Reigning World champion Mark Selby had to come through another decider in the last 32 of the Shanghai Masters as he saw off Alan McManus.
Selby had already survived a scare against Chris Wakelin in the last 64 to come through 5-4 and Wednesday told a similar tale. Once again the world number one started well as he took a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval with breaks of 98 and 56 in frames three and four. McManus came fighting back though with a run of 66 in the fifth and then took the sixth to level the match at 3-3.
Selby went back in front 4-3 but McManus dominated the eight to force a decider. Yet again, there was to be no final frame weakness from Selby who continues his remarkable levels in deciders. Selby has now won eight out of nine deciding frames he has played this season.
Things were much more comfortable for Judd Trump who enters the last 16 having not dropped a frame at the venue in Shanghai this week. This time it was Ben Woollaston who got the whitewash treatment, only managing 31 points in the entire match. There were four breaks above 50 from Trump who had runs of 50, 64, 74 and 92 on the way to another emphatic win.
Ronnie O'Sullivan had to come through two matches on Wednesday to book his last 16 place, but did so without any signs of tiredness from the long trip and short turnaround. O'Sullivan fell short in the Champion of Champions final on Sunday night in Coventry and subsequently had his last 64 match in Shanghai moved to Wednesday morning. In that he overcame Gary Wilson 5-2 with the tournament's new highest break, setting that target at 144 in the fifth frame.
Then in the evening he faced Joe Perry in the last 32. Perry played well making two centuries in his last 64 win, and started nicely by taking the opener in this one. O'Sullivan hit straight back with a 127 break to level the match and Perry would only score a further 19 points in the contest. Breaks of 58 and 56 in frames four and six assisted O'Sullivan on the way to a 5-1 win.
John Higgins looked in fine form as he dusted off Zhou Yuelong 5-1. Higgins was on for a maximum in the opening frame before going in off on the brown. That 125 was followed by breaks of 70, 97 and a closing century of 104.
Fellow Scotsman Stephen Maguire is also into the round of 16 after a tight 5-4 win over Ali Carter. Carter saw off Maguire comfortably at the same stage of the International Championship and would have been hoping for repeat business but soon found himself 2-0 adrift. Breaks of 77 and a massive 143 had Carter level at the mid-session interval but Maguire regained the advantage at 4-2. Carter hit back again with a run of 69 on the way to forcing a decider, though in a lengthy affair Maguire ran out the victor on the colours.
There were also whitewash wins for Mark Allen against Fergal O'Brien, featuring high breaks of 69, 85, 104 and 133 as O'Brien would only manage 25 total points in the match, while Liang Wenbo continued his strong start to the week by thrashing David Gilbert. Liang mustered four breaks of above 60 in the win.
The whitewashes did not end there either, Mark Williams defeated Gerard Greene without dropping a frame in a match that featured a high break of 133 from the Welshman in the opening frame as his good start to the season continued. Luca Brecel recorded his second of the tournament against Jamie Jones. Runs of 60, 72 and 74 helped the Belgian into the last 16. Martin Gould was also in on the act with two centuries in his 5-0 win over Akani Songsermsawad.
Barry Hawkins is into the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time this season after coming from 2-0 down to overcome Michael White 5-3. After falling behind early, he shut the Welshman out in frames three, four and five making breaks of 87, 91 and 121 in the process, while also winning the eighth frame for victory on the final black.
2006 World champion Graeme Dott progressed into the last 16 with a 5-2 win over Robbie Williams. Dott finished the match off with a 101 clearance and won frames four, five and six from behind - most impressively in the sixth from 66-0 behind with a 76 clearance.
