Ronnie O'Sullivan to remain as world No. 1 after Luca Brecel suffers English Open snooker defeat to Ding Junhui

A few familiar faces departed the English Open in Brentwood at the last-16 stage with Ronnie O'Sullivan, Luca Brecel, Mark Williams and Ali Carter all losing out in their quest for a quarter-final spot. Judd Trump and Matthew Selt will meet in a repeat of the Turkish Masters final in the first last-eight clash. Stream the English Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

Ronnie O'Sullivan will remain as world No. 1 for at least another week after Luca Brecel joined him in losing at the last-16 stage of the English Open in Brentwood.

O'Sullivan went down 4-2 to Zhang Anda on Thursday evening to open the door for world champion Brecel to claim top spot in the rankings, but the Belgian player's hopes were dashed by a 4-3 defeat to Ding Junhui, who finished with a 58 break to win an eighth match out of eight with Brecel.

World No. 2 Brecel needed to reach the last four to overhaul O'Sullivan, but will remain 5,000 points behind the Shanghai Masters winner before the Wuhan Open begins on Monday (live on Eurosport and discovery+).

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Zhang hit breaks of 97, 50 and 116 to secure a quarter-final with Zhou Yuelong on Friday evening as Zhou completed a 4-1 victory over Ali Carter.

“I played well tonight, my break building was good and I did not make serious mistakes," said Zhang, who rolled in 80, 97, 50 and 116.

"I felt a bit nervous at the beginning, but I was pretty settled after the first frame. I took some extra time lining up the last few shots, thinking about the winning line.

"From 2-1, Ronnie missed a few and went for a couple of shots when he could have played safe instead, which offered me chances.

“I have won matches recently in qualifiers, playing well, so generally I feel good. The best players are used to the feeling of winning."

Trump rallies to beat Yuan and reach quarter-finals of English Open

Video credit: TNT Sports

O'Sullivan returns to action against 1997 world champion Ken Doherty in his opener at the Wuhan Open on Monday with Brecel up against Xing Zihao.

British Open winner Mark Williams will also have the weekend off after losing 4-3 to Liu Hongyu in the last 16. Williams is due to face Zhang in the last 64 on Tuesday in Wuhan.

Judd Trump and Matthew Selt begin the English Open quarter-finals at 12pm on Friday in a repeat of their 2022 Turkish Masters final that Trump won 10-4.

• O'Sullivan crashes out of English Open, bites off tip in loss to Zhang
• Trump rallies to beat Yuan and reach quarter-finals of English Open
• English Open snooker 2023 - Latest scores, results, schedule, order of play

English Open quarter-finals

• Judd Trump v Matthew Selt (12pm)
• Martin O’Donnell v John Higgins (2pm)
• Zhang Anda v Zhou Yuelong (7pm)
• Ding Junhui v Liu Hongyu (7pm)

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Stream top snooker action, including the English Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

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