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The greatest snooker player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan, returns to action on Wednesday afternoon as he faces 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 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:
World Snooker Championship: Today's schedule
Wednesday 23 April - First round
10:00
Zhang Anda (12) 5-3 Pang Junxu - to a finish
Shaun Murphy (15) 7-2 Daniel Wells - to a finish
14:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 5-4 Ali Carter - to a finish
Luca Brecel (7) v Ryan Day
19:00
Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston
Judd Trump (2) 6-3 Zhou Yuelong - to a finish
Jamie Braidwood23 April 2025 08:06
Latest score: Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-4 Ali Carter
Ronnie O’Sullivan has returned to competitive snooker after a long absence to deal with mental health problems and is locked into a battle with Ali Carter in the first round of the World Snooker Championships.
O’Sullivan took a 5-2 lead in the first session on Tuesday afternoon before Carter won the final two frames to leave the match delicately poised at 5-4.
The duo return to the table on Wednesday afternoon to play this match through to a finish with the first player to reach 10 frames (best of 19) progressing to the next round.
It will be a fascinating watch and the Independent will have all the coverage of O’Sullivan’s attempt to win an eighth world title.
Mike Jones23 April 2025 08:01
Ronnie O’Sullivan leads rival Ali Carter on snooker return at the Crucible
Ronnie O’Sullivan had to settle for a single-frame overnight advantage as the opening session of his World Snooker Championship first-round clash against old foe Ali Carter failed to live up to its pre-match hype.
The seven-time champion, returning to the tour for the first time since dumping his cue after losing a Championship League match in January, looked to have scrapped out a 6-3 lead to take into Wednesday afternoon’s scheduled conclusion.
But Carter dug deep after O’Sullivan jawed a long red to the top corner in the final frame of the day, gradually erasing a 51-point deficit and nervelessly clearing the colours to cut his overnight deficit to 5-4.
Jamie Braidwood23 April 2025 08:00
English (US) ·