Ronnie O’Sullivan gets quest for eighth world title off to a flyer

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Ronnie O'Sullivan had a strong start in his pursuit of becoming the modern era's first player to win eight world championships. He dominated the first session of his first round match against Jackson Page, leaving Jackson trailing behind with only one point while Ronnie amassed eight. This promising beginning puts Ronnie in a good position to continue his winning streak at the Crucible.

Right from the start, O'Sullivan showed he was ready for the challenge. He hit four half-century breaks and a score of 122 in the fifth frame, leaving the young Welsh qualifier with no real chance of turning things around when they finish their match on Thursday.

The 22-year-old Page, who was appearing for the second time at the Crucible, had several opportunities at the beginning of his game. However, he made some mistakes due to carelessness, which led to significant losses. Consequently, he faced a high probability of losing the entire gaming session, with a score of zero. Nevertheless, in the seventh frame, he showed an excellent performance by making a fantastic break of 142 points, which earned him his sole win of the day in an impressive style.

Apart from that, everything went according to plan for O'Sullivan. He appeared more comfortable with the task of completing another 17-day tournament this year and started off by preventing Page from gaining any momentum.

By not taking advantage of the chances presented to him in the first two rounds, Page allowed O'Sullivan to gain an early advantage. Additionally, missing an easy shot at the brown ball in the middle gave the top-ranked player yet another easy opportunity to extend his lead.

During the snooker game, O'Sullivan won the following two points both before and after taking a break. Page struggled to recover in the sixth point, but was able to demonstrate bravery by scoring 23 points with a difficult shot. However, Page was not able to maintain his position and O'Sullivan easily secured another win.

Page received applause for his impressive performance in clearing the seventh frame, which also matched the highest break record at the Crucible this year. However, it was not enough to turn the tide as O'Sullivan won the following two frames, leaving Page trailing behind with two frames left for him to secure a spot in the second round.

Kyren Wilson was unable to achieve a perfect score of 147 at the Crucible, but he still managed to secure a convincing victory against Dominic Dale.

Wilson managed to pocket eleven red and black balls in the last frame, but unfortunately, he missed a shot on a red ball in the middle range. He was trying to recreate the 147 score he achieved in a match against Ryan Day during the same stage of the competition last year.

However, despite facing some challenging moments, the 32-year-old managed to secure the necessary two frames during Wednesday's morning session to achieve a dominant 10-1 victory. This triumph represents the most comprehensive win at the Crucible since Mark Selby's performance over Kurt Maflin with the same score in 2021.

Wilson made a great comeback when he finally qualified for a tour final this season. He openly shared that he had been facing some personal issues concerning his wife and son's medical condition.

The person who came in second place in the 2020 competition and has made it to the quarter-finals or beyond in 6 out of 9 previous appearances at Crucible, thinks they are among the few players who can handle the long 17-day tournament.

Wilson stated that a significant aspect of his playing strategy is to score heavily, and he feels that certain players are well-suited for this particular event. He believes that he is one of those players who can perform well in terms of scoring.

"If I continue to perform at this level, it would take a remarkable effort from any player to prevent my success in any round."

Dale, who is 52 years old, is the oldest person to qualify for the tournament since Steve Davis in 2010. However, he was not able to compete with the 12th seed. Nonetheless, Dale did manage to make a remarkable clearance of 120 points in the fourth frame of the game.

Mark Allen struggled to secure a 10-6 victory over fellow qualifier Robbie Williams in their final match. Despite beginning with a comfortable 7-2 lead, Allen faced significant challenges and had to put in a lot of effort to come out on top.

The player who was ranked fourth, made it to the semi-finals for the first time in the previous year, ended up losing the first two rounds of the game. This made it tough for the player to gain any momentum, as Williams played a commendable game. However, a score of 114 helped the player to finally cross the finish line.

Jack Lisowski maintained his composure to defeat the seventh-seeded Ding Junhui in a final frame and arrange a meeting with former champion Stuart Bingham in the round of 16.

In his debut match against Barry Hawkins, Ryan Day from Wales conquered the final moments of the game, scoring five consecutive frames to ultimately emerge victorious with a score of 10-8.

The current champion of four world tournaments, John Higgins, managed to secure a slight advantage with a score of 5-4 before Thursday's round against Jamie Jones. This came after he faced difficulties but ultimately succeeded by winning four frames in a row.