World Snooker Championship 2016 Results: Revised Schedule After Monday's Scores
Barry Hawkins knocked out Ronnie O'Sullivan during Monday's evening session of the 2016 World Snooker Championship, beating the Rocket 13-12 in one of the most exciting matches in the rich history of the Crucible Theatre.
O'Sullivan did well to force a decider, winning three straight frames, but an unfortunate error in the final stanza sealed his fate. During the same session, John Higgins beat Ricky Walden 13-8 to move into the quarter-finals.
Ding Junhui reached the last-eight during the afternoon session, as he saw out his second-round match with fifth-seeded Judd Trump to win 13-10.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Leading 10-6 coming into Monday's afternoon session, Ding weathered an excellent comeback from the Englishman and eventually claimed victory in efficient fashion.
Meanwhile, Mark Allen won four consecutive frames in Monday's first session to cut into Kyren Wilson's lead, but the Warrior found his best form at the right time to come away with a 13-9 win.
Here's a look at Monday's schedule and results with the last-eight lineup still yet to be confirmed.
| Afternoon Session (1 p.m. BST) | Best of 25 frames | |
| Judd Trump | 10-13 | Ding Junhui |
| Mark Allen | 9-13 | Kyren Wilson |
| Evening Session (7 p.m. BST) | ||
| Ricky Walden | 8-13 | John Higgins |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 12-13 | Barry Hawkins |
| Alan McManus | vs. | John Higgins |
| Mark Williams | vs. | Ding Junhui |
| Marco Fu | vs. | Barry Hawkins |
| Mark Selby | vs. | Kyren Wilson |
Evening Recap
Hawkins and O'Sullivan had been nothing short of magnificent during the first two sessions of their clash, but the two switched gears during Monday's evening session, serving up a contest snooker fans will remember for a long time.
Trailing 9-7, O'Sullivan started off with a 93 break and added a 70 to keep things close, but Hawkins kept winning the tactical battles, inching ever closer to the next round.
But the five-time world champion did what he always seems to do when his back is against the wall, going on a fantastic run down 12-9 with breaks of 124, 88 and 62. Along the way, he took plenty of risks, via World Snooker:
The final frame saw the two engage in a lengthy safety battle before Hawkins made a clever pot to the corner pocket. The safety battle meant he had few reds to work with, and eventually, he was forced to play safe off a touching ball.
O'Sullivan took over and appeared to have a shot at another unlikely comeback, but he potted the cue ball attempting a shot on blue, effectively ending his challenge.
Per Sky Sports' Dave Clark, Hawkins was happy to finally get the better of the Rocket:
Higgins didn't have it as difficult against Walden, as he entered the evening session with a 10-6 lead and started off on the right foot, winning the first frame with a break of 59. Walden produced breaks of 62 and 84 to take the next two frames, but the former champion closed the deal with a 92 and a 99.
Afternoon Recap
Ding and Trump had both looked in scrappy form in the second session of their match on Sunday evening, but the pair showed some fine form in the early stages of Monday's action.
Trump managed to steal the opener from his Chinese opponent, producing a brilliant 70 clearance to move to 10-7 down after Ding had broken down on a red to the middle after a break of 65.
However, Ding did not lose his composure, producing frame-winning visits of 72 and 91 to move within one of a place in the last eight for the third time in four years at the Crucible.
Trump forced the match into the midsession interval, though, as he scrapped back to 12-8 and got within three frames thanks to a 56 break and some decent safety.
An excellent 88 from Trump then saw Ding's lead cut to 12-10, and World Snooker wondered whether the latter was in trouble:
But the 23rd frame proved to be the clincher, as Ding used some excellent safety play to keep Trump from putting together another high break before finishing the contest on the colours.
Juddernaut took to Twitter after the match:
Ding hasn't made the semi-finals at the Crucible since 2011, but the 29-year-old has a great chance of becoming the first Asian player to win the world championship this year. With the likes of Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham already out of the tournament, the road to the final looks a little easier.
Elsewhere, Wilson continued his remarkable run with a win over Allen, surviving a late rally from the Northern Irishman.
Allen won the first four frames of the third session, recording breaks of 86 and 103 in back-to-back frames, before a 71 from Wilson stopped his run.
The win takes Wilson into the provisional top 16 of the world standings for the first time in his career, and with former world champion Mark Selby entering their contest in shaky form, another upset could be on the cards.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
