Ronnie O'Sullivan sets up another Hossein Vafaei meeting after big win over Yuan Sijun at Xi'an Grand Prix

Ronnie O’Sullivan continued his good form as he advanced to the last 16 at the Xi'an Grand Prix after beating home favourite Yuan Sijun 5-1. The Rocket didn't need to be at his best to come past an erratic Sijun, who seemed overawed by the occasion and made a few costly errors. O'Sullivan progresses in the draw to play Hossein Vafaei, with whom he has had an - at times - spicy relationship.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan didn't need to be at his best against Yuan Sijun in Xi’an, beating the Chinese player with relative comfort to advance to the last 16.

The enigmatic snooker legend won the first two frames with ease, a break of 50 enough in the first before multiple smaller breaks managed to derail any momentum for Sijun, disrupting his rhythm in the second.

The Chinese star did manage some time at the baize in the third frame, a scrappy affair which saw O’Sullivan needing a snooker once Sijun opened the door. He couldn’t find it, conceding the frame to allow the 24-year-old onto the board.

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O’Sullivan looked increasingly fluid in the fourth frame, capitalising when his opponent missed a red to record a break of 95, going into the interval with a 3-1 lead.

The speed of the match was such that their intermission came long before anyone else, the other matches barely starting the third frame by the time O'Sullivan and Sijun had walked off to the dressing rooms.

When the players came back out, Sijun had to stretch hugely for a shot - slipping as he did so to open the pack and gift O’Sullivan a golden opportunity. But oddly the Rocket couldn’t take it, compiling 57 before letting his opponent back in with an overcooked shot back to baulk.

Sijun needed to clear the table to take the frame, but he missed the brown, hanging his head afterwards. With the score 4-1 to O’Sullivan, it looked a long way back for the 24-year-old.

Sijun did have the opening opportunity in the sixth frame, but he couldn’t string a break together and once again left the door ajar for O’Sullivan - who went on to wrap up the match 5-1, finishing up with a century break to boot.

O’Sullivan will play Vafaei in the R16, the Iranian progressing earlier when Graeme Dott withdrew from their match due to medical reasons.

Shaun Murphy couldn’t back up his emphatic 5-0 win from the second round, falling to Dominic Dale 2-5. Dale will go on to play Daniel Wells, who was taken to a decider by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, eventually coming through a tense encounter 5-4 thanks to a break of 52 in the final frame.

Mark Selby also advanced after a nine-frame battle against Pang Junxu, with the Englishman claiming the final frame to win after it was all tied at 4-4. Selby will next face compatriot David Gilbert, who beat Gary Wilson 5-3 in round three.

Xi'an Grand Prix latest results

Third round

Barry Hawkins 5-3 Ryan Day
Mark J Williams 5-2 Chris Wakelin
Judd Trump 5-1 Lyu Haotian
Jimmy Robertson 5-3 Sunny Akani
Gong Chenzhi 5-3 Si Jiahui
Mark Allen 5-2 Xiao Guodong
David Gilbert 5-3 Gary Wilson
Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-1 Yuan Sijun
Matthew Selt 5-2 Hammad Miah
Xu Si 5-4 Stuart Bingham
Jak Jones 5-4 Jack Lisowski
Kyren Wilson 5-3 Ricky Walden
Hossein Vafaei 5-0 Graeme Dott (walkover due to medical withdrawal)
Dominic Dale 5-2 Shaun Murphy
Daniel Wells 5-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Mark Selby 5-4 Pang Junxu

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