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, begins 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.
Results so far
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
World Snooker Championship draw and schedule in full
(All times BST)
Wednesday 23 April
First round
10:00
Zhang Anda (12) 7-10 Pang Junxu
Shaun Murphy (15) 10-4 Daniel Wells
14:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 10-4 Ali Carter
Luca Brecel (7) 4-5 Ryan Day
19:00
Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston
Judd Trump (2) 6-3 Zhou Yuelong - to a finish
Thursday 24 April
First round
13:00
Luca Brecel (7) 4-5 Ryan Day - to a finish
19:00
Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston - to a finish
Second round
13:00
Chris Wakelin v Mark Allen
19:00
John Higgins v Xiao Guodong
Friday 25 April
Second round
10:00
Chris Wakelin v Mark Allen
Hossein Vafaei v Mark Williams
14:30
John Higgins v Xiao Guodong
Lei Peifan v Zhao Xintong
19:00
Chris Wakelin v Mark Allen - to a finish
Hossein Vafaei v Mark Williams
Saturday 26 April
Second round
10:00
John Higgins v Xiao Guodong - to a finish
Lei Peifan v Zhao Xintong
14:30
Hossein Vafaei v Mark Williams - to a finish
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Pang Junxu
19:00
Si Jiahui v Mark Selby/Ben Woollaston
Luca Brecel/Ryan Day v Ding Junhui
Sunday 27 April
Second round
10:00
Lei Peifan v Zhao Xintong - to a finish
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump/Zhou Yuelong
14:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Pang Junxu
Luca Brecel/Ryan Day v Ding Junhui
19:00
Si Jiahui v Mark Selby/Ben Woollaston
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump/Zhou Yuelong
Monday 28 April
13:00
Si Jiahui v Mark Selby/Ben Woollaston - to a finish
Shaun Murphy v Judd Trump/Zhou Yuelong - to a finish
19:00
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Pang Junxu - to a finish
Luca Brecel/Ryan Day v Ding Junhui - to a finish
Tuesday 29 April
Quarter-finals
Wednesday 30 April
Quarter-finals
Thursday 1 May
Semi-finals
Friday 2 May
Semi-finals
Saturday 3 May
Semi-finals
Sunday 4 May
Final
Monday 5 May
Final
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