Ruthless O’Sullivan cruises into Crucible last 16

Halo World Championship

Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre Dates: April 19 to May 5

On Wednesday, Ronnie O’Sullivan thrashed Ali Carter in a brutal display to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 World Championship.

O’Sullivan, a seven-time Crucible champion, broke his cue and threw it in the trash in his first game since January, which he had won in five matches.

After the opening session on Tuesday, O’Sullivan had a 5-4 lead over Carter, who had lost two-time champions, but O’Sullivan was in top form on Wednesday, winning the first five frames to give the score 10-4.

Chinese qualifier Pang Junxu, who defeated 12th seed Zhang Anda earlier on Wednesday, will now face them in a last-16 tie.

In the opening session, neither O’Sullivan nor Carter had been in the best form, with Carter taking the final two frames to restore balance.

The world number 18 had to battle it out over two qualifying rounds, but a missed black off the spot was brutally punished when O’Sullivan’s run of 74 took him two frames clear of victory.

Carter never scored a point as he then put together a superb 123.

Carter had a chance to gather his thoughts during the break, but he then missed O’Sullivan’s opportunity to get going in the morning.

Shaun Murphy, the reigning Masters champion, defeated Crucible debutant Daniel Wells 10-4 in a high-quality match to advance to the last 16.

In the following round, Murphy, 42, will face Judd Trump, the world’s number one, in order to claim a second world title.

The Sheffield crowd enjoyed a strong display of snooker as they faced Welsh qualifier Wells, with every frame displaying a break of at least 50, including three centuries for each player.

Murphy won both the Masters and the World Championship in the same year, making it the first time since Trump in 2018-19 to do so.

Murphy extended his lead with a 53-frame break following Tuesday’s first session to move two frames clear of victory.

However, Wells, who is 49th overall, pulled two frames back with strong breaks of 115 and 68 before Murphy, who had a superb run of 133, moved one frame further.

In the final frame, he then claimed the victory with a break of 71.

You can lose your way in life and sport, Murphy said, “The hunger and desire never goes away. I’m still trying.” Working with Peter [Ebdon] has given me a new direction.

Champions don’t think like everyone else does, they think. I started to think like everyone else and began to act more like a draw-filler in big events. I’ve now had a complete 180, and I now believe, which makes me dangerous.

“I’ve come here this year with my game in the best shape possible, and if I get my chance, I might be a little worse for everyone.”

Trump defeated Chinese qualifier Zhou Yuelong 6-3 to win 10-4, but the world no. 1 was in stunning form on Wednesday with four centuries in five frames: 113, 114, 114, and 100.

That leaves only two more years away from winning a £100,000 prize for making 100 in a single season, making Trump’s season total to 98 centuries.

He had not considered withdrawing from the pre-tournament media day due to illness, his preparations being hindered by a bout of tonsillitis and a neck injury.

Trump reportedly said, “I had two injuries, but both of them have since been treated.” The neck injury was the worst, and I was able to get medical right away. When I woke up, I couldn’t see one side because I had been practicing every day.

I always play, but I’m probably not going to win.

Trump continued, “He looked fantastic in his first game here and gave one of his best performances of his career at the Masters.” Today, I’ll have to play at or close to my level.

Murphy, who covered Trump’s game on BBC Two, had a lot of praise for his next opponent.

According to Murphy, “That’s the performance of the world number one, that’s exactly how the world number one should play.” It doesn’t get much better than that, five frames, four centuries.

“We’ve had some good matches this season, he’s won them all, and the next one might be the best of them all,” he said. What should I prepare for the following game? I don’t know what to do.

The final game of the night pitted English qualifier Ben Woollaston against four-time champion Mark Selby.

Before Thursday’s conclusion (19:00 BST), Selby had already broken a break of 100 before falling 4-2 behind in the session’s final three frames, including a break of 135 in frame nine.

Meanwhile, Luca Brecel, the 2023 world champion, won the final three frames of Ryan Day’s opening session, but he still leads the seasoned Welshman 5-4.

Day was 5-1 up against Belgium’s world number seven, who had only 120 points in the opening six frames when they broke the record with a superb 126.