Aggressive Young Player | Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Si Jiahui | 2023 English Open R3

World semi-finalist CJ Wee against seven times world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. It's been fascinating to watch CJ Wee this season, what he achieved. The crucible he played some, he was playing so brilliantly because he lost to Luka, but the snooker he played at semi-final early stages was just mesmerizing. Yesterday we saw Ronnie O'Sullivan gave a bit of a lesson in how to play the game to another terrific player Jackson Page. O'Sullivan's long game yesterday was one of the features of his performance. It really was, I mean it was absolutely at the top draw. Today is a different day, he seemed to push it onto the red a little bit, it's a thick side. Championship in qualifying he beat Tom Thornton and then Jordan Brown, that was just to get to the crucible, then the match with Murphy. Murphy played well in that match but Cee won it in a decider. Then he defeated Rob Milkins, then Anthony McGill in another decider over 25 frames. The nerve he showed at the sharp end of those matches was so impressive and then it looked for all the world as though he was going to the final before Luka O'Sullivan's extraordinary comeback from nine behind in the semis. We know the talent is there because we've seen it first and now we've to take it to the next step. I think this stand of his, he's going to try and win something. I think a Chinese representation still in this event. Half a dozen players still involved last night. What a bad shot, he's a little bit low but not too bad. It's black, he's over the 27, 20, 30. He's nicely in behind a couple of reds here. The other thing about this match which is nice, it's a generational clash isn't it. The young talent emerging through. We've been waiting for something in different parts of the world for quite some time now. It was his cool demeanor throughout the championship in Sheffield that was so impressive. A bit straight here, slight angle, punch it through, red to bottom of the four is available. I think the word phased is something that is often associated with players up against O'Sullivan. Young players are often a little in awe of him. Something that's gone on for years with go back to the days of Ray Reardon. Those were a little bit in awe of him and then of course the same to Steve Davis. A lot of them are beat before they start. I'm not saying that'll be the case here, but I'm sure it won't be. Nice shot, well controlled on this quick table. This will be and he's taken them in the minimum fuss. Just caught it too thick and it's costing the frame. Tell you what he does to it, he moves that cue ball back, hitting it the minimum pace really. Gets a great reaction. 85. That is a sign of a class player, the timing with his little screw shots. 86. 94. He thinks the pin will sneak past. Red looks quite close to it. He's got to hit the pink first and not at the same time. The fact that he missed it thick doesn't really tell us the answer as to whether it went. One. And he's missed the black off his spot. Well, this is a very different O'Sullivan early in round three than we saw yesterday. He was trying to move the red away from the black spot. His concentration was divided, but that's not stopped him for the last 30 years, knocking those in. Little nudge was unfavorable. There's a little gap through to a red. Clicking into gear. This is his first ranking tournament appearance this season. Didn't enter the Championship League, the European Masters or the British Open. Sixty. Left cannons, isn't he? C'est Jouy. There's another one. Hey, what a thinner contact on that red. He didn't want to push it over the black. Yellow. And also, he's not on color either, so he's gone wrong. I think he felt that he had to try and keep the brake alive there. Well, he's been lucky. The top red of the five is potable to the left corner, but O'Sullivan might be forced into going for it. He's been getting a bit of luck in stopping O'Sullivan from getting an in. Have to be patient in this game sometimes. Need the shot to keep the brake going. Good queuing. The brown is the shot. I think he's got a shot to get from brown to red. Decided that the more difficult blue was the option. Six. Get into the four reds or the red by the black, at least. Into the four reds. We may be able to cut the thin one into the left corner. But cut it now. This is a chance to get right back into this frame. There's nothing safe. Seven. I think the O'Sullivan of yesterday would have definitely cleared up because he barely missed anything. Eight. Fifteen. Sixteen. Thirty-one. Thirty-two. So it's a question of getting on yellow at an angle that isn't absolutely dead straight, I would say. Maybe a left-handed shot from yellow to green is how he's thinking of the plan to clear up. Thirty-seven. Thirteen. Forty-two. Forty-three. All credit to O'Sullivan because C.J. Weir has done all the playing for these first two frames except for the last couple of minutes. Fifty-one. Fifty-seven. That will sting for C.J. Weir. He was on the cusp of leading 2-0. Overcut a red. And it's one each. He's only at 77% with his pot success, O'Sullivan. Yesterday he was at 97%. Three. Four. Leblanc can open the reds as he has done. Yeah, he's a very aggressive player, isn't he? That last shot, he really went for it. Opened everything up. False. Not a favorable kiss on the blue. He didn't mean to hit the blue anyway. Eighteen. Twenty-five. Well, he looks disappointed. But I'm sure he played on the pink. Maybe a slight angle on the other side he wanted. Because he wants to get on the two reds to the right of the pink spot. And he's not quite on them. I suppose a low angle on the pink, he could have stunned him behind them. Thirteenth. Thirtieth. Thirteenth. The cue ball just gone astray a few times in this break. And when the cue ball goes astray, in the end, something has to give. What has he left? Maybe a one red into the left corner, the top red. Might be available. I think Kersizio will be heartened to know that there's no angle on the blue to come down for the reds for O'Sullivan. If he'd got topside, he could have really moved those reds into a better position. Now he's playing on one. Not quite. He's very precise. Shot needed there. That will make a huge difference, I think, off in the grand scheme of things in this frame. Who gets in next? That's a good red. And that might be the key shot in this frame. Indeed. It's a real chance to close out the frame. He wants no repeat of frame two and how it ended up. Six. Seven. Well, immediately very disappointed to finish there. It's a bad angle. Keepers not necessarily landing on the black from it. They would be more than disappointed, as you can see, with his last shot. No to respond immediately, courtesy of this humdinger of a red right in the centre. It's good news for him. With