World Snooker Championship 2023 live stream - Ronnie O’Sullivan loses to Luca Brecel, Mark Selby faces John Higgins
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Updated 26/04/2023 at 21:00 GMT
Hello and welcome to Eurosport's live coverage of the 2022-23 World Snooker Championship as the quarter-final stage reaches its conclusion! It is the business end of the last eight on Wednesday with Mark Allen, Jak Jones, Anthony McGill, Si Jiahui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Luca Brecel, John Higgins and Mark Selby all in action on a bumper day of snooker from the Crucible.
'Wow, that's a game-changer!' - O'Sullivan in rare 'waistcoat foul'
That's us done for what's been a sensational day
Was it really this afternoon that Ronnie lost seven on the spin to Luca? Goodness me, you cannot beat the Cruce. Join us again tomorrow at 12.30pm BST for the one-table situation semi-finals!
McGill 11-9 Jiahui (6-48)
Another frame, another messy frame, another lead for Si. There are six reds left, most of them hard to access, so this should be back to within one, and as I type that Anthony leaves one in baulk for him to cut down with the rest.
Mark Selby beats John Higgins 13-7!
That's a tremendous performance from Mark because John played well in this match, and he's my favourite to be smiling on Monday night. He meets Mark Allen next, and that should be a jazzer.
Selby 12-7 Higgins (67-8)
59 in front with 59 left, Mark doesn't cue straight enough and ends up stuck in the pack. So he plays safe then John leaaves him a shot to nothing for the match ... which he misses to left corner.
Selby 12-7 Higgins (56-8)
Beautiful stuff from Mark, and the he digs into the pack a second time, he lands on one to left-middle. In potting it dead-weight he develops two more, and this is pretty much done. Can he finish with a ton?
Selby 12-7 Higgins (8-8)
John takes on a harder-then-necessary red to right corner, leaves it in the jaws, and smiles ruefully as Mark begins his retort. There's a lot of work to do, but the way Mark's playing, this could be curtains.
Selby 12-7 Higgins
On 102, John misses a red to right corner, but it's another Crucible ton - he's got more than 200 of those - and I'm sure he'll continue going for everything he can.
Selby 12-6 Higgins (0-55)
John's been good in the balls, Mark's just kept him away from them.
Selby 12-6 Higgins (0-9)
A poor safety from Mark allows John a starter and even the longest journey starts with one small step.
We go again
McGill 11-9 Jiahui
Again, Si should win the frame but Anthony does, again after various chances missed both. Si is missing pots tonight he's not missed all tournament. That's the mid-sesh.
Selby 12-6 Higgins
A 91 from Mark and when he plays like this he's nearly the perfect player. When they resume, he's one away and John needs seven straight.
Selby 11-6 Higgins (29-38)
John misses a tight black with the rest and Mark has a chance to steal; while he builds his break, we see the fluke from yesterday that pretty much handed him the frae when he was 4-1 down. And now look! He's in prime position having opened a few reds, and I fully expect him to clinch the frame at this visit now.
Selby 11-6 Higgins (0-29)
John steers a starter to left corner - he's got to attack everything now - and gets to work.
McGill 10-9 Jiahui
Almost another frame tossed by Si and snafflled by Anthony at the last. But this time a poor positional shot means a blue to the yellow which he misses, and Si racks the points he needs to secure a crucial frame.
Selby 11-6 Higgins
Mark is too good for John here, it really is as simple as that, and to my mind he's the favourite to win the whole thing now.
Selby 10-6 Higgins (67-1)
Mark removes balls. This is the best I've seen him play in ages.
Selby 10-6 Higgins (35-1)
Mark plays a good snooker, white behind yellow and broon, and John's escape allows him a chance to stretch further ahead.
McGill 10-8 Jiahui (9-30)
Anthony misses a cut-back red, then Si looks good before missing a cut-back black. Anthony, though, can't capitalise, losing position so playing safe. This looks like another messy frame.
Selby 10-6 Higgins (26-1)
Mark runs out of position so plays safe and he's so good at that; putting disappointment away and finding a good shot.
McGill 10-8 Jiahui
Another frame Si should win but doesn't, Anthony landing a proper pressure pot on the brown, thumping it in along the bottom rail and getting position on the blue. Si must win the next frame.
Selby 10-6 Higgins (1-0)
Mark sinks a long starter but misses green to left-centre and John is back in. But he wobbles a bit on a cut-black along the top rail, jawses it, and leaves a serious chance.
Selby 10-6 Higgins
The fight over the last two reds for a bit, then John clips to right corner, the ball struggles in, and he wins his first frame in four.
