Williams joins O'Sullivan in third round

Ronnie O'Sullivan
12 April 2012

Ronnie O'Sullivan delivered a scathing criticism of his game despite fighting back from 3-0 down to beat Neil Robertson 6-4 before Mark Williams shook off the effects of whiplash to beat Ali Carter in two eventful second-round matches at the Pokerstars.com Masters at Wembley on Tuesday.

Williams hurt his neck in a car accident on Sunday night but showed few signs of suffering any ill-effects as he won 6-3.

O'Sullivan looked set to be on his way out as Robertson moved into a convincing lead with a minimum of fuss. But the four-time Masters champion stormed back with two centuries and three half-century breaks to set up a quarter-final clash with Peter Ebdon.

O'Sullivan started his comeback with a brilliant break of 114 which arrested Robertson's progress just before the mid-session interval. That century stirred O'Sullivan's confidence and he got back within a frame at 3-2 as he constructed a break of 57.

The 34-year-old levelled the scores with a break of 87 and then prevailed in the seventh to take a 4-3 advantage. Robertson, 27, appeared shell-shocked by the turnaround, but recovered his composure well in the next frame.

Some of his early potting appeared shaky, but he soon settled down to clear the table with a magnificent 140 break. But O'Sullivan would not be denied as a beautiful screw shot on the blue opened up the pack of reds to set up a clearance of 106 and he clinched the match with a break of 76.

In the evening session, early breaks of 98 and 102 in a whirlwind start to the match helped Williams overcome Carter - and his injury.

Williams took the opening frame against Carter with a break of 98, just missing out on a century after his attempt to roll the blue into the middle pocket with the white tight on the cushion missed. Williams then missed a tricky long pot when 26-0 down in the second to give Carter the chance to clinch the frame and he cleaned up with a break of 99.

Carter, the world number five, took the next to go 2-1 ahead before Williams showed the sort of potting prowess which brought him two world titles, a fine long yellow under pressure setting him on the way to a break of 102 as the players went in level at the mid-session interval.

The fifth frame developed into a safety battle, Williams emerging on top thanks to a well-crafted 48, before a 98 from Carter brought him level at 3-3. Williams took a scrappy seventh and the next two to claim victory as Carter's challenge wilted.

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