Masters snooker 2021: Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Ding Junhui after completing another unlikely comeback

Ronnie O’Sullivan produced more evidence of his hold over Chinese players when he completed his third triumph against one of their number in a little over a month, beating China No 1 Ding Junhui at the Betfred Masters in Milton Keynes on Wednesday night.

In yet another example of the “Rocket’s” mettle, the veteran came back from 0-3 and 3-5 down to beat Ding and progress to the quarter-finals.

Ding, Masters champion in 2011, could lament a series of missed chances to seal the match against his friend and rival, whom he now trails 16-4 in their career head-to-head. O’Sullivan has won the last four matches.

“I just had to hang in there and you never know until it is over,” O’Sullivan said. “I just tried to stay positive, so I went back to my mindset of Sheffield and it got me in the zone. I still made mistakes but was able to respond quicker.”

The first round clash at the invitation-only Masters was a high-quality encounter with 70-plus breaks in all but two of the 11 frames.