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Ronnie O‘Sullivan will take some stopping at the World Championship - Getty Images/George Wood
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 in the first 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, looked close to his best as he swiftly set up a last-16 clash against Pang Junxu.
Carter had done well to pull within one by the end of Tuesday’s opening session, but he failed to score a point in the first two frames upon the resumption as O’Sullivan dispatched breaks of 59 and 117 to extend his lead to 7-4.
Carter blew it again in the 12th frame, running out of position on 28, and, clearly in no mood to hang around, O’Sullivan produced a clearance of 74 followed by his second century of the day to head into the interval one frame from victory.
It was a far cry from a forgettable opening session in which O’Sullivan had benefited from a series of errors by Carter to carve out his relatively rusty first-day lead.
Confirmation of O’Sullivan’s progress duly arrived in the fifth frame of the day as a 131 total clearance wrapped up what was an ultimately emphatic victory over his former foe.
Ronnie O'Sullivan returns with a dominant -win over Ali Carter at the Crucible #WorldChampionshippic.twitter.com/8mKsa1Uzld
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) April 23, 2025
Pang became the sixth and final Chinese player to reach the last 16 after completing a 10-7 win over his compatriot and 12th seed, Zhang Anda.
The 25-year-old was beaten 10-7 by O’Sullivan on his Crucible debut two years ago but has improved since and reached his second ranking semi-final at the Northern Ireland Open in October.
“The pressure was huge at the start and I didn’t perform well in the first session,” Pang said. “But after falling behind, I relaxed and managed to play better.
“I think I have a chance to win. You learn everything from playing [against top players]. Their shot selection, their response, and how to handle pressure – there’s so much I can learn from them.”
04:21 PM BST
O’Sullivan: ‘I had no expectations’
Ronnie O’Sullivan speaking to BBC Two:
On his mental state:
04:20 PM BST
The winning moment
Ronnie O'Sullivan returns with a dominant -
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) April 23, 2025
04:19 PM BST
Next for O’Sullivan . . .
Ronnie O’Sullivan will face Pang Junzu who beat the seven-time champion in the International Championship last year – but the Crucible is a different story! Is number eight possible for O’Sullivan? You have to say it is.
04:13 PM BST
Carter:‘It got a bit embarrassing’
Ali Carter speaking to BBC Two:
04:07 PM BST
Frame 14: O’Sullivan 10 Carter 4
A brilliant start from O’Sullivan! There are six reds remaining in the pack – he smashes them open, surely setting himself up to see this frame out.
The seven-time world champion could see this match out with a break of 131, which would be a fitting end to this second session.
And Ronnie does just that! Such a poor afternoon from Carter, he was way below his best but it was vintage O’Sullivan. Six frames won, three of them via centuries!
O’Sullivan wins
Ronnie O'Sullivan returns with a dominant -
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) April 23, 2025
03:59 PM BST
Frame 14: O’Sullivan 9 Carter 4
And we are back from the break.
Can Ali Carter force us to go a bit longer at the Crucible? Or will Ronnie O’Sullivan continue his imperious form?
Stay tuned to find out.
03:54 PM BST
Meanwhile on table two
Ryan Day has just taken the third frame to restore his one-frame advantage over Luca Brecel.
Telegraph Sport’s chiefs sports reporter Jeremy Wilson sat down exclusively with the Belgian to discuss why is not ‘attached to winning’ and comparing his style of play to former Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho.
Read the full interview here.
03:40 PM BST
Frame 13: O’Sullivan 9 Carter 4
O’Sullivan is on target for his second century within four frames at the Crucible. After a sublime 117 break earlier, he could now notch up to 123.
The seven-time champion leaves himself with a black, it seems to play dead slow but it eventually drops. He has played so well this afternoon, Carter has not.
The match seems to be over, four frames from four in this second session! Ronnie O’Sullivan is one frame away from the last 16. It has been imperious from the seven-time world champion.
O’Sullivan wins frame 13.
03:36 PM BST
Frame 13: O’Sullivan 8 Carter 4
Here we go again, O’Sullivan is back at the table and scoring! He drills confidently into the right corner, gets the black – and off the seven-time world champion goes again. He has all the momentum and you can expect this to be 9-4.