a seven times world champion and halfway to a famous victory. So he became the first qualifier to make the semifinals of the world championship on debut since Andy Hicks back in 1995. And the youngest since O'Sullivan did so in 96. Can't see a route back to bulk here. There's a thin safety shot to the left side. Very hard shot to play. Because the side, if you play it slowly, takes and hit it on the thick side. As you saw, the cue didn't go anywhere. Never mind back to bulk. O'Sullivan's pot success is still only 79%. The chance is to improve it here. You know that his general form looks to be good, not only in Shanghai, but in the first couple of rounds here, yesterday especially. He was telling Alan after his victory over Paige yesterday that he's taken to practicing for longer this tournament, but less often. Rather than do a couple of hours, he's doing longer. But then having a couple of days off, he feels is working for him. I can't think you could see a ball struck better. Well, what a chance this is now off that superb opener to evaporate O'Sullivan's modest lead. That was a nice cannon because he had to hit it full on to land from the bottom right. It was not just a little nudge, it was a full ball cannon. It's a very tricky shot to the middle. Nothing nice about when he left that shot. The chance to get at that two frame advantage for sure there. He knows it. Positionally, he made an error. He never recovered. In the back of his mind, he senses, I think, that this frame could go against him still. There's nothing in it on the board. He had that one opportunity. Put this frame away. O'Sullivan, if this goes in, go a strong favorite to level the match. It's pretty ill-directed. That's not a good shot either. So, mixed bag from O'Sullivan today. The clearance he made to win frame two was good. All around it, he's made errors. The expression tells the story. He's got a good strike rate on these, but goodness, it's a difficult shot. Can't keep putting long balls. This could be even worse if it goes in off. That was a mistake, and like I say, his strength can be his weakness. His long game is excellent, but he can't put everything in distance. Game's not that easy. O'Sullivan is faced with a difficult one himself. He'd love to pop this one. It's good to get him out of a bit of a hole that he's in. Clear a strike from O'Sullivan. That is more like it. He's opened the door for him in this frame. So, this goes in. We'll have arrived at two each, but I don't quite know how we've done it, because it's been all CGI over O'Sullivan. But I guess it's not how you start frames, it's how you finish them. All to play for here in Brentwood. It's two frames all. The winner of this to play Zhang Ander tonight. It's not the worst safety shot you've seen, but he has pushed a red close to the pocket, which O'Sullivan will be interested in. O'Sullivan's still not quite there with his game. Just overcut it, playing with a bit of drag. It wasn't an easy plan, was it? Because it wasn't exactly hanging over the pocket. He had to hit the edge of it. It looked worse than it was. O'Sullivan will take a gamble here and just plow into the bunch of reds from this. But there's no obvious colour. I understand why he didn't play with an element of control instead. Well, he's a master brake builder, but the black is totally out of play at this stage. Looking to take the lead in this match for the first time. What a surprise. He was reaching over for it, but I never expected him to miss the pot as a consequence. What is the damage? He's not necessarily going to cost him that much. Is that enough? Another chance for C. Well, that has gone wrong also. He needed to get a bit more bite into the cue ball. Travelling across the angle of the black, not so much in behind it. Difficult now, goodness me. Horrible shot. He's pushed the other red out of harm's way also. The black may not be available. Very easy cue action for little screw shots. Minimum of effort. Maximum backspin. Great asset to have that you can do things with ease. He's just got the top side of the blue. A little too straight for comfort though, perhaps. I wonder if he's got a possibility of just nudging the red out by the black here. Eight. Well, he kind of has. He might have played it differently. He'd have caught the top of the red half ball. He might have actually moved the red and the black not moved very far. Now he's coming away from the reds a bit, in part in this black. He's getting further out of position all the time. And now the black to keep the break alive. Incredibly difficult with no obvious red after it. Very well struck. Things are getting hugely easier. He's got a shot at this red. Maybe with awkward cueing. Left-handed over a ball. What a shot. He's quite something, isn't he, as a player? Cue ball control though in this break has been almost non-existent. And now something eventually had to give. A very curious break. But he tried his best to keep it alive. So 14 points between them in C's favour. Still possible 67 available. This has been a curious frame, hasn't it? It certainly has. And it's potentially a pivotal one. Strange is 2-2 score. And I've seen really because C, as I mentioned earlier, has been making all the running in this match. White still be okay with the red up by the pink. Yes, he wanted to be a bit straighter than this. Can he hold for the red or does he have to nudge it now? He can just hold. Reach the black. So 10 in front. He will be pleased to know that yellow and green is all he needs. He might concentrate his mind. Frame ball. 42. So even though C Xiaoyi has arguably been the better player. And Sullivan's been that little bit better when it's mattered in the three frames he's won. That's why he's on the cusp. One or two of the long pots he initially was knocking in have started to stay up. Well, that's again a little short of pace. Yes, he's got the shot at the red. And they all nudge into the black and the red next to it. I do feel that the O'Sullivan factor has kicked in with C Xiaoyi. So many young players have fallen foul of their little bit. In awe of him. They don't play their natural game. If Ronnie O'Sullivan had been somebody else playing like this. He may have already won the match, see? Because first four frames you could have all won on them all. Bottom line is he didn't. And now O'Sullivan sees the winning line in the distance. Edging closer. That secondary little bite on the cue ball has landed him on the reds. It's opened them up beautifully. In the mixed bag for O'Sullivan in the three matches. Constantly beating Andrew Padgett. And his elbow playing him up. He was in pain yesterday against Jackson Page. Played absolutely beautifully. Long game, short game. Everything was working. All boxes ticked. And today a little bit hit or miss. He's finding a way of getting it done. What a shot. This is tough as well. Marches on in Brentwood.