Young Zhao Xintong Surprises Ronnie O'Sullivan | 2016 English Open ‒ Snooker

we're all set and ready to go left-handed with a real gift not the finished article interesting listening to jimmy white saying boy can he talk well there are signs that he is an extreme talent but this is the biggest test of his career and his young life so far look at the crucible we had all kinds of night drama but middle of the next morning drama didn't we the likes of thorburn and griffiths oh yeah that match finished at 3 51 in the morning that was actually the match that's best remembered for the 147 that cliff made so these things happen it's the youngster who gets the first point of the match on the board a little bit unlucky to finish fabulous shot actually to hit the side cushion and bottom cushion he's unlucky as you say on the black but he's got a shot at the pink well already if you've not seen him play before there is a chance perhaps even if you are still confused yes that you haven't a clean clutter of ball a lot of the young chinese playing kind of slightly more mechanical not all of them but this is one with true natural skill 14. thank you well that wasn't easy either and the angle he has suggests he can go into the bunch with quite a lot of ease here if he did it could be you could be on the brink of winning the opening frame big shot this wow i love the way he played the shot he really plowed into the bunch what a confident opening looking like a veteran in this frame so far a little sense of purpose around the table it looks cucumber cool just a little bit loose that shot i think ronnie deep down once of course we know he wants to win he wants in all the matches but deep down he will admire it was interesting listening to trump the other day after his first round win talk about playing of course he's seen a lot of him recently as they've been playing a series of exhibitions and he says how much he's been able to learn just by watching o'sullivan at close quarters and it's almost as though he was wanting to impress o'sullivan with the quality of his play that's the impact that this guy has had on the game 53 but there's always room for a new superstar neil and yes and that's worked out well it would be for zhao to make a century in the very first frame of his very first professional meeting with ronnie o'sullivan it's a distinct possibility now well especially with that shot that was uh rightly behind the red when he can console himself he's done an awful lot wrong he missed a red to the middle pocket joe's opener that's a pretty good one he's not looked back since one good shot with the rest and the century should be his for the taking he didn't hold back did he what a break this has been wonderful well they've waited some time to see ronnie o'sullivan step out into the arena but it's his opponent it's dazzling them in the early running time anyone asked you about snooki lots of young chinese players coming through yep that's been the case for a while but this could be the real start of influx of players of this ability there are 112 i would think four players of a similar age we're just about to head into the higher ranks and seeing what kind of precocious talent this one's got magnificent from the teenager stunning stuff a clearance of 130 against ronnie o'sullivan in the very first frame wow went full-blooded for the part always been lucky that's a pretty outrageous fluke actually so a sullivan with a fluke it he's got to use the good luck to his fortune to his advantage because he could really do with this frame there have been periods during o'sullivan's career that perfectionism of his has served to be some kind of torture for him mentally his inability to accept at times that he can't play as he would like every time he steps out on the table i think he's a lot more forgiving of himself these days when things don't go entirely to plan 21. that was a kick it's very rare that o'sullivan gets the cue ball cleaned even when he does get a kick i think the jury is out still as to whether cleaning the cue ball has any effect that's not gone to plan either 42 point lead nonetheless well that was a double kiss that took the cue ball up the table there and it's left something for a sullivan with the rest thank you well what about that for a shot if you get a chance to try and get you look at it again seven no i mean it wasn't a dead set plot is nearly there had to slightly make it veronica sullivan oh to fathom so a chance for xiao to get back into this frame 49 points a drift but still plenty there tell you what's on what i would say here i wish joe would use a different type of tool because the table is a mess on that left side on that right side there again we might be able to get a look at it but there's so many chalk marks it's unbelievable we'll get more kicks just to the right of the black spot there all these screw shots he plays there's a huge chalk mark on the table and uh if we're going to get kicks that might not help look at all those we've only played a couple of frames not even that it's making a mess of the conditions out there well what a frame this would be to win for xiao the first was achieved by a quite brilliant clearance of 130 and sullivan's had a couple of chances to put this away he's had some good fortune as well yellow and green the obvious problems in terms of 24 clearance well the chalk marks not distracting jail that was a good shot not with received with any applause but of course the clearance is uh nothing's possible but it's not on where yellow and green are to get from one to the other i don't see it happening unless something gets shifted before then and that was a good kiss actually it gives you a chance to get from brown to final red 56 time to lay a good snooker red on or close to a color would help matters here this new cause it's certainty initial 49 point lead reduced to just 13 with 35 left right next to the yellow would have been interesting for the stability of a free ball but it could conceivably go around the back of this was there zombie famous and has he left a free ball chaos four that's an important question i don't think so but the red is available i stick to my guns and say that uh to clear up the yellow and green where they are is one in about a thousand i think a little bit casual on the pink yeah i think so thinking about the shot where she's coming next but there isn't one as long as he is concerned now it is mr pink well he doesn't look as sharp tonight as he did his previous