Masters memories: 10 years at the Ally Pally | Liang’s missed black
Liang missed the chance to eliminate O’Sullivan in the 2017 first round (Xinhua/SIPA USA/PA Images)
To celebrate the 10th staging of the Masters at Alexandra Palace, we’re looking back at some of the most memorable moments from snooker’s most prestigious invitational event in N22.
Today, we go back to 2017 and Liang Wenbo’s costly missed black.
It was a record-breaking year for Ronnie O’Sullivan as he became the most successful player in Masters history outright.
Indeed, he surpassed Stephen Hendry by capturing his seventh title with a 10-7 victory over Joe Perry in the final.
However, it could have been a completely different story in 2017 at the Ally Pally.
Allegedly under the weather, the Rocket was on the brink of first-round elimination at 5-4 down against good friend Liang.
Clearing the colours, the recently crowned English Open champion was set to dethrone O’Sullivan, who had lifted his sixth Masters crown 12 months ago.
But tragedy struck on the final black as the pressure told in front of a raucous and partisan crowd.
The rest, as they say, is history.