Welsh Open Snooker 2016: Latest Scores, Draw, Schedule After Wednesday's Results
Ronnie O'Sullivan thrashed Jimmy Robertson 4-0 on Wednesday evening to book his place in the fourth round of the 2016 Welsh Open for the first time in two years.
Rocket hasn't lost a frame since beating Barry Pinches in his opening match of the tournament and looks to be gathering a head of steam as he looks to reclaim the crown he last won in 2014.
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Meanwhile, John Higgins' hopes of a second successive Welsh Open title are alive and kicking, as the reigning champion made light work of Michael Georgiou in a 4-1 win on Wednesday.
Joe Perry and Martin Gould also made it through to the last 16, as they notched wins over former world champion Ken Doherty and two-time runner-up Matthew Stevens, respectively. Last year's losing finalist, Ben Woollaston, was the last player to progress in the morning session after a narrow win over Anthony Hamilton.
Judd Trump will face Perry in the fourth round after he ran to a 4-2 win against Alan McManus on Wednesday evening.
World No. 1 Mark Selby set up a fourth-round tie opposite Mark Williams after they defeated Fergal O'Brien and Kurt Maflin, respectively, while Barry Hawkins also made it through after beating Mark Davis 4-2.
That came before world No. 4 Shaun Murphy made a shock exit from the tournament at the hands of Luca Brecel and Neil Robertson came from behind to beat Anthony McGill.
Here are Wednesday's results and a recap of the best bits of the action so far.
| John Higgins | 4-1 | Michael Georgiou |
| Joe Perry | 4-2 | Ken Doherty |
| Matthew Stevens | 3-4 | Martin Gould |
| Ben Woollaston | 4-3 | Anthony Hamilton |
| Mark Davis | 2-4 | Barry Hawkins |
| Ding Junhui | 4-3 | Matthew Selt |
| Mark Selby | 4-2 | Fergal O'Brien |
| Mark Williams | 4-2 | Kurt Maflin |
| Shaun Murphy | 2-4 | Luca Brecel |
| Graeme Dott | 2-4 | Marco Fu |
| Anthony McGill | 4-2 | Neil Robertson |
| Dechawat Poomjaeng | 3-4 | Yu De Lu |
| Liang Wenbo | 1-4 | Michael White |
| Jimmy Robertson | 0-4 | Ronnie O'Sullivan |
| Ryan Day | 1-4 | Mark Allen |
| Judd Trump | 4-2 | Alan McManus |
The full schedule and draw for the tournament can be found here.
Evening Recap
"Efficiency" looked to be the name of O'Sullivan's game on Wednesday night, as he made short work of Robertson and glided to a 4-0 victory in what seemed like record time.
In fact, Bet365 noted it may have in fact been close to a record-time win for Rocket, who rounded the four frames in just 56 minutes, restricting his foe to a paltry sum of 45 points in total:
There's often little O'Sullivan's foes can do once the five-time world champion gets up to full speed, and such was certainly the case for Robertson as he failed to even make a dent.
O'Sullivan's most noteworthy feat of the evening was a break of 131 in the third frame, of which World Snooker posted footage, expressing just how helpless Robertson was but to watch:
Rocket will come up against Yu Delu in the fourth round after the Chinese star defeated Dechawat Poomjaeng 4-3 in what was a long and drawn-out affair.
Yu went 2-0 ahead in frames before allowing his Thai opponent to win three consecutive frame victories, but he rallied from 3-2 down to emerge as victor in the end, finishing with a strong break of 58.
Comeback victories were something of a theme for the tournament's heavy hitters on Wednesday, and Trump was one of the last to complete a turnaround when he dashed McManus' hopes of an upset late in the day.
The Scottish dark horse impressed with breaks of 53 and 61, but those didn't compare with Trump's scores of 93 and 112, fighting back from 2-1 down to claim the last three frames and take the tie:
Wales' Michael White continued to fly the flag for his nation after routing Liang Wenbo 4-1 to set up a fourth-round clash with Higgins, but the same couldn't be said for Ryan Day.
He fell to Northern Ireland's Mark Allen, also by a 4-1 scoreline, with a fixture opposite Hawkins now awaiting the victor in the next phase of the Welsh Open.
Morning, Afternoon Recap
It was easy work for Higgins in this third-round outing as Georgiou rarely threatened the reigning champion at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.
After a century opening break in the very first frame, the Scot seemed as though he was ready to wrap this one up quickly. And throughout the five stanzas played, he proved to have far too much, racing to a comprehensive 4-1 triumph.
As reported by Matt from ProSnookerBlog, Higgins was keen on being alert for this contest and was up very early indeed as a result:
Selby got off to a stellar start in Wednesday's outing against Irish contender O'Brien, recording back-to-back breaks of 60 and 69 in the opening two frames to soar ahead.
O'Brien did well to level, but the world's top-ranked player gathered his thoughts to win the fifth and sixth frames without response and make it into the last 16.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live after the match, Selby said he felt a little tired after a late finish on Tuesday but said it was "nothing major," (h/t BetVictor Periscope).
Elsewhere, a tremendous break of 111 wasn't enough to earn Maflin his spot against Selby in the fourth round after Williams weathered his best efforts to seal another 4-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
The Welsh Wonder hit breaks of 70, 82 and 76 in his first three frame victories, and despite seeing Maflin strike back to trail 3-2 following his century, Williams pulled away in a tense closing frame, per World Snooker:
It was world No. 4 Murphy who claimed the more impressive breaks in his showdown opposite 2015 Welsh Open semi-finalist Brecel, but the Belgian showed terrific heart to return from 2-1 down and claim a 4-2 win.
That upset was matched by Australian giant Robertson, and World Snooker confirmed his revival thanks to a three-frame streak, including a third frame that saw him muster breaks of 61 and 78 for a total score of 139:
Robertson will encounter Marco Fu in the next phase of the competition after he took out Graeme Dott, and Ding Junhui will also be present in the fourth round after defeating Matthew Selt 4-3.
There was also drama for world No. 8 Hawkins, who came back from two frames down to seal a 4-2 victory over Davis, looking to make his fourth appearance in the Welsh Open semi-finals.
Perry also had a routine win in the morning against Doherty. The Irishman may be past his best at 46, but he still possesses plenty of quality, as you’d expect from a former world champion. But his English opponent, ranked 10th in the world, had an edge at the table.
The man from Cambridgeshire looked to be in fine form as well. As noted by LiveSnooker, Perry notched a brilliant break on his way to the last 16 with a 4-2 win:
Another player looking to recapture some of the old magic was former world No. 4 Stevens, who was a very popular figure in front of a home crowd. But in a very intriguing tussle with Gould, he eventually lost out 4-3 in a decider.
Hamilton suffered the same fate, as he was eliminated in an absorbing seven-frame tussle by Woollaston, who lost to Higgins at the final hurdle here last year. His reward for the win will be a clash with Gould in the fourth round.
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