Ronnie O’Sullivan made a mockery of his recent period of inactivity by reeling off three centuries in five frames as he completed a 10-4 win over Ali Carter to reach the second round of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
The seven-time champion, who has not played on the professional tour since he crashed out of the Championship League in January, and broke his cue in anger following that defeat, looked close to his best in the first round as he swiftly set up a last-16 clash against Pang Junxu, who beat Chinese compatriot Zhang Anda 10-7.
Pang vs O’Sullivan, which will be played over the best of 25 frames, began on Saturday afternoon, with the second session on Sunday and the final one on Monday evening.
The 49-year-old decided to play at the Crucible despite admitting he was “scared to go near a snooker table” during his break from the game and feared he had lost his bottle. The first-round clash had the potential to be a grudge match, with O’Sullivan calling Carter “not a nice person” and a “f****** nightmare” following a heated Masters match last year but it was ultimately played in a good spirit.
The World Snooker Championship got underway on Saturday 19 April with the final played over two days starting on Sunday 4 May.
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Results so far
Second round
Chris Wakelin 13-6 Mark Allen
Hossein Vafaei 10-13 Mark Williams
First round
Kyren Wilson (1) 9-10 Lei Peifan
Xiao Guodong (14) 10-4 Matthew Selt
Mark Williams (6) 10-8 Wu Yize
Neil Robertson (9) 8-10 Chris Wakelin
Barry Hawkins (11) 9-10 Hossein Vafaei
Jak Jones (16) 4-10 Zhao Xintong
Mark Allen (8) 10-6 Fan Zhengyi
John Higgins (3) 10-7 Joe O'Connor
Ding Junhui (10) 10-7 Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy (15) 10-4 Daniel Wells
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 10-4 Ali Carter
Judd Trump (2) 10-4 Zhou Yuelong
Luca Brecel (7) 10-7 Ryan Day
Mark Selby (4) 8-10 Ben Woollaston
World Snooker Championship draw and schedule in full
(All times BST)
Saturday 26 April
Second round
10:00
John Higgins 12-11 Xiao Guodong - to a finish
Lei Peifan 6-10 Zhao Xintong
14:30
Hossein Vafaei 10-13 Mark Williams - to a finish
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Pang Junxu
19:00
Si Jiahui v Ben Woollaston
Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui
Sunday 27 April
Second round
10:00
Lei Peifan 6-10 Zhao Xintong - to a finish
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
14:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Pang Junxu
Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui
19:00
Si Jiahui v Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump
Monday 28 April
13:00
Si Jiahui v Ben Woollaston - to a finish
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump - to a finish
19:00
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Pang Junxu - to a finish
Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui - to a finish
Tuesday 29 April
Quarter-finals
10:00
Lei Peifan / Zhao Xintong v Chris Wakelin
John Higgins / Xiao Guodong v Hossein Vafaei / Mark Williams
14:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan / Pang Junxu v Si Jiahui / Ben Woollaston
Luca Brecel / Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy / Judd Trump
19:00
Lei Peifan / Zhao Xintong v Chris Wakelin
John Higgins / Xiao Guodong v Hossein Vafaei / Mark Williams
Wednesday 30 April
Quarter-finals
10:00
John Higgins / Xiao Guodong v Hossein Vafaei / Mark Williams - to a finish
Ronnie O'Sullivan / Pang Junxu v Si Jiahui / Ben Woollaston
14:30
Lei Peifan / Zhao Xintong v Chris Wakelin - to a finish
Luca Brecel / Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy / Judd Trump
19:00
Ronnie O'Sullivan / Pang Junxu v Si Jiahui / Ben Woollaston - to a finish
Luca Brecel / Ding Junhui v Shaun Murphy / Judd Trump - to a finish
Thursday 1 May
Semi-finals
Friday 2 May
Semi-finals
Saturday 3 May
Semi-finals
Sunday 4 May
Final
Monday 5 May
Final
