Ronnie O'Sullivan began his 2026-27 season with a routine victory in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters, beating Chinese amateur wildcard Liu Linhao 6-1. The seven-time world champion's win sets up a last-16 clash with top seed and defending champion Kyren Wilson, while the tournament also saw a shock exit for four-time world champion Mark Selby.

O'Sullivan, 50, made four breaks over 50 against the 18-year-old Liu. Selby, ranked world number nine, was beaten 6-5 by local favourite Zhou Yuelong, who recovered from 5-4 down with breaks of 83 and 107. Elsewhere, Barry Hawkins beat Lei Peifan 6-4 to set up a meeting with world number one Judd Trump, Chris Wakelin thrashed Hewen Tang 6-0, and Neil Robertson faces Xiao Guodong next.