Ronnie O’Sullivan reveals he was ‘on phone to Samaritans’ at snooker world championships
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The snooker UK Championship continues the York Barbican on Thursday as Ronnie O’Sullivan returns to the table to face Robert Milkins after an impressive storm to victory in the first round against Anthony McGill. The Rocket rattled off six frames in a row to come from two down and claim the match 6-2 in what could be an ominous sign for the rest of the field at this tournament.
Robert Milkins, meanwhile, defeated Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-5 in a gruelling contest that went down to the final frame. He should expect another tough fight this afternoon is he is to sneak past the 2022 world champion.
Also on the table today is John Higgins who beat Joe O’Connor 6-3 in the opening round. His opponent is Zhou Yuelong of China who dumped Neil Robertson out of the championship last time out. This one should be a highly entertaining affair with the winner going on to face the victor of O’Sullivan and Milkins’ match in the quarter-finals.
Follow the action from the UK Championship below:
Judd Trump earns 950th career century as he reaches UK Championship quarter-finals
The 34-year-old had been suffering the apparent effects of flu as he arrived at the tournament, but followed up his opening 6-1 victory over Pang Junxu with another convincing display.
Trump – who became only the fifth player in history to win three back-to-back ranking tournaments last month – never looked back after starting with a break of 100, for a 950th career century.
Mike Jones30 November 2023 12:22
How much is the prize fund?
Competing players share total prize money of £1,205,000, with the winner in line to receive £250,000.
An additional £15,000 is available to the player who compiles the highest break, while two maximums made across any of the three Triple Crown events this season will be rewarded with a £147,000 bonus.
Mike Jones30 November 2023 12:15
How to watch the UK Championship
The UK Championship began on Saturday 25 November and will conclude with the final on Sunday 3 December at the Barbican in York. 32 players compete in the main draw.
The BBC will provide coverage of the tournament, with Thursday’s matches starting from 13:00-17:15 on BBC Two and then the evening session starting at 19:00-20:00, BBC Two. Highlights begin at 23:15-00:05 on BBC Two.
Mike Jones30 November 2023 12:10
UK Snooker Championship – Tuesday 30 November schedule
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Robert Milkins
John Higgins v Zhou Yuelong
Hossein Vafaei v Matthew Selt
Mike Jones30 November 2023 12:05
UK Snooker Championship LIVE
The round of 16 continues today with Ronnie O’Sullivan in action against Robert Milkins and John Higgins taking on China’s Zhou Yuelong.
O’Sullivan came from two frames down to defeat Anthony McGill 6-2 in his opening contest while Higgins have a similarly easy match against Joe O’Connor, triumphing 6-3. Things are set to get trickier for both men as they take to the table for the second round looking to set up a quarter-final clash with each other.
Yesterday’s action saw Judd Trump storm into the quarter-finals with a 6-0 win over Jamie Jones. The 34-year-old had been suffering the apparent effects of flu as he arrived at the tournament, but followed up his opening 6-1 victory win over Pang Junxu with another convincing display, including a break of 100 to start the match, for a 950th career century.
On the other table, Ding Junhui saw off Tom Ford 6-3 to reach the last eight thanks to breaks of 126 and 110, although Ford did hit back with runs of 118 and 98 to level the match. But, Ding took the eighth frame and then closed out victory with a break of 106, which should secure his place in next year’s Masters.
Today’s action gets underway at 1pm GMT.
Mike Jones30 November 2023 12:00
