The greatest snooker player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan, returned to action on Wednesday afternoon as he stormed through the conclusion of his first-round clash with long-time foe Ali Carter at the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan made plenty of mistakes during his first session since January, having taken time out from the sport to prioritise his mental health and wellbeing. But his opponent gifted up plenty of opportunities and the Rocket took a 5-4 overnight in their tight first-round battle. O’Sullivan then rattled off five frames in a row on Wednesday to run out a 10-4 winner.
O’Sullivan has pulled out of several events at short notice over the past 12 months, including the Masters at Alexandra Palace and admits he has been scared to go near a snooker table during his absence, while fearing he has “lost his bottle”.
He is currently level with Stephen Hendry for the most world titles won at the Crucible, with seven, and although he has played down expectations of securing a record-breaking eight this year, he does have form – having opted to miss the whole of the 2013 season before rocking up in Sheffield and winning the world title that year.
Follow all the action from the first-round encounter between O’Sullivan and Carter from the Crucible with our blog below:
Ronnie O'Sullivan, speaking to BBC Two
The seven-time world champion said: "I had no expectations so there were no nerves, I didn't expect to perform well based on the past three or four years. I just wanted to make a game of it.
"Ali had his chances yesterday, on another day he would been 6-3 up [after the first session], and again today he had a couple of chances. I cued a lot better than I did yesterday."
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:45
Mark Allen on O'Sullivan's win
Fellow competitior and pundit on BBC One, Mark Allen said:
“We can talk all day about some of the mistakes Ali made, but you just have to hold your hands up sometimes and say: ‘That is ridiculous snooker from Ronnie O'Sullivan’.
“He can't play any better than that - that's flawless snooker for five frames. It was a close match 90 minutes ago and it turned into a comfortable 10-4 win.”
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:38
Reaction from Ali Carter
Beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round, Ali Carter said:
“I was always in it at 5-4 but Ronnie got going and I just seemed to keep finding myself in awkward positions.
“I got in the balls and split the pack a couple of times and missed a couple of blacks off the cushion. It just went from bad to worse.
“It begins to get a bit embarrassing out there but I’m playing the greatest player of all time, it’s not easy. I’ll be back next year.
“We’re sportsman and we both want to win. He was the much better player today.”
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:32
Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-4 Ali Carter
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:25
Reaction from Stephen Hendry
Seven-time world champion, Stephen Hendry, spoke on BBC Two saying:
“He's been out of the game for a while, you wonder if he is still going to be as good at close matches out - here's your answer.
“The first sniff of winning the match and it's done.”
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:11
Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-4 Ali Carter
A fourth century break of the match for Ronnie O’Sullivan!
He’s stormed through this afternoon session and won all five frames to storm to a 10-4 victory over his old rival Ali Carter.
Yesterday felt like he was rediscovering how to play in these big tournaments but today he has been prolific.
A 131 break sends O’Sullivan into the second round at the World Snooker Championship.
He was in devastating form today and a close match 90 minutes ago ended in a whimper for Carter.
Incredible stuff.
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:06
Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-4 Ali Carter
A thin cut into the middle left pocket gives O’Sullivan the impetus to get enough points on the board to force Carter into needing snookers.
A red to the bottom left drops to move him up to 67 and that’ll be enough to win him the match.
The break goes on and there is a chance of another century here.
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:03
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-4 Ali Carter
Ronnie O’Sullivan wastes no time in getting on the board in this 14th frame.
When the cueball is near the bottom of the table and he can play off the black the Rocket has been incredible this afternoon.
He spins into the remaining pack after racking up a break of 45 and the reds split apart.
This should be the end of the match once O’Sullivan tidies up.
Mike Jones23 April 2025 16:01
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-4 Ali Carter
Mike Jones23 April 2025 15:54
Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-4 Ali Carter
Over on the second table during this afternoon session, Wales’ Ryan Day has notched up a 3-1 lead over former world champion Luca Brecel.
Mike Jones23 April 2025 15:52
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