Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luca Brecel through to World Snooker Championship quarter-finals; single frames needed for progression sealed inside half an hour in truncated Monday evening session at the Crucible; pair join Judd Trump in last eight after he weathered Shaun Murphy fightback
Last Updated: 28/04/25 8:48pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luca Brecel wrapped up one of the quickest Crucible sessions in history as they took just over a quarter of an hour to seal their respective places in the World Snooker Championship quarter-finals.
The two former winners returned on Monday evening, each requiring a single frame to complete wins over Pang Junxu and Ding Junhui respectively.
Brecel won the sprint to the dressing room as he summoned a break of 71 to see off the 2016 finalist 13-4, and he was swiftly followed by O’Sullivan, who rifled in a break of 95 to complete his victory over Pang by the same score.
Having barely been challenged to get out of second gear by his outclassed opponent, O’Sullivan, who came to Sheffield having not played a competitive match since January, remained predictably downbeat about his performance.
Rating his form as “probably two out of 10”, O’Sullivan, who will face another Chinese opponent, Si Jiahui, in the last eight, added: “I wasn’t bothered about getting it over quickly – I need all the table time I can get.
“I think I’ve dragged them [my opponents] down to a poorer level. I think they expected me to play better and were maybe shocked that I didn’t, but I don’t think Si will fall into that trap, and that’s what makes him dangerous.”
Si, a shock semi-finalist on his Crucible debut two years ago, survived a late scare to see off Ben Woollaston 13-10 and confirm his place in the last eight.
O’Sullivan had done the damage in the second session of their match on Sunday when he reeled off six frames to move to the brink of victory.
Despite often looking far from happy with his form, he still managed to dredge up back-to-back centuries, enough to outclass the hapless Pang and serve a warning to his rivals that he still has what it takes to claim a record eighth Crucible crown.
Brecel’s own victory was shaped by a stunning first session on Saturday, for which he had jetted in on a private jet from Belgium with four hours to spare, and proceeded to compile two centuries and three more breaks over 50 as he racked up a virtually unassailable 7-1 lead.
Brecel, who will face Judd Trump in the last eight, arrived at the Championships in negligible form but believes he stands a chance of repeating his stunning run to the title in 2023.
“I’m not sure if I’m playing as good as then but I’m definitely not so worried about winning the title,” he added. “Two years ago it felt like a golden chance, and now I feel like I can get back there and do it again, so it’s not that much pressure.”
Trump withstands Murphy fightback to reach quarters
Trump held off a spirited fightback from Shaun Murphy to set up his quarter-final against Brecel.
The 35-yera-old Englishman began the final session of the second-round clash of former champions with a 10-6 lead and moved to within one frame of victory with the aid of breaks of 63 and 86.
Murphy dug deep to win the next two frames with breaks of 88 and 72 to at least reach the mid-session interval and carried on where he had left off when play resumed, breaks of 112 and 99 reducing his deficit to 12-10.
The Masters champion also got in with a superb long red in frame 23 but, after also potting the blue, missed a red to the corner and Trump stepped in with a break of 58 which effectively secured a hard-fought 13-10 win.
World Snooker Championship: Quarter-finals
- John Higgins vs Mark Williams
- Zhao Xintong vs Chris Wakelin
- Luca Brecel vs Judd Trump
- Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Si Jiahui
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