Ronnie O’Sullivan closes on last-eight spot after Maguire beats Murphy

Ronnie O'Sullivan gained a 10-6 advantage against Ryan Day, making him only three frames away from securing a quarter-final spot in the World Snooker Championship.

O'Sullivan, who wants to achieve a historic eighth win at the Crucible, increased his lead in the match after the first session which ended 5-3. Day was punished for not capitalizing on several opportunities.

Day's failure to pocket the yellow ball proved to be quite expensive since O'Sullivan was able to complete an 82-point clearance thereafter. Although Day nabbed an untidy frame, O'Sullivan didn't have to exert a lot of effort to overpower the Welshman as he effortlessly dominated the game.

In the blog post, it was mentioned that the Rocket was leading 8-4 at the break due to Day's mistakes being taken advantage of with breaks of 65 and 89. This trend continued after the break as O'Sullivan capitalized on more errors and won frames with breaks of 56 and 96.

Day, who hasn't defeated O'Sullivan since 2011, made an impressive comeback by scoring 77 and 75. His performance has kept him in the game with a slight chance of winning when they resume playing in the afternoon on Monday.

Stephen Maguire won his place in the quarter-finals by defeating Shaun Murphy 13-9. The two have had a dispute for 20 years that began when Maguire received a penalty frame because he forgot his chalk. Despite a late comeback from Murphy, the Scottish player managed to hold on and claim the win.

On Sunday morning, he started with a great advantage of 10-6 and carried on with his journey to enter the quarter-finals with a score of 68 before Murphy managed to get a frame. Maguire got even closer to winning, and though Murphy fought hard, he couldn't stop him. Murphy got a break of 67 points and won the following frame, but after the mid-session interval, he lost the first one and fell three points behind.

Still, Maguire secured triumph in a fashionable manner, achieving the sole century of the game with a score of 127, which established a face-off in the quarter-finals with David Gilbert.

According to what Maguire said to the World Snooker Tour's website, Murphy seemed relaxed during their session. As a result, Maguire thought he would have to put in a lot of effort if he wanted to make a comeback and stay in the game until the end. However, when he finally got the opportunity to play, he performed quite well.

Dave Gilbert and I have been good friends for almost three decades and have a great relationship. He's a talented player, but this season hasn't been his best. I can relate because I haven't had the most successful season either. However, we are both excited to be playing well and in sync for the upcoming game, which is perfect timing for us.

When it comes to the quarter-finals, the tension is high. As a player, I've experienced both victories and defeats during this stage. Losing during this match would be devastating because the atmosphere transforms and it becomes the top-ranking game with the single table.

On the session of Saturday, Murphy displayed his excitement by fist-pumping after wining a frame. Maguire confessed that this action by Shaun motivated him. "Shaun made an error. He's aware of me and my character that I'm hard on myself," said Maguire. He also added that "Shaun accomplished a frame that should have been mine, and I was feeling self-loathing. But when he celebrated with the fist-pump, I suddenly became focused and felt the surge to win."

Defeating an opponent at the level of proficiency as Shaun during the last 16 of the world championship brought me a sense of fulfillment.

Mark Allen took the lead 9-7 over John Higgins in their tough match-up. Initially, both players played evenly, but Higgins gained an advantage by winning consecutive frames in the 11th and 12th, ending up 7-5 ahead. However, Allen didn't give up and went on to win four frames in a row, including a 94 break, taking the lead by two. The game will continue on Monday night to determine the winner.

Stuart Bingham managed to hold off Jack Lisowski's comeback and maintained a 9-7 lead going into Monday's session. Bingham was able to increase his lead to 6-3 after winning the ninth frame, but Lisowski came back strong by winning the next three frames, bringing himself closer to victory. However, Bingham, who won the world championship in 2015, finished the game strongly and was able to secure a two-frame advantage for the final session.

Kyren Wilson played exceptionally well and managed to establish a 10-6 lead over Joe O'Connor, who is making his first appearance at the Crucible. Despite having a less-than-ideal season and dropping to the twelfth position in the world rankings, Wilson managed to increase his overnight lead of 6-2 and is now in a promising position to compete against either Allen or Higgins in the quarter-finals.