03:33 PM BST
Frame 13: O’Sullivan 8 Carter 4
O’Sullivan misses sending long to the yellow bag so Carter tries forcing the issue via doubled red. However, there is not a single clean pot amongst them.
Then, the seven-time world champion misses a few shots, so we are back to playing safety.
03:27 PM BST
Frame 12: O’Sullivan 8 Carter 4
This is worrying times for Carter. He gets to 28 and leaves the cue ball too close to the cushion is unable to pot the black into the bottom left.
This is a huge opportunity for O’Sullivan now. The seven-time world champion overhits a few shots but he is still playing brilliantly – much to the delight of the Crucible crowd.
Carter had two perfect chances, missed two blacks off the spot and now looks all at sea.
O’Sullivan wins frame 12.
03:18 PM BST
Frame 12: O’Sullivan 7 Carter 4
This is a huge moment for Ali Carter, who secures red after several minutes of safety play.
Here we go, Carter is now in and there are several balls he can now go after on the table. He needs to get back on the board to keep O’Sullivan honest.
03:16 PM BST
Frame 12: O’Sullivan 7 Carter 4
A brilliant shot from Carter who pots a difficult long red. However, he fails to follow up with an easy black.
But then, a mistake from O’Sullivan who misses an easy red into the middle right.
Damning statistics for Ali Carter have appeared on the screen, he has had 42 per cent pot success rate – he will be bitterly disappointed with his performance so far.
03:11 PM BST
Frame 12: O’Sullivan 7 Carter 4
This is better from Ali Carter, who gets on the scoreboard for the first time in this second session. Carter needs to get a good score in this frame to have any chance of reducing the three-frame deficit.
Carter gets to 14 and forces an error from O’Sullivan who mishits the yellow to give Carter another chance on the table. However, yet again Carter misses the long pot.
03:07 PM BST
Frame 11: O’Sullivan 7 Carter 4
O’Sullivan has gone up a level since yesterday. A slight overshoot after a red is no concern for the seven-time world champion, who calmly pots the black – the match is running away from Ali Carter.
This vintage play from O’Sullivan, with his 1,284th career century! It is a break of 117, the secures the 11th frame and opens up some real daylight from Carter.
O’Sullivan wins frame 11.
03:02 PM BST
Frame 11: O’Sullivan 6 Carter 4
After scoring 19, O’Sullivan is forced to go on the defensive. However, Carter catches his shot too thick to leave another easy pot on for the seven-time world champion.
Carter has really been struggling with his shots so far in this second session. He will be getting concerned in his seat.
02:57 PM BST
Frame 11: O’Sullivan 6 Carter 4
A brilliant start for O’Sullivan who begins the frame with an excellent break. Carter is really struggling to find any flow in this frame – he is catching the pack with too much pace. He pushes a couple of balls free which allows the seven-time world champion the first pot of the frame.
And once again, Ronnie is in control.
02:53 PM BST
Frame 10: O’Sullivan 6 Carter 4
Another mistake from Carter, gives O’Sullivan a simple red which he easily pots in.
The seven-time champion is allowed in again by Carter and cleans up with a break of 59, to take the frame 109-0 and open a two-frame gap.
O’Sullivan looks sharp here and unfortunately for Carter, he does not.
O’Sullivan wins frame 10
02:50 PM BST
Frame 10: O’Sullivan 5 Carter 4
An excellent shot from the seven-time world champion as he manages to find a plant to pot a red.
Half-century comes up for O’Sullivan but he missed a difficult red into the bottom left. Ali Carter comes to the table 50 behind but he missed a fairly straight forward red. Now it is time for some safety play and O’Sullivan has the advantage in the frame.
02:43 PM BST
Frame 10: O’Sullivan 5 Carter 4
Ronnie O’Sullivan has begun this frame well by knocking a couple of reds and blues – he looks to have a decent flow.
A poor start for Ali Carter who misses a tricky long pot to open the scoring, allowing O’Sullivan an opportunity to the table.
02:40 PM BST
Frame 10: O’Sullivan 5 Carter 4
Ali Carter breaks off in the 10th frame.
