Masters Snooker 2016 Results: Updated Draw and Schedule After Tuesday's Scores
Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed his place in the Masters Snooker 2016 quarter-finals on Tuesday, defeating world No. 14 Mark Williams 6-5 after overcoming a two-frame deficit at London's Alexandra Palace.
The win means the Rocket has made it into the tournament's last eight for the 18th time in his career, the same stage at which he fell out of the 2015 competition.
O'Sullivan will face world No. 1 Mark Selby in the quarter-finals after Selby routed Ricky Walden 6-0 in Tuesday's evening session to demonstrate his intent on winning this year's title.
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Read on for a breakdown of all the latest results from Alexandra Palace and an updated look at Wednesday's Masters schedule:
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6-5 | Mark Williams |
| Mark Selby | 6-0 | Ricky Walden |
| John Higgins | 1 p.m. GMT/8 a.m. ET | Liang Wenbo |
| Neil Robertson | 7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET | Marco Fu |
Tuesday Recap
Selby cruised past Walden in Tuesday's evening encounter, where "The Stamina Man" simply could live with the pace set by the 2014 world champion.
Speaking to World Snooker after the win, Selby was eager to heap praise on Walden despite their head-to-head, and he's looking to end a trophy drought now after missing out on several titles this season:
The Jester from Leicester collected big breaks in all but one of his six frame victories, including a match-high of 113 in the second, as well as breaks of 81 and 83 in the fourth and six frames, respectively.
Perhaps the most impressive clearance in terms of shots played, however, was the first-frame 71, where Selby came back from 52 points down to storm into a 1-0 lead and never look back.
Pro Snooker Blog attested to the upcoming quarter-final between him and O'Sullivan as being the fourth time they'll have met at the Masters, although Selby has perhaps never fancied his chances so much:
Earlier on Tuesday, O'Sullivan made a triumphant return to televised action and found himself up against the wall at times against Williams, coming back from 4-2 down to defeat the Welshman by just a single frame.
World Snooker made sure to celebrate the five-time world champion's return to snooker's peak, having spent nine months away from competitive snooker prior to this year's Masters:
The Rocket's performance was bookended by a fine start and an even more impressive finish, one that saw him record 50-plus breaks in each of the fixture's last five frames.
In fact, the 40-year-old was so aware of just how far Williams pushed him that he admitted he "should have lost that match," according to broadcaster Nick Metcalfe:
O'Sullivan got the action underway by winning back-to-back frames to establish an early 2-0 lead, but a break of 64 in the third frame set Williams up for four successive frame victories, per World Snooker Data.
As impressive as Williams was en route to that streak, it was an atrocious miscue from O'Sullivan in the third frame that created the initial opening, as shown by Eurosport:
The tournament's No. 6 seed capitalised all the same, and an upset looked to be on the cards after Williams surged ahead to a 4-2 lead, but it was here that the Rocket began his own mighty revival.
O'Sullivan registered breaks of 104 and 117 in the seventh and ninth frames, respectively, and his opponent potted just 12 points over the course of the next three frames as Williams trailed 5-4.
The Welsh Wonder managed to get back on the board as both he and O'Sullivan made half-century breaks in the 10th frame, but it was Williams who took advantage and finished with an 85-point haul to draw level.
A 62 break corrected that error for O'Sullivan, however, and although he told BBC Sport he was far from content with his display, he was undoubtedly glad to move past the first hurdle (h/t Eurosport):
"It was alright. We both missed a lot of balls. Bit lucky to get through really. I didn't really feel nervous. I missed a couple of tournaments due to problems with my back. Unless I play well and start flowing a bit, there is no joy in it for me.
I'm miles away from my best, but I'm pleased to be in and I hope to gain some momentum. Unless you are playing really well, it is difficult to win tournaments. I should have lost that match today really. But I got lucky. Mark will feels disappointed about losing it [sic].
"
For Williams, it's a missed opportunity to claim a major scalp, and O'Sullivan will know Selby is likely to present an even greater challenge.
That fixture will take place on Thursday, giving O'Sullivan two days to assess his mistakes and ensure Alexandra Palace see more of the old Rocket in the test to come.
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