Ding Junhui made a magnificent Masters maximum but it was Ronnie O’Sullivan who roared into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 victory at Alexandra Palace.
Ding registered a seventh career 147 in the seventh frame of their first-round clash.
The 36-year-old overcame a tricky yellow and a pink with the rest, which wobbled in the pocket before it dropped, to record only the fourth maximum at the prestigious tournament – and his second after achieving the feat as a teenager in 2007.
Kirk Stevens, in 1984, and Marco Fu nine years ago are the only other players to manage Masters 147s.
DING WITH A MAXIMUM BREAK!! 🔥
What a moment for Ding Junhui, who hits the fourth 147 at the Masters to move within one of O'Sullivan!
4-3 (11)#TheMasters | @MrQBingoAdvertisement— WST (@WeAreWST) January 8, 2024
Ding trailed O’Sullivan 4-0 at the mid-session interval but the seven-time world champion missed a simple red to finally let him in.
The Chinese star immediately pulled two frames back before his magic moment left him trailing by one at 4-3.
However O’Sullivan, bidding for an eighth Masters title, hit straight back with a break of 127, and two visits to the table later he had wrapped up victory.
“Unbelievable 147 from Ding, I knew he’d make it from about the second or third red. What a magnificent player,” O’Sullivan told the BBC.
On his rapid response to the maximum, he added in typical O’Sullivan style: “Listen, I just tried. My cueing is not great.
“I was just trying to manufacture stuff out there. But I tried, there’s nothing else you can do really, is there?”
Ding was not at the races before the interval and surprised himself with his milestone break.
“I had a lot of chances at the start but just messed up,” he said. “I didn’t think I would play that well when we came back so to make a maximum was amazing.
“I saw the balls open and thought I could try a maximum because Ronnie was playing so well.”
