Ronnie O'Sullivan (Photo by Benutzer:Bill da Flute)
Making a record-extending 34th consecutive appearance at the Crucible, Ronnie O’Sullivan fired three centuries in a 10-2 thrashing of He Guoqiang to earn a blockbuster tie with John Higgins in the second round of the World Snooker Championship.
O’Sullivan had played in just nine tournaments this season before arriving in Sheffield so may lack the match sharpness of some of his rivals, but on the evidence of this emphatic victory over China’s He, his game is ready for a tilt at a record eighth Crucible crown.
Snooker’s all-time greatest player lifted the trophy in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2022 and admits his only remaining ambition is to go one ahead of Stephen Hendry’s tally of seven.
His next test will be a fascinating clash with fellow ‘Class of ’92’ member John Higgins, over 25 frames on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It will be a seventh match at the Crucible between the pair, equalling the record for the most frequent meetings at the Theatre of Dreams, first set by Steve Davis and Terry Griffiths who played on seven occasions, and matched by Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White. Higgins and O’Sullivan first went head to head here in 1996 as 20-year-olds, and will now meet again having both turned 50.
O’Sullivan took a 7-2 lead against debutant He in Tuesday’s opening session, making breaks of 72, 97, 113, 52 and 86. Today’s concluding session, which had former England and Manchester United footballer Paul Scholes among the crowd, lasted just 35 minutes as world number 12 O’Sullivan added runs of 62, 113 and 100, taking his overall tally of centuries at the Crucible to 217.
He is the 13th seed into the second round, and if Mark Selby, Si Jiahui and Neil Robertson all follow him, it will be the first time in Crucible history that all 16 seeds have beaten the qualifiers.
“I still feel a bit rusty, I haven’t played against top players regularly so it’s hard to know what my chances are,” said O’Sullivan, who hasn’t won a title since March 2024. “At the beginning of March I felt I’d had enough, that’s why I wasn’t playing in tournaments, I felt it was a waste of time. With the help of some very knowledgeable people I have tried to re-coach myself, with them watching and filming me. I know what I want, and if I can get that I should be able to get the cue through and pot a few balls.
“At first I was getting nowhere, at one point I was practising for six or seven hours a day. Then I rested for two days, I was in Yushan and lying in bed, thinking about technique and decided to try something. I went back to the practice room and it worked, my timing was coming back. If that’s good then the rest of it might come. In that tournament (the World Open where he reached the final) I had some better performances. Now I’m excited about playing and that’s a victory for me.
“I first played John at Pontin’s when we were 14 and I could see straight away he was an unbelievable player. I’d be surprised if we play again in Sheffield this late in our careers. I hope I can give him a game. He’ll be a bit more battle hardened than me. I hope I can enjoy the occasion.”
Selby Relieved To End Crucible Losing Streak
Mark Selby won a match at the Crucible for the first time in three years as he hammered Jak Jones 10-2 in the first round.
Four-time champion Selby was runner-up to Luca Brecel in 2023 then suffered shock first round exits against Joe O’Connor in 2024 and Ben Woollaston in 2025. When he was handed a tough draw this time against 2024 runner-up Jones he may have feared another early trip back to Leicester, but in fact Selby dominated an out-of-sorts opponent and sailed into the last 16.
The 42-year-old, who lifted the trophy in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, is into the last 16 in Sheffield for the 16th time and the sport’s ultimate match player now faces an intriguing battle with exciting young potter Wu Yize, which starts on Sunday.
Selby was at his best earlier this season when he won the Champion of Champions and UK Championship, and though his form has dipped since then, he is always a threat at the Crucible with his exceptional all round game and patience over the long distance.
He took a 7-2 lead over Jones in the first session this morning with top breaks of 67, 50 and 78, then added the three frames he needed tonight.
“It’s very tough when you lose in round one because this only comes around once a year, it’s the biggest tournament and the one everyone wants to win,” said world number seven Selby. “Then you go home and the tournament is still going on for two weeks so you can’t get away from it. I was relieved this time not to draw someone from Leicester. But it was still a tough draw and I’m over the moon to beat Jak by that scoreline,. No matter what I have achieved, I felt nervous and I’m sure Jak did too.
“I feel I have still been playing decent stuff in the second half of the season. At the Tour Championship I was 8-5 up on John Higgins and then didn’t do too much wrong but lost 10-8. I still feel good in my game. Wu is an amazing talent and great to watch, he could be a future World Champion, I am really looking forward to it. I know I am going to have to be near my best.”
Jones suffers from asthma and explained how that affected his performance. He said: “I felt shocking this morning and the game turned into a nightmare. I couldn’t breathe properly and that makes it very difficult to keep my composure or stay calm. When you are up against one of the best players ever, that doesn’t help. But it’s not an excuse because I played badly so the scoreline would probably have been the same anyway.”
Meanwhile, Neil Robertson took a narrow 5-4 over Pang Junxu in the last of the opening round matches to get underway. Robertson compiled breaks of 81, 72 and 53 while Pang made 54, 73 and 122. They play to a finish on Thursday from 7pm.
On the other table, qualifier Hossein Vafaei is on target to knock out 15th seed Si Jiahui as he leads 6-3 after their first session. China’s Si, a semi-finalist in 2023, led 3-1 with a top break of 100 but Iran’s Vafaei reeled off five frames in a row after the interval with runs of 81, 61, 60 and 105. They play to a finish on Thursday from 1pm.
