Ronnie O'Sullivan has praised the 'great crowd' and 'good venue' at the Metrodome this week after some of the biggest names in snooker descended on Barnsley for the English Open.

The five-time world champion sprained his ankle while running and threatened to pull out of the event if World Snooker told him to wear shoes. But, after changing from blue to black trainers, the issue was resolved and O'Sullivan made it through to the quarter-finals with victory over John Higgins last night. 

O'Sullivan told the Chronicle: "I think it's a good venue and they have done a good job with it. It's a great crowd, fantastic. And it's brilliant to have them supporting me. It's always great to play in front of a full crowd. I probably won't get to see much of Barnsley because we very rarely do, no matter where we play."

He added: "I like northerners. They are a friendly bunch. I am treating it like a holiday. I'll pitch up in Barnsley, hit a few balls and see how it goes."

A woman from the crowd took Ronnie's cue off him to pot the last black in his third round win, but missed. Some of the bigger names have not made it through, with Jimmy White losing 4-0 to Mark Allen on the first day then Judd Trump and world number one Mark Selby were beaten yesterday.

O'Sullivan will now play Jack Lisowski who defeated Trump, from 7pm today, while Michael White faces Alexander Ursenbacher at the same time. Neil Robertson against Anthony McGill is the first quarter-final from 12pm while Hossein Vafaei takes on Kyren Wilson. The semi-finals are tomorrow and final on Sunday, with sessions at 1pm and 7pm on both days. 

The event is being broadcast live on Eurosport while tickets are available on 0871 620 7052.