match last night getting away from that he has been pressurized so this frame still very much in the balance eight points between them it's good contact [Applause] really play a snooker but i tell you he played a pretty good shot out of one so often the double kiss leads to trouble and sullivan can pop this yellow the problem is though philip is how did you get on the green and uh if he misses the blue it's a very fine effort he's the human stop though the angle was perfect run a balls with too far which makes this shot if he plays it at all difficult he knows it could cost him the frame if he goes for this and leaves it over the pocket it's a risk that he may or may not feel the need to take well let me just fortune sullivan thought twice about that one he knew it was risky but now no it's surely a frame winner and a match leveller just a little bit of work to do here playing this down the bottom these can be missed he knows this has got to be given his full attention i think he'll breathe a sigh of relief it's not an o'sullivan sort of frame rather scrappy towards the end it doesn't suit him but we've got a game on our hands here yes no fireworks as yet from the rocket but he'll be delighted to have leveled earlier try to hit the first jaw and take the cue ball back up the table thank you there's a bit of work still to be done couldn't avoid the red above the one he was playing this is frame ball normal service with a 2-1 lead he's just keeping zhao off the table which i think is quite important actually i'm giving you a look in reminding him what he's up against here 72 well that was uh again how do you force that sort of an angle extraordinary shot actually i know it was an exhibition shot end of frame dead parts of the frame if you're a snooker enthusiast this off because this match is uh it's got potential to be one of the great matches of the season philly terrific stuff from both players and ronnie o'sullivan has come to the party now as well having lost the first frame to that wondrous 130 from the man in your picture he says what he does at close range that's a difficult shot to go for you kind of sense all the way you're watching somebody with a few rough edges almost presenting a sullivan with a chance he hadn't really worked together against o'sullivan you ought to get them otherwise you can be punished didn't want the cannon on the yellow however well you'd have to play it with a bit of left hand so i just bend it around the ground ball that's never going to be an easy shot to play sullivan well you can cut the red to the middle keeble could finish anywhere why my goodness me that is an outrageous piece of good fortune it could have finished anywhere but well yeah this is a really fiddly little shot to play the cup but he's got it and with the yellow up the table it gave him good playing around that sullivan is as quick as anybody in and amongst the walls but jiao is matching him in every department of the scoring side of it and he made sure actually it's quite sensible coming towards the red naturally from the angle on this black [Applause] none of this has been in doubt really he's looked utterly assured about his prospects of making a framework a second century break of the match this really is the kind of thing that you tend to remember long after it's over 107 all that tough [Applause] going to the bunch to win the frame in one visit one after each 59 there's your answer this is absolutely perfect and these small little things the decisions he makes are the reason he's such a wonderful player fabulous play into the middle certainly it's red is the one okay clean as a whistle just the extra you have to put into that it was uh for once a cueva that wasn't perfectly in place hit that little bit hard from on the side rail this is an even bigger test for me did you help the shot like that this to the near jaw certainly and those reds actually go to the right corner as well not as tangled up as they look from that view i need to do very little about this now there's a feeling of helplessness sometimes i've taken your opponent is clearing up you haven't much room to play with there wonderful shot actually perfect again he goes any further he's not on the red that's it bigger shot of the match for me this next one if he lands behind the red he can go 3-2 up and if he does it it would be every bit as impressive as the two centuries he's made what a marvelous shot perfect 46. now another treasure shot here stun the blacking around for the yellow 55 where's the danger for a young player like joe could freeze on the big occasion we needed 62. no side of it though philip no on the other hand on the contrary he's relishing the opportunity what a break this has been he's got plenty [Applause] he's playing the cross double here safety error you really can't afford those so a chance for zhao to get back in one [Applause] a very famous victory this win if he can pull it off it would be the biggest of his life so far something special months and seasons ahead fourteen fifteen down to the bottom of the cables playing on the loose red by the pink 22. so next shot important up for the blue top side then into the remaining reds and the bunch big shot the way the reds are shaped it doesn't hit them flush on the keyboard just could slide off them a little that's exactly what happened spencer it sullivan fans the good news is he didn't win the frame in one visit like he has been doing safety battle all important from here on in in this frame with the reds nicely spread i just saw from those stats there joe isn't as good at keeping ronnie out perhaps the other way around at long range [Applause] these days he's back to his long potting game this is where the left-handedness comes in handy it's been outscored this evening o'sullivan probably got pretty favorable odds on that at the outset but he is such a competitor there's only three two down but anyone who's watched so much will know what i mean two centuries and an 80 from zhao sullivan with 85 and 50 half century break in a losing cause in the previous frame 70 chance to just flick the red away that's to the right of the black well there you go 11 and a half minutes of frame that's outstanding both such instinctive players yeah the shot of the black was outstanding as well 25 still work to do he's sure that it will land him on one but what other choices does he have he's probably just got to play it and hope yep he had no real idea there 51. so things have gone awry for oh sullivan well