Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jack Lisowski will clash in a blockbuster round-of-32 battle on Tuesday at the 2025 International Championship in Nanjing.
The pair of Englishmen have both produced four-ton displays in the competition so far to set up a fascinating fixture between the game’s greatest and the current in-form star.
Lisowski began life as a ranking event winner in strong fashion as he held off a spirited performance from Louis Heathcote on Monday.
Many are curious to see whether or not last week’s Northern Ireland Open success will have a significant impact on the Cheltenham cueist’s overall consistency.
A date with O’Sullivan will represent an immediate test in that regard, particularly since Lisowski has never beaten the Rocket in four previous attempts.
That run has included a succession of 6-1 drubbings, so he’ll be hoping that this best-of-11 affair will, at the very least, be a bit closer.
“I’ve got Ronnie now, so it’ll be a big ask to keep it up against him,” Lisowski told the WST. “My game’s in great shape and he’s the biggest test there is in the game.”
“I’m not going to say I’m looking forward to it. I’ve looked forward to playing him before, and I don’t think that’s how you can look at it.
“I know I’ve got a really tough game so I want to go back now, get a good night’s sleep, and try and be at my best tomorrow.”
All in all, it’s a high-quality lineup of contenders who are still involved at the last-32 stage of the season’s eighth ranking tournament.
O’Sullivan and Lisowski feature in a bottom half of the draw that also includes world number one Judd Trump, world champion Zhao Xintong, and two-time former International Championship winner Mark Selby.
Trump faces Noppon Saengkham, Zhao is in action against countryman Lei Peifan, while Selby encounters Daniel Well.
In the same section there is another all-Chinese showdown between Zhang Anda and Wu Yize, with the former desperate to defend the ranking points he earned from his triumph in the event two years ago.
Multiple-time ranking event winners Barry Hawkins and Gary Wilson have tough opponents in Jak Jones and Si Jiahui respectively, while there is also a contest between Anthony McGill and Jimmy Robertson.
The top half of the 2025 International Championship draw is just as stacked with number one seed Ding Junhui fronting the lineup.
The 2024 champion takes on Liam Highfield having already tallied six century breaks in a devastating display of heavy scoring so far this week.
Kyren Wilson, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, and John Higgins are also in this upper bracket.
World number two Wilson entertains Stephen Maguire, a player who was once ranked just as high on the official rankings list.
Robertson meets Yuan Sijun, Murphy takes on Elliot Slessor, while Higgins is in action against Hossein Vafaei.
For Murphy, the Magician might be relieved to duel with a familiar face after being taken the distance in sensational fashion by free-scoring 14 year-old Wang Xinzhong in the last round.
Former Shoot Out champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, meanwhile, takes on Scott Donaldson while there is another all-Chinese match featuring He Guoqiang and Jiang Jun.
Zak Surety’s reward for beating Wuhan Open winner Xiao Guodong is a date with Aaron Hill, who enjoyed a bye through to the last 32 following the withdrawal of Ali Carter.
All of the matches in this round are to be played on Tuesday.
2025 International Championship Draw
Round of 32 (bo11)
S1 time: 6:30am UTC (GMT)
S2 time: 11:30am UTC (GMT)
Ding Junhui vs Liam Highfield (S2)
Shaun Murphy vs Elliot Slessor (S2)
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Scott Donaldson (S2)
Hossein Vafaei vs John Higgins (S1)
Neil Robertson vs Yuan Sijun (S2)
Zak Surety vs Aaron Hill (S2)
He Guoqiang vs Jiang Jun (S2)
Stephen Maguire vs Kyren Wilson (S1)
Judd Trump vs Noppon Saengkham (S2)
Zhang Anda vs Wu Yize (S1)
Jak Jones vs Barry Hawkins (S1)
Jack Lisowski vs Ronnie O’Sullivan (S1)
Anthony McGill vs Jimmy Robertson (S1)
Mark Selby vs Daniel Wells (S2)
Gary Wilson vs Si Jiahui (S1)
Lei Peifan vs Zhao Xintong (S1)
Click here for the updated scores and results (snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
Before his first win over O’Sullivan today, Lisowski had won only five of the 28 frames contested between the pair. Great win for Jack given the past drubbings.