Ronnie O'Sullivan's hopes of winning the Six Reds World Championship on debut were ended by Ding Junhui in the last 16.
The Rocket had impressively topped his group in this invitational tournament, which was first staged in 2008 and last held in 2019, with three wins against James Wattana, Stan Moody and Jimmy Robertson over the past two days of action in Thailand to book his place in the knockout stages.
He subsequently came up against his old friend Ding, who won this tournament back in 2016 and also finished runner-up in 2018, but was unable to get revenge for the 6-0 thrashing he suffered at the UK Championship back in November.
The first four frames of the contest were shared only for Ding to race away to a 6-2 victory - with the help of this fine escape in the seventh.
Ding went on to beat Stuart Bingham 6-2 later on Thursday to remain firmly on course for a repeat win in the event. His semi-final opponent is Tom Ford, who got the better of John Higgins in a deciding frame to win 6-5.
Thepchaiyah Un-Nooh, who beat Zhang Anda 6-2, will face Hossein Vafaei in the other semi-final.
Vafaei looked poised to exit when he trailed 5-4 to Judd Trump, who was at the table with just one more pot required to seal his place in the last four and rubber-stamp his status as favourite.
Trump though missed brown of its spot and lost the frame, before a nerveless half-century saw Vafaei clinch the decider in a 6-5 stunner.
Six Reds Tournament Format & Results So Far
- The first round consists of eight groups of four players, and runs from March 6-8.
- Each group match is best of 11 frames, with the winner receiving one point and the loser none.
- The top two players in each group will advance to the knockout stage. If players are level on points, frame difference comes into play.
- The last 16 and quarter-finals are both best of 11 frames and take place on March 9.
- The semi-final will be the best of 13 frames and take place on Friday March 10. The final will be the best of 15 frames on Saturday March 11.
Six Reds Group A
- Ding Junhui 5–2 Stephen Maguire
- Zhang Anda 5–2 Mink Nutcharut
- Zhang Anda 5–2 Stephen Maguire
- Ding Junhui 5–2 Mink Nutcharut
- Zhang Anda 5–0 Ding Junhui
- Stephen Maguire 5–0 Mink Nutcharut
Zhang Anda (1st) and Ding Junhui (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group B
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–0 Jimmy White
- Tom Ford 5–1 Zhou Yuelong
- Zhou Yuelong 5–1 Jimmy White
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–3 Tom Ford
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–2 Zhou Yuelong
- Jimmy White 5-3 Tom Ford
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (1st) and Tom Ford (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group C
- John Higgins 5–2 Ken Doherty
- Hossein Vafaei 5–2 Poramin Danjirakul
- Hossein Vafaei 5–1 John Higgins
- Pormin Danjirakul 5–3 Ken Doherty
- John Higgins 5–0 Poramin Danjirakul
- Hossein Vafaei 5–1 Ken Doherty
Hossein Vafaei (1st) and John Higgins (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group D
- Judd Trump 5–0 Ricky Walden
- Ma Hai Long 5–3 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
- Judd Trump 5–4 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
- Ricky Walden 5–1 Ma Hailong
- Judd Trump 5–4 Ma Hailong
- Ricky Walden 5–4 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
Judd Trump (1st) and Ricky Walden (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group E
- Robert Milkins 5–2 Matthew Selt
- Chris Wakelin 5–4 Dechawat Poomjaeng
- Chris Wakelin 5–4 Matthew Selt
- Dechawat Poomjaeng 5–0 Robert Milkins
- Chris Wakelin 5–3 Robert Milkins
- Matthew Selt 5-3 Dechawat Poomjaeng
Chris Wakelin (1st) and Dechawat Poomjaeng (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group F
- Joe Perry 5–1 Mark Williams
- Andres Petrov 5–3 Sunny Akani
- Mark Williams 5-4 Sunny Akani
- Joe Perry 5-3 Andres Petrov
- Mark Williams 5-2 Andres Petrov
- Joe Perry 5-3 Sunny Akani
Joe Perry (1st) and Mark Williams (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group G
- Noppon Saengkham 5–4 Jordan Brown
- Stuart Bingham 5–1 Mahoud El Hareedy
- Stuart Bingham 5–2 Jordan Brown
- Noppon Saengkham 5–1 Mahoud El Hareedy
- Jordan Brown 5–2 Mahoud El Hareedy
- Stuart Bingham 5–2 Noppon Saengkham
Stuart Bingham (1st) and Noppon Saengkham (2nd) progress
Six Reds Group H
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–3 Jimmy Robertson
- James Wattana 5–1 Stan Moody
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–2 Stan Moody
- James Wattana 5–4 Jimmy Robertson
- Jimmy Robertson 5-2 Stan Moody
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–2 James Wattana
Ronnie O'Sullivan (1st) and James Wattana (2nd) progress
Knockout Stages
In draw bracket order
Last 16 (March 9)
- Zhang Anda 6-4 James Wattana
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-2 Dechawat Poomjaeng
- Hossein Vafaei 6-3 Noppon Saengkham
- Judd Trump 6-3 Mark Williams
- Chris Wakelin 3-6 Tom Ford
- Joe Perry 2-6 John Higgins
- Stuart Bingham 6-0 Ricky Walden
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 2-6 Ding Junhui
Quarter-Finals (March 9)
- Zhang Anda 2-6 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
- Hossein Vafaei 6-5 Judd Trump
- Tom Ford 6-5 John Higgins
- Stuart Bingham 2-6 Ding Junhui
Semi-Finals (March 10)
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Hossein Vafaei
- Tom Ford v Ding Junhui
Final (March 11)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2