The top seeds have continued to fall at the Northern Ireland Open with Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins both being taken out in the last 32.
O'Sullivan came into the event as the only man who could win the million pound home nations bonus as English Open winner, but his run came to an end here falling to Elliot Slessor. The 78th seed had a high break in the match of 62 that came in the opening frame and was able to capitalise on some rare O'Sullivan errors.
The biggest of which came in frame four with Slessor already 2-1 up and well ahead in frame four. O'Sullivan was attempting a clearance but missed a simple black and with it would have needed snookers on the final two reds and conceded the frame. From there, Slessor was able to hold his nerve for one of his biggest career wins and beat O'Sullivan 4-1.
Gary Wilson meanwhile was the victor over John Higgins after coming from 3-1 behind to see off the Scotsman in a deciding frame. After losing the opener to a break of 63 from Wilson, Higgins was then on top form with three magnificent centuries of 142, 107 and 135 in the next three frames to surge 3-1 in front.
Wilson did not give up though and with breaks of 84 and 75 was able to force a seventh and deciding frame. Higgins looked like taking it when on a break of 51 but ran out of position and missed a tough red to the middle. It left nothing, but a poor safety a shot later from Higgins then gave Wilson a chance that he duly took, clearing with a run of 59 to book a place in the last 16.
Neil Robertson also fell in the last 32, losing out 4-3 to Robert Milkins. Robertson had a 104 break missing out on a possible maximum break there in frame one, but runs of 51, 54 and 88 helped Milkins along to a big victory for him and really damages Robertson's hopes of being in the Masters.
That is mainly because while that was happening, his "Race to the Masters" rival Ryan Day was able to come back from 3-1 down for the second time this week, beating Robin Hull 4-3 on this occasion. Day won the opener on the black, but then lost the next three to breaks of 63, 128 and 70 from the Finn as he looked like making it into the last 16. Day though in the end was just too strong in the final three frames and was able to make the comeback.
Dreams of a fairytale defence for Mark King were shattered by Yan Bingtao who collected a 4-1 victory there to make the last 16. Anthony McGill lost out in a deciding frame to Li Yuan while Ricky Walden was able to beat Jimmy Robertson 4-3 with breaks of 89 and 91 along the way.
Invitational tour card holders Ken Doherty and Jimmy White both exited in round three also, but Mark Williams overcame Akani Songsermsawad 4-1 and is now the highest seeded player left in the competition.
Last 32 Results:
Yan Bingtao 4-1 Mark King
Ryan Day 4-3 Robin Hull
Ricky Walden 4-3 Jimmy Robertson
Robert Milkins 4-3 Neil Robertson
Tian Pengfei 4-2 Noppon Saengkham
Chris Wakelin 4-0 Jimmy White
Liam Highfield 4-3 Ken Doherty
Lu Haotian 4-2 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Gary Wilson 4-3 John Higgins
Li Yuan 4-3 Anthony McGill
Sam Craigie 4-2 Mei Xiwen
Elliot Slessor 4-1 Ronnie O'Sullivan
Mike Dunn 4-1 Michael Holt
Joe Perry 4-1 Xiao Guodong
Mark Williams 4-1 Akani Songsermsawad
David Gilbert 4-3 Ross Muir
Last 16 Draw: (Picks in bold)
Ryan Day Vs Yan Bingtao
Ricky Walden Vs Robert Milkins
Tian Pengfei Vs Chris Wakelin
Liam Highfield Vs Lu Haotian
Gary Wilson Vs Li Yuan
Sam Craigie Vs Elliot Slessor
Joe Perry Vs Mike Dunn
Mark Williams Vs David Gilbert
It really has left some brilliant ties to see which lower ranked players who are not always in this position can handle the pressure, while others on the edge of the top 16 look to climb in.
Yan Bingtao is playing really well at the moment is looking very tough to beat already. Ryan Day meanwhile has had to fight very hard for his place and has the pressure of the Masters battle on his shoulders. He could easily have been beaten twice already, while Yan has only dropped a frame so far.
Ricky Walden has never lost to Robert Milkins in four competitive matches outside of the Championship League. Those meetings include a World Championship fixture, an Asian Tour semi-final and a thrashing in the International Championship final, so Walden certainly knows how to get the better of Milkins having done so in big games. Both players have had some good wins so far with Milkins beating Neil Robertson in the last 32, while Walden overcame an in-from Jack Lisowski in the last 64. Having fallen from the top 16 this could be a great opportunity for Walden to start to build his way back up the rankings as he looks to slowly be returning to some form this week.
Joe Perry looks to be in great form too this week having thrashed Selt and seen off Xiao Guodong, making some nice breaks against Matthew Selt in the last 64. He again is looking to climb back into the top 16 and has a nice opportunity here. Don't right off Mike Dunn here though, he has comfortably seen off Michael Holt and Matthew Stevens but if Perry is in good form here it could prove a bridge too far.
Mark Williams is now one of the favourites for the event and has been in good form this season without converting that into a big title. This is now a big chance for him to do that, but it only takes one good performance to beat him. David Gilbert could be the man to produce that as he has put in some heavy scoring performances this week and will not fear Williams in this one.
Meanwhile in the games featuring Tian Pengfei, Lu Haotian, Gary Wilson and Sam Craigie there are golden opportunities presented for these guys to make a big quarter-final and then possibly go beyond that in two quarters that are now wide open. These could be nervy affairs, knowing what they will about the draw opening up and they may put extra pressure on themselves to seize the moment.
It should provide some great Thursday night viewing here over the best-of-7 frames, with the best-of-9 frames quarter-finals coming up on Friday.
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