RONNIE O’Sullivan has spoken about his love of playing in  Newport after cruising into the next round of the Welsh Open.

O’Sullivan beat Ding Junhui 4-2 in the third round at the ICC Wales on Thursday.

Speaking to the BBC after the match, the four-time Welsh Open winner spoke about how he relished the tour visiting south Wales.

“I love the venue, I love Cardiff, I love Newport. I’ve loved everything,” he said. “The crowd are a special crowd, the Welsh, they really support the snooker brilliantly.

“It’s probably one my favourite places to play. I’ve had some of my best moments here.

“A lot to do with that is the crowd and the people – they’re so friendly, so nice, so welcoming. As players when you're travelling a lot, them little things mean a lot to you because it makes you feel nice.”

Jak Jones, from Cwmbran, caused an upset in the second round, beating ninth seed Zhao Xintong, before losing out to Hossein Vafaei in the last 32.

Vafaei then beat another Welshman, Ryan Day, in the next round.

Matthew Stevens also reached the last 16, losing 4-2 to Zhang Anda.

Tenth seed Mark Williams, from Cwm, went out in round two, as did Newport’s Andrew Pagett.

Wales’ last representative in the tournament is Michael White, who faces 18th seed Jack Lisowski in the last 16.

Jackson Page, 20, from Ebbw Vale; European Under-21 champion Dylan Emery, from Caerphilly; and 15-year-old Liam Davies from Tredegar, went out in round one on Monday.