O'Sullivan edges past Selby in Wuhan Open thriller as Trump loses top ranking spot
Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Mark Selby 5-3 in the Wuhan Open quarter-finals to continue his pursuit of a first ranking title since 2024, while Zhao Xintong secured the world number one spot.
The quarter-final round of the Wuhan Open snooker tournament has concluded, with several top players booking their places in the semi-finals.
One quarter-final pitted two players with contrasting styles against each other: fast-attacking Ronnie O'Sullivan against the cautious, tactical Mark Selby. Selby took an early 2-0 lead, but the 50-year-old O'Sullivan responded with three consecutive breaks in the 50s to move ahead, before Selby leveled things at 3-3 with a strong scoring run. In the seventh frame, O'Sullivan came close to a maximum break but missed a simple red, still taking the frame with an 80 break. He then closed out the match with a century break, winning 5-3. O'Sullivan will face Chinese youngster Bingyu Chen in the semi-finals, after Chen defeated tour ranking leader Judd Trump 5-1.
Trump's defeat will cost him dearly — following the tournament, he is set to lose 478,000 ranking points earned for his 2024 title at the Saudi Arabia Masters, which was cancelled this season. The loss also opened the door for rivals to take over the top ranking spot.
Zhao set to become new world number one
In another quarter-final, two former world champions met: China's Zhao Xintong and Australia's Neil Robertson. Zhao started strongly with breaks of over 90 in the opening frames to take the lead. Robertson won a frame and came close to leveling, but lost his advantage in a lengthy fourth frame. Zhao then extended his lead with another century break, and although Robertson came close in the sixth frame, he could not complete the job. Zhao won 5-1, guaranteeing himself the world number one ranking once the tournament concludes. He will face two-time Wuhan Open champion Xiao Guodong in the semi-finals.
