Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-5 Liang Wenbo: Frame-by-frame

Anyway, thanks all for your company - I and we will be back on Thursday for the quarters. Bye!

It seemed to take a final-frame decider to get O'Sullivan going, but get going he did, and everyone who isn't Liang breathes a sigh of relief. He is still with us. Great effort from yerman, though - he's improved so much this season - but you can't give a sucker an even break, let alone the great player ever to pick up a cue. More generally, what a start to the competition that was - not always a great standard, but a serious thrill, with the promise of plenty more to come.

Another black, in and out of baulk, and that century that never quite materialised earlier, is now on. He does it with a brown, rockets in the blue - geddit? - then the pink, then the black, AND THERE IT IIT IS! 121 to win a final frame decider, really, what an effort! Liang is smiling hard, but his internal organs must be weeping. Phew!

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What an escape this is going to be. Ronnie cracks home a red, splits more reds, rolls in a blue and another red, and this is did. Poor old Liang! Down goes the green, another red, a black, and what a break this is!

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Ronnie is now in the cluster at the top of the table, the blacks being sent for, and this is now a serious chance to take frame and match. Liang has just called for a bucket.

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Ronnie takes on a long red, drains it with customary elan, and no one's yet said all you want in a final frame is one chance, but all you want in a final frame is once chance, and this is that. Not that there isn't loads of work to do, there is, but to paraphrase Ryan Giggs, he'd've took it.

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Gosh, it's going to be a rough night's sleep for Liang if can't bring this one home; a rough week's sleep. And he's soon tight on the top cushion, but what a red he finds, gently rolling it into the middle pocket, only to finish on nothing.

Liang misjudges the black! Why didn't he play it dead weight? And Ronnie rolls it in! We have ourselves a decider!

O'Sullivan smashes a pink when there was no need! He misses! And here comes Liang! Down go the colours - pink and black for the match! Down goes the pink! A black down the rail! He's a little lower than he'd like, given there's no need for position, but still, match ball against Ronnie O'Sullivan - you'd take it!

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Ronnie leaves Liang on the top cushion, but the red he missed earlier is available to the same corner. He holds his nerve to send it home deadweight, then plays a horrendous shot on the blue, which looked like match-ball, to leave himself a profoundly taxing red to the middle. He can't drop it in, so Ronnie has yet another chance to save himself. This is fantastically tense stuff, but the standard is not so good, he says as Ronnie starts rolling them in. A lovely flick off a red means that all balls have paths to pockets, and it looks a lot like we're getting a decider!

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Oh dear. Liang, flush with buzz, takes on a remarkably tough pink - he's on it straight, with the rest, and misses to the corner but quite some way. Huge chance for Ronnie, and he doesn't look minded to let is pass, quickly opening the pack. But oh dear again - O'Sullivan his the black half-ball, not full-ball, finds himself close to the top-left corner, behind the red, and can't quite sent it into the green pocket.

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Ronnie leaves a red and Liang pockets it, then cues beautifully to send the blue into the yellow pocket - that was a pressure pot and again, he wore it well. A red and a green follow - he's 47 away from victory.

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Ronnie is quickly back at the table, knocking home another red, but not only can he not find the position that always looked a tough ask, but he's snookered himself. He tries for the yellow, off the side cushion, misses it by a whisker, and Liang puts him back. This time, he misses by more, but his third effort is a good one, leaving the cue ball on the top cushion.

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Liang jaws a red, forcing it through to force position on the blue, and Ronnie cracks home an opening red that takes him onto the black. Down it goes, but he misses the cannon on a red at the bottom of the pack and plays safe, enjoying some luck when the blue blocks the route to a loose red.

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So, Liang needs one from two, and WHAT A POT HE PRODUCES following the break. He's hampered by the top cushion, but still spanks a red into the opposite corner, then the green,.

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Three in a row for Liang! He rolls a lovely pink down the rail and misses the black, but he's held it down brilliantly these last three frames when he wasn't far off going 2-5 down. Ronnie has been lacklustre in the last hour or so - perhaps he thought he was home when he won those two frames after the interval. Verily, he is not.

