Ronnie O’Sullivan cruised into the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open with a 5-4 victory against China’s Yuan Sijun.
O’Sullivan made breaks of 130, 64 and 82 to lead 4-1 before fighting back from 63-5 down to win the last frame.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen made it into the last eight by defeating Jack Lisowski 5-2.
Allen could replace O’Sullivan as the world number one if he wins the title. The pair are on course to meet in the semi-finals.
O’Sullivan will play another Chinese opponent, Lyu Haotian, in the next round while Allen faces Englishman Ali Carter.
Judd Trump – who was a late arrival in Wuhan after winning last week’s English Open – defeated Barry Hawkins 5-2 to set up a quarter-final against Tom Ford, who edged past Xiao Guodong in a last-frame decider.
Elsewhere, Chinese teenager Wu Yize beat Scotland’s Stephen Maguire 5-4 while the Republic of Ireland’s Aaron Hill won 5-3 against He Guoqiang.
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