Welsh Open Snooker 2016: Updated Scores, Draw, Schedule After Tuesday's Results

Ronnie O'Sullivan scored a hat-trick of centuries as he cruised through to the third round of the 2016 Welsh Open on Tuesday. He dismissed China's Tian Pengfei, 4-0, while reigning champion John Higgins beat Sam Baird by the same scoreline.

Mark Selby and Peter Lines went head-to-head in the final match of the day and it was worth waiting for as they produced a dramatic and tightly contested encounter.

Ali Carter was one of the highest-profile victims of an early exit, losing to Fergal O'Brien of Ireland, 4-3.

Former world champion Shaun Murphy was the biggest name to progress in the morning session, as he got the better of Mitchell Mann in an exciting tussle. The 2005 world champion was pushed hard by his less illustrious opponent but eventually, 4-3. Also through to the last 32 are Kurt Maflin and Liang Wenbo after they notched comfortable 4-1 victories.

Here are the results so far from the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff and a recap of how the action has panned out to this point.

Morning Session
Afternoon Session
Evening Session
Liang Wenbo	4-1	Gary Wilson
Michael White	4-3	Tom Ford
Shaun Murphy	4-3	Mitchell Mann
Leo Fernandez	1-4	Kurt Maflin
Dechawat Poomjaeng	4-1	Robert Milkins
Yu Delu	4-3	Ricky Walden
Jimmy Robertson	4-1	Michael Holt
David Gilbert	3-4	Ken Doherty
John Higgins	4-0	Sam Baird
Peter Ebdon	2-4	Michael Georgiou
James Cahill	1-4	Mark Davis
Robbie Williams	3-4	Barry Hawkins
Luca Brecel	4-3	Mark King
Matthew Selt	4-1	Sydney Wilson
Judd Trump	4-1	Rory McLeod
Allan Taylor	2-4	Anthony Hamilton
Ding Junhui	4-3	Joe Swail
Ross Muir	3-4	Graeme Dott
Daniel Wells	1-4	Marco Fu
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh	1-4	Anthony McGill
Allister Carter	3-4	Fergal O'Brien
Tian Pengfei	0-4	Ronnie O'Sullivan
Alan McManus	4-1	Mark Joyce
Matthew Stevens	4-2	Martin O'Donnell
Mike Dunn	3-4	Ryan Day
Stuart Carrington	1-4	Neil Robertson
Mark Williams	4-2	Rod Lawler
Joe Perry	4-2	Li Hang
Robin Hull	3-4	Mark Allen
Mark Selby	4-2	Peter Lines
Jack Lisowski	3-4	Martin Gould
Alfie Burden	1-4	Ben Woollaston

The full schedule and draw for Round 3 can be found here.

Evening Recap

Selby made a strong start against Peter Lines as he began proceedings with a century, taking the frame thanks to an impressive 133 break.

Lines pulled level at 1-1 and the pair produced a particularly intriguing third frame.

The world No. 1 looked to be heading comfortably to a 2-1 lead as he hit a break of 70, but his compatriot put in a remarkable effort to remain in contention as they repeatedly snookered one another, per Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart:

Selby eventually overcame Lines' valiant defence, but as Live Snooker noted it was not long before the latter equalised once again:

Lines carried that momentum into the following frame, where he left Selby needing a snooker to avoid losing the frame after taking the reds. The 32-year-old did just that, though, per Huart:

After Lines missed the green at 51-27, the Jester from Leicester saw out the frame in dramatic fashion as he cleared from brown to black to take 25 and edge it by a single point.

This time it was Selby who carried his form into the next frame as he earned his second ton of the evening—a 128 break—and kept Lines off the board to see out the win 4-2.

Afternoon Recap

O'Sullivan waltzed past Tian in style following his mixed performance on the opening day of the competition.

Rocket kicked off proceedings with a cool 110 break and quickly added 90, 112 and 102 in a brutal whitewash against his helpless opponent, who potted just eight balls in the entire match and whose highest break amounted to 15.

Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart noted the ease with which O'Sullivan won and identified his next opponent:

Twitter user Captain Safety shared the one-sided final stats, courtesy of the BBC's broadcast:

As snooker writer Jay Shaw noted, the match lacked Monday's controversy, in which O'Sullivan turned down the opportunity to hit 147:

The Englishman was widely criticised for his actions, but after his defeat of Tian, he said he hopes it will be seen as a "bit of a laugh," via Live Snooker:

Judd Trump's match with Rory McLeod was a close contest, as the pair exchanged frames early on, and though the former did not drop any further frames, the latter put in a strong performance, as noted by Live Snooker:

Carter looked to be well on his way to victory over O'Brien when he took a commanding lead in the match, but the Irishman valiantly fought back, as Huart revealed:

Meanwhile, Higgins will face Michael Georgiou following his whitewash over Baird, the latter having overcome Peter Ebdon, 4-2.

Morning Recap

Murphy finished last season on a high, having made his way to the world championship final, and looked in fine fettle when he took on Itaro Santos in Round 1, winning, 4-1. But there were a few nerves against Mann, who looked capable of springing a surprise at one point.

As noted here by the Live Snooker Twitter feed, Murphy held his composure with the score at 3-3, showing the kind of temperament you’d expect from a player of his calibre:

Another player who impressed early in the day was Wenbo, who finished 2015 well with a final appearance at the UK Championship. 

The 28-year-old had few problems in his victory over Gary Wilson, enjoying a 4-1 triumph. It’s a win that sets up an intriguing showdown in the last 32 with Welshman Michael White, who was a popular winner when he got the better of Tom Ford in a seven-frame thriller.

As we can see courtesy of SnookerRoom, White produced some wonderful shots during his time at the table:

The biggest name to miss out on the next round from the morning was Ricky Walden, who was defeated in seven frames by Yu Delu. It was a result that will be another big boost for O’Sullivan, with the world No. 12 one of the best players in his section of the bracket.