Ronnie O’Sullivan crashed out of the English Open at the last 16 at the hands of Mei Xiwen on Thursday night, as Tom Ford rolled in his second 147 of the season to stun Shaun Murphy.
On an unpredictable day in Crawley the Rocket suffered a huge upset against world number 70 Mei who edged a 4-3 victory to take him into his first ever quarter-final at the age of 37.
O’Sullivan looked to be in control at 3-2 ahead, having produced a clearance of 134, but the Chinese battler showed his nerve to come back and hand the Rocket his first defeat of the season.
It looked like that match would be tough to top in terms of drama, but Ford and Murphy had something to say about that.
In-form Murphy had fought back to take the match into a deciding frame and Ford clinched victory in the most stylish way possible, making a maximum 147 break to move into the last eight.
Incredibly, there has only been two 147 breaks this season and Ford has made both of them having rolled in the max at the International Championship qualifiers as well.
The 36-year-old is number 25 in the world and has never been higher than 21, but he has an incredible talent for hitting maximum breaks.
The 147 in Crawley was his fifth as a professional and puts him joint fifth on the all-time list, with only O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Ding Junhui making more maximums than Ford.
Mei’s victory over the Rocket sets up a tough quarter-final clash with Mark Selby who beat Xiao Guodong 4-1 in the last 16.
Ford’s brilliance sets up a last eight clash with Tian Pengfei, who made short work of final Chinese star Si Jiahui with a 4-0 win on Thursday night.
With O’Sullivan and Murphy following Judd Trump and Neil Robertson out of the competition, the English Open is wide open and we are guaranteed a new name on the trophy with Liang Wenbo and Stuart Bingham also being beaten.
Rickey Walden booked his spot in the last eight with a 4-2 win over Thepchaiya un-Nooh and Mark Allen impressively ousted Barry Hawkins 4-0 to make the quarters.
Walden takes on Dave Gilbert who pipped Zhao Xintong 4-3 in a great tussle which showcased both men’s talents, with Gilbert describing his beaten opponent as a ‘special talent’ after his win.
The final man through to the last eight was Lee Walker who beat Gary Wilson 4-3.
English Open quarter-finals
Tian Pengfei vs Tom Ford
David Gilbert vs Ricky Walden
Mei Xiwen vs Mark Selby
Mark Allen vs Lee Walker
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