Ronnie O’Sullivan has endured a 13-month tournament drought and is featuring in only his third competitive fixture since January.
O’Sullivan solidified his pursuit of a record eighth modern-era crown by building a 6-2 advantage over Si Jiahui during the opening session of their World Championship quarter-final.
Should the Englishman advance on Wednesday, Zhao Xintong appears poised as a likely semi-final opponent.
The 28-year-old Chinese player impressed by extending his 6-2 lead to 12-4 over Chris Wakelin in their best-of-25 contest.
Elsewhere, the clash between four-time champion John Higgins and three-time winner Mark Williams remains finely balanced at 8-8 ahead of Wednesday’s decisive session.
O’Sullivan, in just his third match since January, navigated a fragmented opening frame before Si answered with an exceptional century break.
However, the 22-year-old from China missed several key shots, enabling ‘The Rocket’ to surge to a 4-1 lead with three breaks over 50.
Si responded with a 60 break, briefly narrowing the gap, but a costly miss on a black allowed O’Sullivan to claim the seventh frame.
O’Sullivan closed the session with a commanding 121 break, underscoring his dominance.
In the final quarter-final, Judd Trump showcased outstanding potting, recording his 101st and 102nd century breaks of the season to secure a 5-3 advantage over Luca Brecel.
Their best-of-25 match will resume on Wednesday at 10:00 BST, when Higgins and Williams will also complete their contest.
World number one Trump is now just one century short of equalling Neil Robertson’s 2013-14 record of 103 centuries in a single season.
Trump raced to a 5-1 lead before Belgium’s Brecel—Sheffield champion two years ago—mounted a rally with breaks of 68 and 128, keeping the tie finely poised.
Mark Williams (left) and John Higgins have collectively claimed seven world titles.
Scottish player Higgins and Welshman Williams are key figures from snooker’s celebrated ‘Class of 92’, alongside O’Sullivan.
At age 50, Williams is the oldest quarter-finalist at The Crucible since Steve Davis, who was 52 in 2010, while Higgins approaches his 50th birthday later this month, shortly after the tournament final.
Despite their ages, both remain entrenched among the sport’s elite; this encounter echoes their classic 2018 final where Williams secured an 18-16 victory.
After Higgins took a 5-1 advantage with four half-century runs, Williams responded by winning six of the next seven frames, highlighted by a 104 break in the seventh.
Higgins, ranked world number three, battled back to clinch frame 14, then produced a 70 to edge ahead 8-7.
However, a missed long red in frame 16 allowed Williams to clear with a 65 to draw level once more.
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Zhao’s strong showing against Wakelin positions him as a genuine contender to become the first amateur to win at the Crucible.
Though Wakelin has eliminated notable names—2010 champion Neil Robertson and former world number one Mark Allen—the Englishman was comprehensively outperformed in both sessions on Tuesday.
Wakelin, 33, took the morning’s opening frame with a 93 break, but Zhao responded emphatically by winning the next six.
That momentum carried into the evening, with the 28-year-old closing in on a maiden semi-final appearance.
Zhao, a former UK champion, was implicated among 10 Chinese players in a match-fixing investigation.
While not directly involved in throwing a match, Zhao accepted charges of assisting another player to fix two matches and of betting on snooker. He served a 20-month suspension and is the only member of the sanctioned group to make a competitive return.
Owing to that suspension, Zhao lost his tour card, but has already secured his return to the professional circuit for next season.
Classified as an amateur for this event, Zhao has contested seven matches, having navigated four rounds of qualifying to reach the main stage.