The action is coming thick and fast at the Marshall Arena.
A lot of the heavy hitters are still in the hunt for the BetVictor English Open crown after another busy day on Wednesday in Milton Keynes.
The round of 64 reached its conclusion with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui, and Yan Bingtao progressing in the tournament.
O’Sullivan, the 2017 champion, started his contest sluggishly but quickly gained momentum after losing the opening frame, tallying an impressive haul of 461 unanswered points to overpower Michael Georgiou.
The Rocket lived up to his nickname with brisk breaks of 82, 127, 129, and 108 helping him through to face old sparring partner Anthony Hamilton – the latter having beaten Rory McLeod earlier in the day.
Murphy, meanwhile, fought his way back from 2-0 down to see off the challenge of Joe O’Connor, while Ding and Yan orchestrated respective 4-1 victories against Tian Pengfei and Nigel Bond.
Belgium’s Luca Brecel, who beat Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Allen in the previous round, also emerged triumphantly at this stage alongside Championship League winner David Gilbert, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, and Martin Gould.
After the first round proper concluded, the evening session commenced the round of 32 where defending champion Judd Trump and 2020 finalist Neil Robertson were involved.
Trump, who will definitely lose his world number one spot regardless of how well he performs in the BetVictor English Open this week, wasn’t at his free-scoring best but had enough in the tank to beat Steven Hallworth 4-1, while Robertson won the last three frames to deny Sunny Akani.
Mark Davis and Mark King both advanced in addition to fellow Englishman Robbie Williams, who upset top 16 member Barry Hawkins.
The session was also notable for two amateur players qualifying for the last 16 of the competition, with Ross Muir thumping Anthony McGill 4-0 and Paul Deaville edging Zhao Xintong in a tense decider.
On Thursday, the afternoon session will see the round of 32 reach its climax before the round of 16 gets under way later in the day.
Click here to view the full 2021 BetVictor English Open draw (times: CET)
Where to Watch the English Open
The tournament will be available to UK and Irish viewers on Quest TV in addition to blanket Eurosport coverage provided across all of Europe.
Various broadcasters around the world will be offering coverage (information here), while fans in territories without another service can access the event through Matchroom.Live.
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