Ronnie O’Sullivan leads John Higgins 9-7 in the second round of the World Snooker Championship. A rematch for the “Class of 1992” will be decided on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals. O’Sullivan led 6-2 in Sunday’s second session until Higgins hit back.
Last updated: 26/04/26 22:59
John Higgins fought back in the second round against Ronnie O’Sullivan, cutting his lead to two frames at 9-7.
Ronnie O’Sullivan slammed the table in frustration as John Higgins fought back during the second session of the second round of the World Snooker Championship on Sunday night.
O’Sullivan led by five frames twice and appeared to be on track for the quarter-finals, but Higgins reeled in the seven-time champion, losing 9-7 in a best-of-25-frame match to end the night with just a two-frame lead.
The crucial final frame of the session proved to be too much for O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan gave the cushion a painful rap with his knuckles after missing an early red, but finished the far more satisfied of the two players with Higgins narrowly crossing the line.
Ronnie O’Sullivan faces John Higgins in ‘Class of ’92’ rematch
Higgins didn’t quite get going in the early stages, but despite trying to run away from Snooker, he clawed his way out of frame 14 and never looked back. They trailed by 55 points in the next game, then held their nerve in an edgy final frame of the night with both players going in and off at key moments.
Earlier, defending champion Zhao Xintong defeated compatriot Ding Junhui 13-9 to advance to the quarter-finals and move closer to breaking the so-called “melting pot curse.”
Despite dropping the opener in the error-filled 46th minute, Zhao overcame obvious nerves to build a 9-7 advantage overnight. As a result, Ding was able to temporarily reduce the arrears to one frame.
The 29-year-old, aiming to become the first first-time winner to retain his title at the Crucible, took advantage of a series of mistakes by his opponent to pull away and smash 108 points in the penultimate frame to help seal a last-eight clash with Shaun Murphy.
World No. 1 Judd Trump opens up a two-frame lead over Hossein Bafai, moving one step closer to advancing to the quarterfinals.
World No. 1 Judd Trump built a 9-7 lead overnight in a heated battle with Iran’s Hossein Fafai, inching closer to advancing to the quarterfinals.
Resuming at 4-4, Trump struggled to get going as his inspired opponent took a 7-6 lead, but Trump responded brilliantly, following a century break with further frame-clinching efforts of 74 and 94 to end the second session with a valuable advantage.
Neil Robertson capitalized on a controversial moment in the 14th frame of his match against Chris Wakelin to take a four-point lead at 10-6 ahead of the decider of Monday’s second round encounter.
Wakelin had the upper hand by potting a long red, but midway through, a foul was called by referee Peggy Lee, who noticed that Wakelin had feathered a yellow ball.
Wakelin clearly disagreed with the referee’s decision, but it was changed after Lee requested a replay, and Robertson took the spot with a break of 65, then another 65 and a 101 to push him to the brink of reaching the last eight for the first time since 2021.
