Ronnie O’Sullivan’s pursuit of a record-setting eighth World Snooker Championship title continued unwaveringly with a comfortable 13-7 victory over Ryan Day at The Crucible. O’Sullivan, aiming to join the elite ranks of Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, and Mark Williams as one of only four players to conquer The Masters, UK Championship, and World Championship in a single season, held a commanding 10-6 lead overnight and sealed his triumph on Monday afternoon.
The 48-year-old maestro will await the victor of the match between left-hander Jack Lisowski and 2015 champion Stuart Bingham in the last eight.
O’Sullivan extended his 5-3 first-session lead by exploiting Day’s frequent missed opportunities. Day’s failure to pocket a yellow ball proved costly as O’Sullivan seized the chance to execute an 82 clearance. Despite the Welshman’s efforts to rally with a scruffy frame win, the seven-time world champion never faltered, maintaining complete control. ‘The Rocket’ surged to an 8-4 lead by capitalizing on Day’s carelessness with breaks of 65 and 89.
The pattern remained consistent after the interval as O’Sullivan ruthlessly punished Day’s mistakes with frame-winning breaks of 56 and 96. However, Day – who hadn’t defeated O’Sullivan since 2011 – displayed resilience with breaks of 77 and 75. His hopes of narrowing the deficit to three frames were dashed by a double kiss, allowing the unforgiving O’Sullivan to clear the table before an 85 break brought him to the brink of victory.
World No. 18 Day valiantly prolonged the match by claiming his first frame of the day with breaks of 37 and 41, but O’Sullivan sealed his triumph with a decisive 53 break.
