was a good match. Dave knows how to play the game and I played well. I think I only missed a couple so it is great winning 4-1.
"The first match was always going to be difficult. I had a lot of practice yesterday so I was a lot more composed than the first game. I'm pleased with that.
"I would love to defend this but I'm just through to the quarter-finals so I will just have a day off and get ready for the next one on Friday."
Mark Selby v Mark King
Selby Admits An Ugly Win Is As Good As Any
Mark Selby won ugly against Mark King but insisted that the noise coming from the next table, where Ronnie O'Sullivan was playing local hero Ryan Day, had no effect on his game.
O'Sullivan and Day hit three century breaks in the opening three frames and, with no barrier between the tables, there was the possibility that Selby and King would be distracted.
Indeed, they took 44 minutes to complete their first frame before the ‘Jester from Leicester’ ran out a 4-2 winner, with a century break of his own in the final frame.
The balls did not run well for either player in a long game and Selby said: "I found it a bit hard to focus but that is what you expect when Ronnie plays.
"He always seems to bring big crowds and there is nothing I can do about that, but, other than that, I think the game was just scrappy all the way through.
"The balls were going all over the place and frames were lasting forever. It was hard to find any rhythm and, fortunately, in the last frame I managed to get something although I had no divine right for it.
"I managed to fluke one in the last frame, Mark has put me back in and I gained the initiative. The game is crazy at times.
"That is how snooker can be. One day, you can play and hit breaks after breaks and the next day, if the balls are not letting you play and they are all over the table, there is nothing you can do about it."
Selby hit breaks of 67 and 58 in taking a 2-1 lead before King hit back with a 56 to level.
But a workman-like 36 and 33 gave Selby the fifth and then his 102 century sealed the win.
