Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan was in superb form as he beat Ali Carter in the first round of this year’s World Snooker Championship; O’Sullivan will play China’s Pang Junxu in the last 16 from Saturday afternoon; Judd Trump progresses and now up to 98 centuries for season
By Nigel Chiu
Last Updated: 23/04/25 10:18pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan cruised into the second round of the World Snooker Championship
Ronnie O’Sullivan raced to a 10-4 victory over Ali Carter to reach the second round of the World Snooker Championship on his “scary” return to the sport, before saying he was targeting “five or six more years” at the top.
O’Sullivan, who is going for a record-breaking eighth world title at the Crucible, has not played competitive snooker since snapping his cue in January ahead of The Masters, which he withdrew from.
He then pulled out of the Welsh Open, German Masters and World Grand Prix to “prioritise his health and wellbeing” but dominated against Carter in the second session of their highly-anticipated clash.
The 49-year-old held a slender 5-4 lead overnight but won five consecutive frames, including three centuries, to book a second-round spot against China’s Pang Junxu, who was a 10-7 winner over fellow Chinese Zhang Anda.
O’Sullivan admitted he had been plagued by self-doubt before committing to the World Championship a day before the event started.
O’Sullivan is looking to break Stephen Hendry’s record of seven Crucible crowns
O’Sullivan: I thought I might implode
He said: “I thought, what am I doing, coming here and exposing myself, imploding out there, having a meltdown – all that went through my head. I was a bit scared about playing.
“It is a daunting venue to play at anyway, but it’s just about getting on the bike again and playing. I’m really happy that I’ve done it, even if I’d lost it didn’t matter – I’ve made the breakthrough now.
“My head is OK for life but getting on a snooker table has been really hard. [Psychiatrist] Steve Peters helped me before I went out there yesterday.
“I’ve got some mental tools to work with out there for this tournament to keep things tight. I loved it out there. If I was struggling like I had been, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.
“I want to play for as long as I can. If everything went great, I can probably get five or six years.
“If it doesn’t, I said I will still commit to two years and focus on playing and give myself every opportunity to try and finish with a nice feeling because the sport’s been good to me. I love the game. That’s the plan.”
How O’Sullivan swept past Carter
O’Sullivan, who is snooker’s most successful player ever with 41 ranking titles, including 23 Triple Crowns, has not won a tournament this season.
He reached the semi-finals at the Xi’an Grand Prix, Shanghai Masters and Riyadh Season Championship in the early part of the campaign but has largely been far from his best before he stopped playing between January and March.
O’Sullivan went nearly the entire 2012/13 season without playing and came back to win the world title, so has a history of producing after long periods away from snooker.
O’Sullivan was expected to have a tough test against Ali Carter
Carter had chances but careless mistakes meant it was a one-sided affair on Wednesday afternoon, as O’Sullivan showed signs of his best form.
Both players were far from their best in Tuesday’s first session but Carter kept himself in the match by stealing the last frame to only trail 5-4.
But, O’Sullivan punished several mistakes from Carter, including relatively simple missed blacks, and was stronger with his cue ball control.
The Rocket finished off the match in style with his 1,286th career century, adding to his two from earlier in the session.
Trump advances and eyeing £100k century bonus
World No 1 Judd Trump was also in form on Wednesday, reeling off four centuries in five frames as he turned a 6-3 overnight advantage into a 10-4 win over China’s Zhou Yuelong.
Trump has now hit 98 centuries this season and is just two away from claiming a £100,000 World Snooker Tour bonus, which he could achieve in his last-16 clash with 2005 champion Shaun Murphy.
Trump, world champion in 2019, told the BBC about his potential big windfall: “It’s not in my mind but I can feel it in the crowd – it gets quite tense every time I get towards the end.
“It’s something I would like to get out of the way and concentrate on playing Shaun. I felt a little bit nervous tonight but they were going in somehow. It was a great performance but I’ve got to get that (record) out of the way.”
Murphy dispatched Daniel Wells 10-4, while 2023 champion Luca Brecel trails Ryan Day 5-4 after their opening session.
