Ronnie O’Sullivan sent crashing out of Welsh Open by world No 71 Alexander Ursenbacher

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby tumbled out of the Welsh Open while defending champion John Higgins prevailed in a final frame decider to reach the quarter-finals.

O’Sullivan was priced at 1/100 with some bookmakers when he clinched the opening frame of his third round encounter against Alexander Ursenbacher courtesy of a 118 break – the 994th century of a glittering career.

The five-time world champion established a 2-1 advantage only for his unheralded Swiss opponent to reel off the next three frames for a shock 4-2 victory.

Ronnie O’Sullivan was stunned at the Welsh Open as he was beaten by Alexander Ursenbacher

A magnanimous O’Sullivan told www.worldsnooker.com: ‘The better man won on the day. He potted some great balls and played with freedom and abandonment which is a fantastic way to approach any game.

‘I’ve got nothing but praise for him, he’s great to watch. I had fun out there and gave it my best shot.’

Ursenbacher, ranked 71st in the world, had never previously progressed beyond the last 64 of a ranking event but his journey was halted in the fourth round later on Thursday as he was beaten 4-2 by China’s Zhao Xintong.

Noppon Saengkham, a semi-finalist here last year, registered the second 147 break of the week but was brushed aside 4-1 in his third round encounter against Selby, who then succumbed to an upset defeat in the last 16.

The world number one made a break of 135 as he moved 2-1 ahead of Hossein Vafaei but the Iranian rallied.

Selby moved 58-12 clear in the seventh and final frame but Vafaei was not overwhelmed and a break of 54 saw him clinch a stunning 4-3 win.

World No 1 Mark Selby also suffered an upset, losing to Iranian Hossein Vafaei in Cardiff

Higgins, meanwhile, was pushed all the way by Jack Lisowski, who three times came back from a frame down before losing 4-3.

Lisowski had two chances to secure victory in the decider and led 40-1 at one point, only for Higgins, chasing a sixth title, to hold his nerve with a 71 clearance.

The Scot will next take on Joe O’Connor, who saw off world number eight Ding Junhui 4-1 to reach the last eight.

Former world champion Neil Robertson – who registered the week’s first maximum 147 on Tuesday – continued his impressive run as he needed only 53 minutes to dispose of Michael Georgiou 4-0.

The Australian left-hander will next take on Kurt Maflin, who defeated Elliot Slessor 4-2.

Scott Donaldson will face Vafaei after overcoming Ian Burns 4-2 while Stuart Bingham set up a clash with Xintong by defeating Robbie Williams by the same scoreline.

John Higgins was pushed close by Jack Lisowski before winning 4-3 to reach the last eight