Ronnie O'Sullivan may have appeared a little shaky in his first competitive match of the 2016/2017 season, yet he was still able to come back from 4-1 down to see off one of the home favourites Liang Wenbo 5-4. Despite an 86 in the second frame, O'Sullivan was 4-1 down after a series of scrappier frames went the way of his Chinese opponent. Wenbo did not see much of the next two frames, scoring one point across them as his lead was cut to 4-3. A chance came along in frame eight but he could not take it and O'Sullivan capitalised to force the decider. Once more, the former Shanghai Masters champion was dominant in the decisive frame, making a 56 break that helped him over the line and into the Last 16 despite a major scare from Liang.
He will face Michael Holt in Thursday's Last 16 after the Nottingham potter avenged his Last 16 defeat against defending champion Kyren Wilson from Wilson's triumphant 2015 run. The opener was a scrappy one but Holt came out on top and then made a swift 69 to double his advantage. He had led the third frame for much of the lengthy proceedings but Wilson, aided by some good fortune, was able to get his first frame on the board. Tactical frames either side of the interval fell to Holt and put him 4-1 ahead and one away from victory. Wilson was going to fight hard as always though, and a 101 break in the sixth kept him in it, yet Holt shined through with a 101 of his own to seal an impressive 5-2 victory.
Stephen Maguire was on fire during his wildcard round match today, making a maximum break in the third frame on the way to a 5-0 victory. This was the Scot's third 147 in professional competition, and was one of three centuries on the day, the perfect warm-up for his Last 32 match with Shaun Murphy tomorrow. Kurt Maflin, Ryan Day and Stuart Carrington each came through 5-1 in their wildcard matches on day two in Shanghai. Maflin will now play Ali Carter tomorrow in the Last 32, while Day will take on Neil Robertson and Carrington faces up to Joe Perry.
Indian Open champion Anthony McGill was whitewashed in the Last 32 by Mark Allen, the Northern Irishman hoping to better loses in the semi-final and final in the last two years at the Shanghai Masters, and getting off to the best possible start with high breaks of 53 and 55.
In the fourth Last 32 match of the day, World Champion Mark Selby saw off 16 year old wildcard Yuan Sijun, who beat Martin Gould 5-0 yesterday, by a 5-1 scoreline. Selby's performance featured high breaks of 52 and 76, while Yuan made a century in the single frame that he won on the day.
Wednesday will see the completion of the Last 32 with the eight remaining games, with all eight Last 16 games being played on Thursday.
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