Teenage sensation Aaron Hill stuns Ronnie O’Sullivan at the European Masters
Hill grounds The Rocket in Milton Keynes
Teenage tour debutant Aaron Hill pulled off a sensational deciding frame victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in Round Two of the European Masters on Thursday.
Hill, 18, secured a Tour Card by winning the EBSA European Under-21 Championship in March and continued his memorable year by defeating the reigning and six-time World Champion.
The Cork cueist, who knocked out Andy Hicks in Round One, showed no sign of nerves as he made a 74 break in the opening frame before doubling his lead.
O’Sullivan, making his first competitive appearance since his Crucible triumph five weeks ago, got off the mark in frame three, but a 52 break from Hill saw him regain a two-frame cushion at the interval.
O’Sullivan looked set to crush the Irishman’s hopes of an upset as he reeled off three consecutive frames with breaks of 64 and 102 to move 4-3 in front.
Hill, however, dusted himself down to clinch frame eight by 68 points to nil and force a decider.
After O’Sullivan had failed to press home a match-winning chance from 28, Hill benefited from a timely fluked red along the cushion and went on to make a 78 break to wrap up a sensational scalp.
He will now face former UK Champion Matthew Stevens in the Last 32 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
“I’m speechless at the moment,” Hill told WST.
“I didn’t just go out there to be happy to be there, I still wanted to win the match.
“If I’d have lost the match after being 3-1 up, I’d have been disappointed.
“I’m so pleased with that victory, everyone back home must be buzzing.
“I think it’s going to take me until Christmas to reply to everyone!”
Elsewhere, another tour debutant – Peter Devlin – pulled off a terrific scalp of a multiple World Champion in a last-frame decider as he overcame Mark Williams.
Devlin, 24, saved his best for last as he registered his first professional century in the decider with a break of 102 to clinch victory.
Another notable upset saw 19-year-old Welshman Jackson Page knock out top 16 star Jack Lisowski by the same scoreline.
A heavy-scoring contest saw Page produce breaks of 95, 56, 80 and 52 to Lisowski’s 67, 52 and 102 as the pair went the distance.
Despite a 58 break in the decider from Lisowski, it was Page who turned the tide to book his place in Round Three and setup a show-down with Luca Brecel.
Mark Allen stormed into the Last 32 with a 5-0 whitewash of Ken Doherty, firing in a fantastic four centuries in the process.
Allen blasted in breaks of 134, 101 and 141 before setting a new tournament high break target of 145 in frame four.
He fell short of setting a new record in the fifth frame but went on to complete the rout nonetheless.
Kyren Wilson also enjoyed a whitewash win as he thrashed Chris Wakelin with breaks of 65, 69 and 100 to his name.
Ding Junhui remained in pursuit of the title thanks to a 5-3 success over Iran’s Hossein Vafaei in a match which saw both players produce a century.
Three-time World Champion Mark Selby whitewashed Chinese newcomer Gao Yang with top breaks of 73 and 111, while Tour Championship winner Stephen Maguire reeled off five consecutive frames to dispatch James Cahill 5-3.
Neil Robertson pulled clear from two apiece to defeat Riley Parsons 5-2 with two centuries to his name, while Tom Ford held his nerve with a 77 break in the decider to deny Poland’s Antoni Kowalski.
Barry Hawkins missed an opportunity for a maximum as he broke down on the 15th red in his clash with Jordan Brown by went on to complete a commanding 5-1 victory.
Shaun Murphy fired in breaks of 77, 84 and 110 on his way to a solid 5-3 success over Alan McManus, as Stuart Bingham thrashed Chen Zifan 5-1 with high breaks of 136 and 113.
Former World Champion Graeme Dott went down 5-2 to Chinese youngster Lyu Haotian – who started the match with a century.
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European Masters Snooker 2020 Results
Thursday September 24
Second Round
Antoni Kowalski 4-5 Tom Ford
James Cahill 3-5 Stephen Maguire
Jak Jones 2-5 Zhou Yuelong
Mark Davis 5-4 Nigel Bond
Gao Yang 0-5 Mark Selby
Robert Milkins 3-5 David Gilbert
Mark Williams 4-5 Peter Devlin
Matthew Stevens 5-1 Xiao Guodong
Neil Robertson 5-2 Riley Parsons
Robbie Williams 1-5 Pang Junxu
Mark Allen 5-0 Ken Doherty
Ding Junhui 5-3 Hossein Vafaei
Peter Lines 2-5 Anthony McGill
Chris Wakelin 0-5 Kyren Wilson
Martin Gould 5-1 Ian Burns
Andrew Higginson 3-5 Duane Jones
Barry Hawkins 5-1 Jordan Brown
Alan McManus 3-5 Shaun Murphy
Ashley Carty 5-1 Simon Lichtenberg
Graeme Dott 2-5 Lyu Haotian
Fraser Patrick 4-5 Liam Highfield
Chen Zifan 1-5 Stuart Bingham
Jack Lisowski 4-5 Jackson Page
Aaron Hill 5-4 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Here’s the moment Aaron Hill completed the biggest win of his young career against Ronnie O’Sullivan ???? #EuropeanMasters pic.twitter.com/9jrelXSzSm
— Live Snooker (@Livesnooker) September 24, 2020