Ronnie O’Sullivan survived a scare to go one step closer to winning the eye-watering £500,000 prize at the Saudi Snooker Masters. The Rocket trailed 3-0 and then 5-4 against Chinese star Zhang Anda but recovered to win 6-5.
O’Sullivan has been delighted with the quality of the tournament in Saudi Arabia and is hoping to take home a share of the £2.3million prize pot. However, that nearly came crashing down for the 48-year-old in his second match at the inaugural event.
Zhang stormed into a commanding lead against O’Sullivan, who earlier this week bemoaned the quality of his performances over the last two years. The world No. 11 led 3-0 but was pegged back by O’Sullivan, and then led 5-4 before a remarkable recovery by his rival.
Having previously made very few errors earlier in the match, Zhang began to slip up and allowed O’Sullivan back into contention.
Back-to-back centuries helped O’Sullivan level at 5-5, taking the match to a deciding frame. He subsequently won to reach the quarter-finals, which are due to be held tomorrow.
O’Sullivan has embraced the culture in Saudi Arabia and has renewed his calls for more tournaments to be played in Asia. The seven-time world champion has been impressed by the facilities on offer for players. He has previously been critical of the tournaments held in the United Kingdom and Europe.
“Saudi Arabia has really raised the bar, this is the best event on the tour,” O’Sullivan said over the weekend.
“I’ve never seen so many happy snooker players, everyone is excited to be here, we want to compete, play well and put on a really good show for the Saudi Arabian fans.
“We’ve already seen a 147, which is fantastic, and the tournament has just begun. All the top players are about to enter the event and hopefully everyone’s going to watch some of the best snooker they could possibly see.
“The tables, the facilities, the venue that’s been put together; this tournament deserves to watch the best snooker ever seen. It really is that good.”
Elsewhere, Judd Trump eased past fellow English player Jack Lisowski, winning 6-1 in the best-of-11-frame round. However, world champion Kyren Wilson was dumped out by Jimmy Robertson, losing 6-4 in another all-English tie.
The winner of the Saudi Snooker Masters will take home a stunning £500k prize.