Ronnie O'Sullivan's English Open conqueror 'dreaming' after icon left completely dejected

China's He Guoqiang is 'feeling unreal' after stunning seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan at the English Open.

The 24-year-old sensationally secured his fourth-round spot in Brentwood, claiming a gutsy 4-2 victory - which marked his second triumph over 'The Rocket' this season.

Elated with his win, he told the World Snooker Tour's official website: "It feels brilliant to beat him again. It is an unreal feeling and like I am dreaming. I didn't expect at all to win again.

"I think the key is to perform my best and to play my own game. I just needed to get rid of the fear attached to playing a top player like Ronnie. There were so many spectators here, all supporting him. It didn't allow me to think of anything other than my own performance.

"The best thing I have learned over the past few months is how to play against top players and get rid of the fear and emotion of facing them. That is the most improved part of my game."

O'Sullivan - who labelled himself 'absolutely useless' after his exit - was trailing 3-0 after the Chinese star narrowly claimed the first frame and swiftly gathered momentum with breaks of 78 and 77 in the following ones.

The English snooker legend fought back valiantly, pocketing consecutive frames thanks to scores of 56 and 59, to claw his way back into the match.

However, the resilience of Guoqiang prevailed, as he sealed his victory with a composed break of 50 in the decisive fifth frame.

Elsewhere, Luca Brecel beat Anthony Hamilton 4-3 after a tense final frame, John Higgins triumphed over Andrew Higginson 4-1, while Jack Lisowski suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to Xu Si.

Jamie Jones dominated Zhou Yuelong with a 4-0 victory and Anthony McGill overcame Xiao Guodong 4-2.

England's Ben Woollaston celebrated a notable 4-1 win against three-time world champion Mark Williams, while Neil Robertson advanced with the same scoreline against Welshman Jackson Page.

Stephen Maguire secured a clean sweep with a 4-0 whitewash against Hungary's Bulcsu Revesz, and Barry Hawkins emerged victorious over Jimmy Robertson 4-2.

Earlier in the day, world number three Mark Allen was pushed all the way in a 4-3 win over Long Zehuang. There were also wins for Ross Muir, Hossein Vafaei, Matthew Selt, Lyu Haotian, and Jiang Jun.