Ronnie O'Sullivan makes encouraging return at the Crucible to lead old rival Ali Carter

By Sporting Life

Snooker

Wed April 23, 2025 · 1M ago

Ronnie O’Sullivan leads Ali Carter 5-4 after an encouraging return from absence in the World Snooker Championship.

O’Sullivan hadn’t been seen in action since January and his participation had been in some doubt, but a first-round meeting with arch-rival Carter helped coax him back to the Crucible.

The pair shared a civilised handshake as their match began on Tuesday afternoon and it was Carter who drew first blood, but O’Sullivan soon settled in as a 107 break earned him a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval.

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— WST (@WeAreWST) April 22, 2025

Carter took the first frame after the resumption but missed the chance to draw level when breaking down on 60 in the next, O’Sullivan able to mop up and win what felt like a big frame at the time.

A run of 85 in the next extended his advantage but Carter’s first century, another break of 107, got The Captain back within two, and now it was his turn to land a significant counter-punch to avoid a 6-3 deficit and instead trail 5-4.

Though not at his best, missing a straightforward red to middle when a 147 might have been on the cards and breaking down among the balls more than once, O’Sullivan was value for his narrow lead in a match-up he’s long dominated.

But after Carter's late revival, O'Sullivan has plenty of work to do when they resume on Wednesday afternoon.

Ding denies free-scoring Surety

Ding Junhui ended a lengthy losing run at the Crucible with a 10-7 defeat of Zak Surety, who performed superbly on his debut in the tournament.

Surety ed four centuries, a record for a debutant, but they came after he'd lost six of the first eight frames and were in the end not enough.

Ding responded well to the threat Surety posed, producing three nice breaks from 7-6 ahead to progress and keep hopes of a maiden world title alive.

Shaun Murphy fired two centuries as he established a 7-2 lead over Daniel Wells after the opening session of their match, while Zhang Anda leads Pang Junxu 5-3, both matches resuming on Wednesday morning.

In the evening session, Judd Trump made a bright start to his bid for a second world title, building a 6-3 lead over Zhou Yuelong, while Si Jiahui finished off Dave Gilbert, eventually winning 10-6.