Ronnie O’Sullivan holds a narrow 5-4 lead over Ali Carter after a closely contested and occasionally scrappy opening session of their first-round match at the World Snooker Championship. Returning to competitive action for the first time since January, O’Sullivan looked on course to carry a more comfortable 6-3 cushion into the overnight break. However, Carter showed resilience in the final frame, recovering from a 51-point deficit to reduce the gap and keep the match finely poised.
The highly anticipated clash between two long-time rivals had generated plenty of pre-match intrigue, not least due to their turbulent history. Despite past tensions, including a shoulder barge incident in 2018 and a war of words after last year’s Masters final, the two shared a composed handshake before getting underway at the Crucible Theatre.
The first two frames were shared, but O’Sullivan soon took control. After Carter failed to capitalise on a red left over the pocket in the third, O’Sullivan compiled a commanding century break to go 3-1 ahead. Carter struck back, but a missed red on a break of 60 in the sixth allowed O’Sullivan to clear and extend his advantage once more.
Though not at his sharpest, O’Sullivan still showed moments of quality and added a break of 85 to lead 5-2. But Carter refused to go quietly, producing a superb 107 to pull one back, and his gutsy clearance in the final frame kept the contest finely balanced heading into Wednesday’s conclusion.
Elsewhere, Ding Junhui battled past Zak Surety in a testing first-round encounter to reach the second round at the Crucible for the first time in five years. Ding had taken a commanding 6-2 lead after the first session and appeared on course for a routine win. However, Surety, making his Crucible debut, delivered a remarkable fightback on Tuesday, hitting four century breaks in the first five frames of the session an unprecedented feat for a debutant.
That stunning scoring spree narrowed the deficit to 7-6 and later 8-7, putting the pressure back on Ding. But the 2016 finalist called upon his experience at the crucial moment, closing out the match with composed breaks of 116 and 75 to seal a 10-7 victory.
Shaun Murphy also made a statement of intent in his bid for a second world title, 20 years after winning his first. The former champion took a commanding 7-2 lead over debutant Daniel Wells in a high-quality session. Both players struck two centuries apiece, but Murphy’s run of four consecutive frames established firm control of the match.
Meanwhile, Zhang Anda leads fellow Chinese player Pang Junxu 5-3 after winning the last two frames of their opening session. The match remains finely poised heading into its second day, with both players producing solid performances in their bid to reach round two.