Mistake from Ronnie and Liang drains the red, then rolls in the black so gently it barely makes it. But down it goes, then the last red, the yellow, the green, and he's dormie one!

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The loose red goes down, so it's the black, from which Liang will be looking for the cannon - he misses, so, up in baulk, he'll try to knock at least one safe and bring the white back up. He can't hold it, leaving Ronnie a tough cut into the top right ... which he misses! The white goes safe.

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Liang has more or less cleared the easy ones, so now has to eliminate that red from the start of the frame, two more stuck together near the pink spot, and then another on its other wide. The one in baulk has gone...

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Up comes Liang for a chance he can't possibly have expected, and though there are balls close together, none are on the cushion, so if he gets the cannons right, this is a potential framewinner. And in any case, at 4-4, you'll get what you're given and like it.

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Ronnie goes into the pack off another blue - hard - and he's done nicely. But then, after knocking in the red, he forces a black too hard, it whizzes out of the jaws, and he hangs his head.

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Liang takes a while to work out what to do next, then clips a stray red against the side cushion, a little thinner than planned, and takes the white into the green pocket! What an oversight that was! Ronnie promptly takes a red and a blue as he works his way down to the pack, then another of each.

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Liang finds himself close to, but not touching the pack, plays into it, and Ronnie plays away from it, leaving him on the top cushion. That red we discussed earlier is preventing a return to baulk, so there's a bit more tipping and tapping.

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Ronnie misses a long pot but leaves nothing, and is doubly fortunate when the red that comes back up to baulk is blocked off by green and brown, the otherwise obvious safety shot.

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That wasn't a difficult break once he was in, but that brings with it its own pressure: you can't miss, and you daren't. He doesn't, until it's secure. And when you think about what happened in the first two frames, he cold already be home.

Liang is looking very relaxed out there, cruising around the table as it gradually empties. Ronnie stifles a yawn sat back in his chair, and what a frame we've got coming up.

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Liang uses the extension to knock in a red, follows it with the black, and 4-4 is looking ever-more likely.

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The balls are all clustered around the left corner by the bottom cushion, and Ronnie works out a plant, taking the white back up to baulk. He goes to roll in behind the yellow but is well short, so Liang takes the brown as his free ball, ramming home a tricky one into the middle. He then works his way down to the bottom of the table clears a path to the black, and this is now a chance - he's straight on it, but forces the angle, and now he's set, in among the balls. This is precisely the kind of snooker at which he excels.

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Ronnie forces Liang to play across the table, but he decides against trying for one down the rail, instead bringing the white all the way to the bottom cushion. Lovely stuff. Liang handles it well, though, only to find himself back on it next time, behind the green as opposed to the brown. But how well does he respond, leaving Ronnie tight on it for his next go.

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Right then, here we go again, the eighth frame opening with a safety exchange.

Ronnie takes the red but flicks the black on his way down for it, making the next shot harder. He tries to stick it in the yellow pocket but jaws it, so Liang knocks in the yellow, fouls, and Ronnie concedes anyway. How crucial was that plant, he asked himself. Very, he duly answered.

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Ronnie goes again, and this is a good chance, but he catches he middle jaw and leaves the pot on. It's a tricky one to the top left, but it's not an especially good effort so here's another snooker opportunity. The red is by the brown, but the cue ball isn't quite behind the black, and the chasing begins again.

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My days, Liang has some stones, sending a blue long into the yellow pocket after running out of position once more. But then curious shot-selection, eschewing a straightforward black and leaving himself nothing but a safety shot. Naturally, Ronnie quickly punishes him, a tremendous red down the rail, and the balls are set for a snooker, red down the top rail, all the colours bar the pink on their spots. But when it comes it's not quite right, so some chasing of the red ensues.

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Liang's showing great steadiness here, clearing reds with blacks even without perfect position. Then a red with the rest puts him back on said black, but the angle forces him to break up the pack sooner than he'd like. And he somehow misses them entirely! But leaves himself a long plant, the lucky blighter! And it's there! Amazing! He's a huge favourite now!

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Ronnie finds himself up against the side rail and misses his pot, letting Liang in. He must win this frame to have any realistic chance of winning the match, and he sets about his task nicely.