The Crucible crowd are shouting ‘Come on Ronnie’ as play commences at the World Snooker Championship.
Can Ronnie O’Sullivan move one step closer to a record-breaking eighth world title or will Ali Carter stop him?
Time to find out . . .
02:33 PM BST
Winner will face Pang in the last 16
Ronnie O’Sullivan or Ali Carter will face Pang Junxu in the second round at the World Snooker Championship.
The Crucible is abuzz with anticpation as the crowd awaits the arrival of these two great players.
Carter is stalking the corridors backstage, cue in hand whilst he awaits O’Sullivan.
02:25 PM BST
O’Sullivan vs Carter: Highlights from the opening nine frames
Ronnie O'Sullivan is guaranteed an overnight lead as he goes-
ahead against Ali Carter!#WorldChampionshippic.twitter.com/ky8tUxaXDH
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) April 22, 2025
th Crucible century for Ronnie O'Sullivan #WorldChampionshippic.twitter.com/Ew5enxtAyh
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) April 22, 2025
02:23 PM BST
Still to come at the Crucible
There’s a host of action throughout the day at the World Snooker Championship, with some big names still to come.
Ronnie O’Sullivan and 2023 champion Luca Brecel expected on the table from 2.30pm (BST), before Judd Trump and Mark Selby play this evening at 7pm.
- Ronnie O’Sullivan 5 Ali Carter 4 (2.30pm)
- Judd Trump 6 Zhou Yuelong 3 (7pm)
- Luca Brecel vs Ryan Day (2.30pm)
- Mark Selby vs Ben Woollaston (7pm)
02:16 PM BST
Pang eliminates 12th seed Zhang
Twelfth seed Zhang Anda is out of the World Championship, losing 10-7 to Chinese compatriot Pang Junxu.
The 25-year-old overturned a two-frame deficit against a below-par Ada.
The 27th-ranked player gained his maiden victory at the Crucible after losing in the first round in each of the past two years.
02:11 PM BST
O’Sullivan: ‘The white ball is doing things I’ve never seen it do before’
Ronnie O’Sullivan believes he is still suffering from a rash attempt to change his playing style, and says he has come to the realisation that he might never recover the form that has seen him acclaimed as the best player in the history of the game.
The seven-time world champion said:
02:09 PM BST
O’Sullivan and Carter feud takes twist
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter appeared to put their bitter feud behind them as they came face to face during their first-round match at World Snooker Championship.
The two snooker players have been arch rivals in recent years – a very public spat at the 2018 World Championship saw them barge each other during their second-round match. Carter accused O’Sullivan of “snotting all over the floor” when they met at the Masters last year.
Unsurprisingly, all eyes were on them during their first-round encounter at the Crucible on Tuesday, with O’Sullivan making his much-anticipated return to the sport.
However, there was no sign of any bad blood before their latest match, with O’Sullivan shaking his opponent’s hand instead of performing his trademark fist-bump.
02:00 PM BST
O’Sullivan holds narrow lead over Carter
Good afternoon and welcome to day five of the World Snooker Championship.
Ronnie O’Sullivan made his return to snooker and secured a one-frame lead over Ali Carter after the opening session of their first-round match at the Crucible.
O’Sullivan has not played competitively since January when he snapped his cue and threw it in the bin following four losses in five matches at the Champions League event.
The 49-year-old subsequently withdraw from several tournaments, including the Welsh Open, the Masters and the Grand Prix, saying he needed to “needed to prioritise his health and wellbeing”.
The seven-time world champion took a 5-2 lead in the first session on Tuesday afternoon before Carter came back to win the final two games to leave the match finely poised at 5-4.
O’Sullivan claimed all he needs is a good Chinese takeaway to fire him to victory this afternoon.
He told TNT Sports: “I feel alright, it’s pretty much what I expected, probably a little bit better than I thought.
“I was looking forward to it. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t nervous. I haven’t played for a while and the reason why I did stop was because it was so bad, even in practice.
“No plan. Just go home, relax, get some food and go again tomorrow. Probably Chinese.”
The duo return to the table this afternoon to play this match through to a finish with the first player to reach 10 frames (best of 19) progressing to the next round.
Stay with Telegraph Sport to watch this fascinating contest.
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