He Guoqiang scalps Ronnie O'Sullivan again at English Open

admin admin | 09-18 16:15

China's He Guoqiang claimed a major scalp when he knocked seven-times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan out of the the BetVictor English Open.

The 24-year-old survived an O'Sullivan fightback to book his place in the fourth round at Brentwood courtesy of a 4-2 victory, his second of the season over the Rocket.

He told the World Snooker Tour's official website: "It feels brilliant to beat him again. It is an unreal feeling and like I am dreaming. I didn't expect at all to win again.

"I think the key is to perform my best and to play my own game. I just needed to get rid of the fear attached to playing a top player like Ronnie. There were so many spectators here, all supporting him. It didn't allow me to think of anything other than my own performance.

"The best thing I have learned over the past few months is how to play against top players and get rid of the fear and emotion of facing them. That is the most improved part of my game."

O'Sullivan found himself trailing 3-0 after He edged a tight first frame and then took the next two with breaks of 78 and 77 respectively.

The Englishman's response was concerted as he took the next two, in large part due to visits of 56 and 59, to edge his way back into the match, but the Chinese player head his nerve with a break of 50 in the fifth frame to go through.

Luca Brecel, world champion in 2023, survived a tense final frame to see off Anthony Hamilton 4-3 having fought back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2.

Elsewhere, John Higgins beat Andrew Higginson 4-1 and Jack Lisowski went down 4-3 to Xu Si, while Jamie Jones dispensed with Zhou Yuelong 4-0 and Anthony McGill beat Xiao Guodong 4-2.

England's Ben Woollaston enjoyed a famous 4-1 victory over three-times world champion Mark Williams and Neil Robertson progressed by the same scoreline against Williams' fellow Welshman Jackson Page.

Stephen Maguire achieved a 4-0 whitewash against Hungary's Bulcsu Revesz, while Barry Hawkins beat Jimmy Robertson 4-2.

Earlier, world number three Mark Allen had been made to fight all the way for a 4-3 victory over Long Zehuang, and there were wins too for Ross Muir, Hossein Vafaei, Matthew Selt, Lyu Haotian, and Jiang Jun.

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