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Anthony McGill couldn't wipe the smile off his face after hitting the 'shot of the tournament' at the Northern Ireland Open without potting a single ball. He cruised to a 4-1 victory over Mateusz Baranowski to book his place in the quarter-finals, having already beaten Shaun Maguire and reigning champion Jack Lisowski. The match was short on quality at times, but one moment of magic in the fifth and final frame delighted the Belfast crowd.
McGill had to think outside the box to get himself out of a difficult position, with the pack of reds blocked by the blue and the green. One stray red was positioned near the corner pocket, which was obstructed by the black.
As a result, McGill couldn't pot anything, but he managed to pull off an incredible safety shot to leave Baranowski snookered.
He fired the white into the stray red, which cannoned off the cushion and separated the pack, as the cue ball bounced around the table and ended up nestled between the pink and the brown at the baulk cushion.
"Safety shot of the tournament!" 😳Anthony McGill was beaming after this incredible safety 😄 https://t.co/Wxrw2l1Ihb
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) October 22, 2026
It left Baranowski with no leads and drew a huge round of applause from the crowd, while McGill was seen beaming with delight as he returned to his chair.
TNT Sports commentator David Hendon said: "Look at this, oh my goodness me. It's the safety shot of the tournament."
Dominic Dale, providing analysis in the commentary booth, added: "What a shot and what a problem he's given Baranowski."
Despite his brilliant safety shot and the wide margin of victory, McGill wasn't impressed with his performance and made his feelings clear in his post-match interview.
"It was a weird game and I wasn't very good," he said. "It's a shame for the audience. I should never have won the first frame, he missed a black to go 29 up. It just wasn't a great match."
Quizzed on his moment of brilliance in the final frame, he replied: "The snooker one that I played was nice. The shot Mateus played to leave the black over the pocket, as soon as he played that I was thinking: 'This frame could be 50 minutes'.
"You just leave it in such a position where you can only attack the pocket where the black is covering it. I just wanted to try and move some balls around. You should be playing that on repeat, it was the only good shot in the match."
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