“Pretty evil” Ronnie O’Sullivan carved out a 6-2 overnight lead against old foe John Higgins in the first session of their second round showdown at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
The seven-time winner blasted a 137 total clearance as he dominated his opponent and edged closer towards his goal of eclipsing Stephen Hendry and clinching a record eighth Crucible title.
O’Sullivan’s performance was hailed by former champion and now BBC pundit John Parrott, who said: “Ronnie was pretty evil there in amongst the balls and was definitely the best of the two players.
“Tomorrow is another day and John knows he is well capable of beating Ronnie 6-2. But John is going to have to find his top game because it doesn’t look like Ronnie is going to dip any time soon.”
Looking sharp and focused throughout, O’Sullivan dominated the session from start to finish to the extent that the Scot might have been grateful to go in overnight only four frames adrift.
O’Sullivan set about his task with a break of 86 until a rash missed pink in the second frame, which he played left-handed, gifted Higgins the chance to level things up.
It proved an all-too-rare opening for Higgins, who was rendered a virtual spectator as O’Sullivan rifled breaks of 82, 137 and 92 in the next three frames.
Higgins chiselled out the sixth frame at the second attempt but normal service was soon resumed as O’Sullivan won the final two frames of the session to put himself well in control ahead of Sunday evening’s resumption.
The third member of the sport’s ‘Class of 92’, Mark Williams, saw his hopes of a fourth world title evaporate as he fell to a 13-9 defeat against former finalist Barry Hawkins.
Hawkins, who maintained his four-frame overnight advantage, will next face Mark Allen, who accused seven-time champion Hendry of “talking rubbish” after sailing into the last eight with a 13-9 win over Kyren Wilson.
Hendry, working as a BBC pundit, had strongly criticised the Antrim man’s shot selection during the opening session of the match on Thursday, when Allen let slip a 5-0 lead.
But after returning to wrap up his win, Allen turned his attention to Hendry, insisting: “Stephen’s entitled to his opinion, but more often than not, he’s full of rubbish, to be honest.”
Allen added: “Not everyone can come here and make it look as easy as he did, but you’re also looking at someone that never won a ‘triple crown’ event after they turned 30, so the game changes and maybe that stubbornness is what cost him his later part of his career.”
Hossein Vafaei fired four half-centuries to reel in Judd Trump in the first session of their second round clash, although a break of 115 in the last frame of the day ensured the former champion levelled matters at 4-4 overnight.
Neil Robertson and Chris Wakelin also shared the first eight frames of their last-16 clash, with Wakelin clawing his way back from a 4-4 lead. Defending champion Zhao Xintong will resume the final session of his match against Ding Junhui on Sunday with a slender 9-7 advantage.