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Minor hilarity as Ronnie approaches the table to break, only to discover that it's Liang's go. And Liang leaves a red, which Ronnie takes, setting himself for a green into the middle. He spanks it home, but with an obscene amount of action on the cue ball, taking it around the angles and back down the table. Ridiculous behaviour.

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He's making this look so easy, removing balls in each other's way just like that. There's a red on the side cushion and one on the bottom, so a century might be tough, but the frame is over. He tries to double the first tricky red, misses, and Liang nips out to have a word with himself.

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Ronnie rattles up to 32 then plays a screw into the pack - it stops, carries in spinning, and it seems to fair to posit that this frame is over. Ronnie is flowing, drink him in.

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Good pot from Liang, but runs out of position so can only snooker behind the brown. Trying to swerve around it, Ronnie hits it instead, but then plays a well-judged shot into the reds. He's still left one, to the middle pocket, but it's difficult; Liang will still take it on, mind, but he misses. This leaves Ronnie a read into the top right, down it goes, then a yellow, and because the reds are loose at the bottom of the pack, this is a chance.

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This is the height of Ronnie, so easy and so free, but then he cannons the wrong red and the run ends of 89.

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Ronnie and his short-back-and-sides or is it short, back and sides? - are racing around the table. But then he plays a pink, the spoilsport, before introducing more balls to more pockets and he's very nearly back in front.

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Liang breaks well, and a safety exchange ensues, but then Liang misses a red into the middle from inside the D. It wasn't easy, but you'd expect him to sink it; he expected himself to sink it, so well-spread were the reds. Ronnie pots one, then a black, and already they're talking maximums.

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Right then, they're back. In the interval, we learnt that Kyren Wilson would like to bungee-jump naked.

All-square at the midsession. Liang fought back well, but escaped in both frames - especially that fourth one, in which Ronnie missed a straightforward red after a fantastic black. Game very much on, as I'm afraid they say.

Ronnie has gone cold, and Liang's back in the balls - but then misses a red, leaving a half-chance. Out comes the rest, and Ronnie cuts it home, but clips the blue en route to the black, resting in the middle of the table. Nonetheless, he thunks it home, again with the rest into the green pocket - only to miss a red, rolling it into and along the cushion. This frame is now nearly over.

Liang gets a kick but there's a plant on ... he absolutely wallops it too, missing, and sending the reds skidaddling around the table. Up steps Ronnie, and he misses an easy red - again - but leaves the cue ball tight on the side cushion. Liang tries a cut into the top corner on the same side, but as a shot to nothing, leaving the cue ball close to the bottom cushion.

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Error from Liang, but he rescues himself - can one rescue oneself? - though this is still a very difficult chance. All the more so when the black can't go on its spot. ANS THERE'S A WASP ON THE TABLE! THE REF ASSAULTS IT WITH HIS GLOVE, MISSES, AND IT ESCAPES! Meanwhile, Liang is accumulating.

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The first "one-table situation" of the week, courtesy of Dennis Taylor; there is nothing so comforting as the rhythms of snooker commentary. Anyway, a mistake from Ronnie, cueing down onto the chwite - a favourite Taylorism - and sending it jumping into the blue. Liang comes to the table, and sends the cue ball seven feet, addressing a red two feet from the top-left corner. He's purring now.

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Liang swaggers around the table removing the balls with minimum effort and maximum pleasure, depositing the first ton of the competition. he's so smooth when he gets going, and he's going. He misses the last pink, but that's a run of 109, and a very fine one at that.

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"You can sense Liang knows how important this frame is." The ape-creatures of the Indus know how important this frame is. But Liang is handling it well, striking them home with conviction, showing delectable cue-ball control to stun and screw what looks like being a frame-winning break.

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This is the match for Liang right here. If he manages another 30 or 40, then leaves something, he's going to lose. He starts well...

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"We mentioned how quick the cloth is" - I'm sensing a riff. Liang is first in in this frame, but then a foul and a miss gives Ronnie a chance - but he misses a straightforward red into the top left, Liang sends it home along the top rail, and now the black is in business ... it's a tricky one ... but it's there!

