Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luca Brecel by to World Snooker Championship quarter-finals; single frames wanted for development sealed inside half an hour in truncated Monday night session on the Crucible; pair be part of Judd Trump in final eight after he weathered Shaun Murphy fightback
Final Up to date: 28/04/25 8:48pm
Si Jiahui awaits Ronnie O’Sullivan within the quarter-finals on the World Snooker Championship
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luca Brecel wrapped up one of many quickest Crucible periods in historical past as they took simply over 1 / 4 of an hour to seal their respective locations within the World Snooker Championship quarter-finals.
The 2 former winners returned on Monday night, every requiring a single body to finish wins over Pang Junxu and Ding Junhui respectively.
Brecel gained the dash to the dressing room as he summoned a break of 71 to see off the 2016 finalist 13-4, and he was swiftly adopted by O’Sullivan, who rifled in a break of 95 to finish his victory over Pang by the identical rating.
Having barely been challenged to get out of second gear by his outclassed opponent, O’Sullivan, who got here to Sheffield having not performed a aggressive match since January, remained predictably downbeat about his efficiency.
Score his kind as “probably two out of 10”, O’Sullivan, who will face one other Chinese language opponent, Si Jiahui, within the final eight, added: “I wasn’t bothered about getting it over quickly – I need all the table time I can get.
“I believe I’ve dragged them [my opponents] right down to a poorer degree. I believe they anticipated me to play higher and had been possibly shocked that I did not, however I do not assume Si will fall into that lure, and that is what makes him harmful.”
O’Sullivan beat Pang Junxu to reach a record-extending 23rd Crucible quarter-final
Si, a shock semi-finalist on his Crucible debut two years ago, survived a late scare to see off Ben Woollaston 13-10 and confirm his place in the last eight.
O’Sullivan had done the damage in the second session of their match on Sunday when he reeled off six frames to move to the brink of victory.
Despite often looking far from happy with his form, he still managed to dredge up back-to-back centuries, enough to outclass the hapless Pang and serve a warning to his rivals that he still has what it takes to claim a record eighth Crucible crown.
Luca Brecel wrapped up his second-round tie against Ding Junhui with minimal fuss
Brecel’s own victory was shaped by a stunning first session on Saturday, for which he had jetted in on a private jet from Belgium with four hours to spare, and proceeded to compile two centuries and three more breaks over 50 as he racked up a virtually unassailable 7-1 lead.
Brecel, who will face Judd Trump in the last eight, arrived at the Championships in negligible form but believes he stands a chance of repeating his stunning run to the title in 2023.
“I am unsure if I am taking part in pretty much as good as then however I am positively not so fearful about profitable the title,” he added. “Two years in the past it felt like a golden likelihood, and now I really feel like I can get again there and do it once more, so it isn’t that a lot stress.”
Trump withstands Murphy fightback to reach quarters
Judd Trump held off a Shaun Murphy revival as a 13-10 victory booked his place in the quarter-finals
Trump held off a spirited fightback from Shaun Murphy to set up his quarter-final against Brecel.
The 35-yera-old Englishman began the final session of the second-round clash of former champions with a 10-6 lead and moved to within one frame of victory with the aid of breaks of 63 and 86.
Murphy dug deep to win the next two frames with breaks of 88 and 72 to at least reach the mid-session interval and carried on where he had left off when play resumed, breaks of 112 and 99 reducing his deficit to 12-10.
The Masters champion also got in with a superb long red in frame 23 but, after also potting the blue, missed a red to the corner and Trump stepped in with a break of 58 which effectively secured a hard-fought 13-10 win.
World No 1 and 2019 champion Trump is thru to the final eight in Sheffield
World Snooker Championship: Quarter-finals
- John Higgins vs Mark Williams
- Zhao Xintong vs Chris Wakelin
- Luca Brecel vs Judd Trump
- Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Si Jiahui