at least it looks as though they had my goodness me great recovery but again still pressure on the next shot through bulk down for the next red probably the one that is closest to well they'd be happy to see that in the jaws that was he sensed that three or four shots in a row pressure had been mounting on a sullivan hasn't got to do it in one visit all the time sort of uses experiences from here slide down to the business end of the table again in the event once stuck in the jaws lifted up and now is sullivan back at the table does he really want to play on the red it's a question if he's not got the angle to get on it extraordinary effort there on that side i still don't know he wants to kill him many players will be looking very seriously they're playing a safety shot well there's nothing safe if he misses it yeah i think he might have played the wrong shot there getting on this red if it goes in all the better ronnie should have waited one year not gone for the pink or played on the pink knocked it in with the viewer playing a 100 safety shot 29 the difference well he's got the snooker anyway well well [Applause] do you think ronnie needs to calm himself down a little guy who is relatively very wet behind the ears here's an occasion where ronnie choice between the double or chance to play really telling safety shot and this time it goes in i think they're in for an absolute male biter here that was frame ball barring snookers and it looks as though we are going the distance and it's fitting it's been a terrific battle o'sullivan hasn't been at his best but that's a lot to do with the quality of zhao's game he's been frozen out for periods xiao has been doing the lion's share of the scoring wealth of experience to find a way i'd expect ronnie to just get his composure back i think he lost it for a while there well the game is playing between the ears sometimes matching that's potting is difficult to do either way don't switch over because this is brilliant to end the third day of the brand new english open this is a terrific tussle gather his thoughts he's been put through the ringer at times this evening against young xiao jin tong that's not a great break off though from the young chinese in this deciding frame it's been an absolutely compelling match an hour and 15 minutes of pure snooker entertainment a good deal of it provided by the 19 year old butt neil that mistake could be costly well it's the old drifting red that can happen off that break off shot quite why it ends up down there you probably hit the bottom red two thick relatively modest on the brake building stakes 85 in the third frame is best it's been zhao with the eye-catching scoring two century breaks including that quite brilliant 130 clearance 12. that is not a good shot for my solo on the overhead there now the keyboard goes into the bunch last thing he wanted here what a recovery [Applause] he does not want to be put in the shade in any way shape or form it's just not something he's used to believe in that shot not everyone at that point in the decider would have gone into the bunch 26. state with a break off those are the margins when you're playing one of the all-time greats 54. again the cannon played despite two other reds up the table which other players perhaps would have played safe with knocking those in really the table is at his mercy now he's created this all on his own okay you got the opening read to go at but he's made the rest happen looking to save his best till last 43. it's been a long day and some long matches had quite a few surprise results as well mark selby the biggest casualty on this shaw murphy bowing out to liang stephen maguire despite an excellent performance losing to ryan day is he going to go into the bunch for what will be the third time in the break choices to make if you could play on the right-hand red and get onto the black from it points why does it have enough that's a very calculated decision for my sullivan i completely understand it playing to the scoreboard but he's missed the red and he missed it by sullivan 62. quite a margin so having played the percentages there o'sullivan he wasn't able to seal the deal and that's very unusual he can't believe it well he's never looked more under pressure than now sitting there knowing that he was on the brink and winning a great match and mostly mercifully for a sullivan the plant wasn't there and a red and a high value color would be enough to leave zhao requiring a sneaker in this decider pretty close well where's his color coming from here if this is not straight perhaps he can stand up for a bulk color one he just managed to get enough on there to get on the blue that was well played i don't know if he played the cannon not surprised if he did he's still on that one seven surely he's not the player not the red out at this stage i think he's got to try and get some points back that's very well played indeed that's just such a good shot he just seems so sure of him of himself when he's in the balls there's no flicker of hesitation about what he's trying to do he doesn't want to push the red or the pink safe here that he's going to go into he wants to make sure they stay in the middle of the table it's not helping him with the hams at all oh no he took his eye off the pot i don't think that was pressure it was just a slight lapse in concentration we've seen precious few of those this evening when he's been in amongst them but that is surely gonna spell curtains for shout out the quickest i've seen that sullivan move tonight is out of his chair there to get this chance that he didn't expect 45 the lead just 43 on and a shame really if that is to be the shot that koshal the match it was very uncharacteristic of the performance he's put in i think ronnie will be full of respect and give good compliments to jail if he wins this match which it looks like he now will thank you don't think there's any doubt about that 50 the difference 43 on two sneakers required as things stand do you really want to play the thin cut it wins the match but he might not want to oh he does want to play it and that now is the match and i have to say philip that's what i've really enjoyed fabulous entertainment what a way to finish the third day of the inaugural english open front and it's a order [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Cesar Muroya

Views: 2,906,850

Keywords: snooker

Id: Tv5YYl3x2rM

Length: 34min 33sec (2073 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 28 2021