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So, two missed reds, the one in this frame by a mile, and Liang is in a situation entirely of his own making - though the spectre of genius loomed large as he settled over both.

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But a minute later, Ronnie runs out of position, unable to reach the potting angle for the red near the cushion. With everything on, his safety will have to be good, and whaddaya know, it's perfect, onto the top cushion. Liang does all he can to return the compliment, but can only leave the pot, and that's going to be 2-0.

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There is no one better in a situation like this, calculating the best possible way to get balls down holes. There are still a couple of reds which aren't easy - one nearish the blue, and one nearish a cushion. O'Sullivan has shy at developing the latter when potting an easier red, misses, then rams home the pink. But he underestimated the speed of the cloth, so runs past the red he was intending to send into the green pocket and has to go into the top-right instead. Er, not a problem!

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Oh dear. Liang checks an attempted pot on a red, missing to let Ronnie in, and the reds are all over the show. He is in enormous trouble.

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Liang misses a cannon, and needs a good red into the yellow pocket ... and it's there! Another terrific red! But another mistake doth duly ensue - all he can do is roll into the pack, Ronnie goes up the table, and Liang now has a problem - get the cue ball safe without leaving anything on a well-spread table.

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Despite the below, the pink is out of commission and so too is the black. But then Liang knocks in a gentle red, the ball comes off the side cushion and comes to rest behind the black! What a shot that is! It's early in the frame, but this is a potential frame-winning chance.

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Liang will not be happy with that - he had three chances there, couldn't take one, and that is a recipe for a kicking. But he's let it go, because what a red he smashes in following Ronnie's break-off. And the balls are well-spread too, plenty available before he has to do anything tricky.

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What a pot! Liang leaves Ronnie a devilishly tricky opportunity, cueing down onto the top of the ball looking for a long red the top-right pocket, and he rams it home, then easily dispatches everything up to and including the pink for the frame, following it up with the black because why wouldn't he?

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Lively cloth, apparently; Ronnie - yes, I'm bored with "O'Sullivan" - overscrews, but does a great job to cut a red into the yellow pocket. This is looking a lot like a steal now, the black dropped into the middle and left behind the aforementioned tricky red. But he's too straight ... and the red jumps as he misses! This ball for the frame then.

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He runs out of it, missing a further opportunity to dislodge the pack, and this brings Ronnie to the table - but with the balls safe. Accordingly, he plays safe, but leaves a red - Liang takes it on, misses by miles, and that might just lose him a frame he ought already to have won. Ronnie's in, and takes red then green, before there's a pause due to some light reflecting onto some railings. So, the state of the table: one relatively safe red on the top cushion, which might save Liang.

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O'Sullivan smacks in an excellent red, but somehow misses a straight brown into the middle, clipping the jaw instead. Down goes the first red, and he's got a great angle to attack the pack off the blue, but doesn't hit it hard enough. Still, he's on one and starts picking off reds, never quite in perfect position. Will he play his way into it, or run out of it?

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A safety exchange, but O'Sullivan leaves a red, roundabout the middle of the table, which Liang clumps from roundabout the yellow pocket, into the far bottom corner. Great pot, but he finishes up behind the black, so plays a further safety, leaving the cue ball between the yellow and the top cushion.

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Liang thunders in a brown, but doesn't get enough right-hand side, so misses the pack of reds; end of break. Or not - he tries a double, misses, and leaves the offending reds, O'Sullivan coming to the table amid whooping and hollering. He sinks a delicious opener into the green pocket, but then runs out of position shortly afterwards.

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Liang leaves a red off the break to the bottom-right corner (as we see the table), but O'Sullivan overcuts, and already, this is a chance, the cue ball in among the reds. In go two, with blacks, then another with a blue.

Wenbo will break.

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And here comes Ronald. The crowd are relatively pleased to see him.

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Here comes Liang Wenbo...

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To get you in the mood, here's a preview piece.

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Right then, we're not far off getting going - the 2017 Masters! A full week, and a day, of wondrous, joyous, addictive snooker. It's not a bad old life.