Victory extends the Rocket’s perfect record against Milkins, in which he leads the head-to-head standings 9-0. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story of a match where O’Sullivan missed a number of uncharacteristic shots and found himself on the cusp of a shock exit.
O’Sullivan has boosted his chances of remaining world number one at the end of the week with victory. Had he lost this afternoon, Judd Trump would have only needed to win his next game to usurp the seven-time World Champion.
Remarkably the win sees O’Sullivan make the 140th ranking event quarter-final of his glittering career. The Essex cueman’s hunt for an eighth UK title will continue with a clash against China’s Zhou Yuelong tomorrow.
Both players missed opportunities in the opening two frames, but it was Milkins who took them to earn a 2-0 advantage. O’Sullivan then clicked into gear and contributions of 86, 53 and 142 helped him to four on the bounce and a 4-2 advantage.
Milkins showed his class by clawing himself back within a frame, before O’Sullivan moved to the verge of victory at 5-3. A break of 120 saw Milkins reduce his arrears and he then took a nervy tenth to force a decider. The first two chances in the final frame fell the way of Milkins, but he failed to capitalise. The Gloucester cueman wasn’t afforded a third, with O’Sullivan getting himself over the line.
“Rob has played great over the last two years. He’s improved as a match player. He is harder to play now than he ever was. I’m pleased to get through but my cue action isn’t great. I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t feel my backswing. It is just the way it is for me. It’s been like that for 30 years and that is what torments me. Sometimes I can’t make eight out there and others I can’t miss. It is a crazy game,” said 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan.
“I just try anything. You want to see the notes I’ve got in my phone. I just try hard and try mentally to stay in there and enjoy the battle. Try to squeeze as much juice out of this tournament as I can. I don’t want to sabotage it because I was good at that. You have to get lucky.”
On the other table, Zhou came through with a 6-3 victory over Scotland’s two-time UK Champion John Higgins.
Zhou fired in breaks of 65, 86, 52 and 63 en route to victory. It’s the second time the Chengdu cueman has made the quarters of the UK Championship. He was a beaten semi-finalist back in 2020 against eventual champion Neil Robertson.
The post O’Sullivan Edges Milkins In Decider appeared first on World Snooker.
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