Overview
- Zhou never trailed and closed out the match 6-4 by clearing the colours after O’Sullivan lost position moving from yellow to green in the 10th frame.
- Key swings included a superb 125 clearance from Zhou and a stolen seventh frame after O’Sullivan led 64-0, with several frames decided on the final black.
- The victory was Zhou’s first over O’Sullivan in eight meetings, ending the eight-time champion’s perfect record against him.
- O’Sullivan described his display as a "ropey performance," said he "missed a lot of balls," and is undecided on entering January’s Masters as he returns to his base in southern Ireland for his 50th birthday week.
- Seven Chinese players have reached the last 16 in York, underlining the depth of contenders as the tournament progresses.