Aaron Hill is through to the last 16 of the Xi'an Open after a 5-1 win over Mark Davis that featured two century breaks.
The Corkman recorded a maximum 147 break while beating home hope Huang Jiahao 5-2 on Tuesday and maintained that momentum today, winning the opening frame and then four in a row to clinch victory after Englishman Davis had levelled.
Hill made successive breaks of 98, 131, 81 and 102 to dispatch his opponent, who is rated 13 places lower in the world rankings at 46.
The 23-year-old is in fine form after matching his career best performance by reaching the quarter-finals of the English Open, where he also posted a maximum.
Hill will next face England's world No 103 Liam Pullen, who whitewashed Thailand's Noppon Saengkham.
Ronnie O'Sullivan needed a little over an hour to whitewash Stephen Maguire 5-0 and book his spot in the last 16.
O’Sullivan dropped just one frame as he swept aside Yao Pengcheng in Wednesday’s tournament opener and the seven-time world champion was even more uncharitable against Maguire, ranked 25th in the world.
Maguire, the former world number two who has won seven ranking titles including the 2004 UK Championship, won a meagre 25 points in five frames contrasted with his vaunted opponent’s 471.
O’Sullivan, back in action this week for the first time since losing a last-frame decider to Neil Robertson at the Saudi Arabia Masters final in August, started with a break of 134 on Thursday.
Further breaks of 70, 63 and 85 carried O’Sullivan to the brink of victory, which he duly wrapped up after a scrappier fifth frame to set up a showdown against Wales’ Jak Jones on Friday afternoon.
"You can't take this game for granted."
— WST (@WeAreWST) October 9, 2025
Even the great Ronnie O’Sullivan knows the form he’s in right now is something special, after another dominant win in Xi’an pic.twitter.com/fp0heH5QLY
"I feel like I’ve played great all season," O’Sullivan told the World Snooker Tour.
"But like I always say, this game has a way of humbling you. I’m very, very happy with my game but talk to me in two, three, four weeks or two months, I’ll be 'the game’s really hard, really difficult’.
"You can’t take this game for granted, you have to enjoy it while it’s good and when it’s not so good, you have to suck it up and just get through those periods.
"At the moment, I’m enjoying the game and enjoying playing and long may it continue."
Robertson, the world number three, made breaks of 126 and 103 but was eliminated after He Guoqiang won the final two frames to clinch a 5-4 win, despite He’s highest visit being 57 in the match.
Matthew Stevens, who knocked out world number one Judd Trump in the previous round, rebounded from 4-1 down to level at 4-4 against Lyu Haotian but lost the decider.
Former world champions Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson, Shaun Murphy and Stuart Bingham all progressed, while Robert Milkins made four century breaks as he edged out Jimmy Robertson 5-4.
