Ronnie O’Sullivan continued his strong run of form with two century breaks in a 5-2 victory over Jak Jones at the Xi’an Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion, competing in his first event since August, secured his spot in the quarter-finals, where he’ll face Gary Wilson.
Jones produced a 140 break to stay in contention, but O’Sullivan who posted a top break of 135 in the second frame wrapped up the match with an 81 to clinch the win. The 49-year-old had reached the semi-finals in the tournament’s inaugural edition last year.
Earlier in the day, world number two and defending champion Kyren Wilson suffered a 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Shaun Murphy, who struck three centuries including a 141. The 2024 world champion managed just six points as Murphy racked up a total of 533.
Murphy, the 2005 Crucible winner, will now meet Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals. “That’s probably as well as I’ve ever played,” said the 43-year-old. “It’s one of the best best-of-nine matches I’ve ever been involved in. You play so many matches over the years, and sometimes everything just clicks.”
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