Last 32 Results:
Mei Xiwen 5-3 Jimmy Robertson
Kurt Maflin 5-3 Yu De Lu
Jack Lisowski 5-4 Cao Yupeng
Mark Allen 5-0 Fergal O'Brien
Graeme Dott 5-2 Robbie Williams
Luca Brecel 5-0 Jamie Jones
Stephen Maguire 5-4 Ali Carter
Judd Trump 5-0 Ben Woollaston
John Higgins 5-1 Zhou Yuelong
Liang Wenbo 5-0 David Gilbert
Martin Gould 5-0 Akani Songsermsawad
Marco Fu 5-3 Robert Milkins
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Michael White
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 Joe Perry
Mark Williams 5-0 Gerard Greene
Mark Selby 5-4 Alan McManus
Last 16 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Kurt Maflin Vs Mei Xiwen
Mark Allen Vs Jack Lisowski
Luca Brecel Vs Graeme Dott
Judd Trump Vs Stephen Maguire
John Higgins Vs Liang Wenbo
Marco Fu Vs Martin Gould
Barry Hawkins Vs Ronnie O'Sullivan
Mark Selby Vs Mark Williams
Jack Lisowski has already beaten Mark Allen twice in 2017, in the Riga Masters and Gibraltar Open as well as making it to at least the last 16 for the fourth ranking event in a row, and his fifth overall at the start of this 2017/2018 season. His scoring is the best part of his game by a long way and he has shown that again this week. As for Allen, he too has been in fantastic form with some particularly heavy scoring in his victories this week - which is very similar to most of the tournaments he has played in the last month. In China he has excelled making the World Open semi-finals and the International Championship final, but he has a very tough test here against Lisowski if he is going to continue that strong run.
Luca Brecel will face a tricky test against Graeme Dott. The Scotsman has looked good for his two wins against Xiao Guodong and Robbie Williams making centuries in both games and reaching the last 16 in China for the second time this season. Brecel may have said he was tired and not too bothered about this tournament after the Champion of Champions but so far he has recorded two 5-0 wins and looked solid. Some of Dott's comebacks in frames against Robbie Williams suggest he is up for the fight this week as he always is when he plays well, and his tactical play can also give Brecel problems.
Despite stating his tiredness from a hectic schedule at the start of the week, John Higgins looks to be in fine form, nearly making a maximum in frame one of his last 32 encounter. His record against Liang Wenbo is an excellent one with the current Chinese number two not yet managing to beat him in a major meeting. Liang has been going well in his last couple of matches, scoring heavily in wins over John Astley and David Gilbert. If Liang plays his best he obviously has a great chance, but with good looking form and a perfect head to head it is going to be tough for him to beat Higgins.
Another interesting meeting awaits between Judd Trump and Stephen Maguire. Trump is yet to drop a frame at the venue while Maguire has had to dig in to beat Rory McLeod and Ali Carter in deciding frames. The head to head between the two is pretty even in ranking event play, though Trump has won the last couple of meetings. Given that Maguire was one of the last players to finish on days two and three he may not be as fresh as Trump who seems to be on a roll this week. A good start will be vital for the Scotsman or he could easily be steam rolled like Trump's previous opponents.
Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O'Sullivan will meet for the first time since Hawkins knocked O'Sullivan out of the 2016 World Championship. However, that is one of only two occasions when Hawkins has beaten the Rocket in major competition from 11 previous meetings. It has not been the best start to the season from the left-hander and he has gone 2-0 down in both of his opening two games so will need a much faster start if he is to have any chance here against such a great front runner. O'Sullivan himself has had a quick turnaround but showed no signs of slowing down and was still in great form in his two Wednesday wins.
Mark's Selby and Williams meet in the last 16 for the second Chinese event in a row and have had contrasting routes to this stage. Williams has only dropped a single frame in his wins over Wang Yuchen and Gerard Greene and played pretty nicely, while Selby has come through two deciders in the last two rounds. They have played three times in 2017 in big tournaments and while Selby has won them all, they have been tight tussles and the Welshman has had his chances. With the world number one's hectic schedule and unconvincing route to this stage, this may be the time for Williams to overcome him.
Following the last 16 in an early session time than usual, the quarter-finals will take place in the evening again over the best-of-9 frames ahead of Friday's semi-finals, making it a packed day of action on day four in Shanghai.
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