McGill 9-8 Jiahui (21-44)
Another messy one, Si's potting not quite as reliable now. He could use the confidence boost of levelling.
Selby 10-5 Higgins (15-65)
John gets a kick, misses a red, and Mark returns 55 behind with 59 left.
Selby 10-5 Higgins (15-42)
John removes the easy balls and a nice kiss off the black brings another one into a pottable position. He really needed this visit and he's not played badly in the match, Mark has just been excellent.
Selby 10-5 Higgins (15-1)
Mark is soon back in, but misses to right-middle, John slides a starter into left corner and he really needs to make something of this.
Selby 10-5 Higgins (11-0)
John leaves the white short and I'm really surprised Mark can't tidy a red to left corner. He is too, because he plays it at pace so it rushes down the table; he gets lucky, covering it with yellow and brown.
McGill 9-8 Jiahui
Both players miss huge blacks, Si to left-middle when looking really good. And eventually Anthony, who's making this as tight as he can, does enough to forge back in front.
Selby 10-5 Higgins (11-0)
Mark gets in with a glorious diagonal starter, guided past the blue. But he soon runs out of position, trying a double as a shot to nowt and missing.
Selby 10-5 Higgins
They muck about for a bit, but John soon concedes; he's lost six frames in this match without scoring a point.
Selby 9-5 Higgins (64-0)
James Maddison is in yard tonight, Wayne Marrdelle and Rodd Studd too - and so far they're enjoying vintage Selby. The pack is broken, he's scoring quickly, and he looks a lock for the semis ... but then he misses a long plant, so John returns to the table with 67 left and balls on rails.
Selby 9-5 Higgins (18-0)
Mark continues where he left off, rodding an oblique red to left corner. He must be feeling really good, he doesn't usually play those, and if he makes something sizable here, he'll be close to the semis - not necessarily timewise, but John winning eight before he wins three seems extremely unlikely.
Let's get the baize
Boyzed.
We - go - again
Huzzah!
Goodness
You just cannot beat the Cruce. There is nothing, nothing like World Championship snooker. And we're nowhere, nowhere near finished. Join me again around 6.30pm BST for:
Mark Selby 9-5 John Higgins
Anthony McGill 8-8 Si Jiajui
Selby 9-5 Higgins
A run of 100 and Mark, having won the session 5-1 needs four more frames for the win. He's playing very, very well.
Selby 8-5 Higgins (53-0)
Mark clobbers the pack off a pink to left corner, and is in great shape to clinch the frame - confirmed as our last this afternoon. John will have to somehow rejuvenate and recuperate in the little time he has, because Mark has gone into the pack again, off the green, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't clinch this.
Selby 8-5 Higgins (25-0)
Dom says that in practice, they'll play best-of-sevens, and Mark will want to keep going when everyone else is done, happy to play 30 frames a day. So he'll probably handle the shorter turnaround better than John, despite his recent fitness activity, and he's at the table again now. If he makes something telling here, he might find he's broken the back of the match.
Selby 8-5 Higgins
That doesn't last long. One more frame this afternoon unless someone clears up very quickly, and if Mark wins it, John is really struggling.
Selby 7-5 Higgins (72-0)
Mark receives his applause for sealing the frame then misses a red, so John returns to the table, two snookers needed.
Selby 7-5 Higgins (55-0)
Mark came into this competition in better form than John, who almost happened upon it mid-match. so it's not so surprising to see his is the more set-in, if you like, and he's dominating this match now.
Selby 7-5 Higgins (15-0)
What a day of snooker this already is, and we've so much yet to come. Although we've four frames left in this session, because these two are coming back later, they'll not start a fresh one after 5.30pm BST. So that's one or two depending, and Mark has a great chance to ensure the latter. First he misses a red, then John does but the white stays up the business end - with reds everywhere and black available.
Selby 7-5 Higgins
John couldn't have needed this more. He loses it, he's a whole mini-sesh behind, but now he's right in it. That's the mid-sesh.
Selby 7-4 Higgins (28-59)
John lands high on a pink ... so plays a delicate cut to left corner. Having not had much table-time across the match, he's taking these well and needs red-colour-red frae here.
Selby 7-4 Higgins (28-13)
Around the time Luca finished Ronnie, Mark won a frame that seemed to last about a year, making it three on the spin. But it's now John at the table with a few reds loose, so he's a chance to close the gap.
Luca Brecel beats Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-10!
He wins seven frames in a row, absolutely devastating the greatest of all time. He is an unbelievable talent, it's affirming to see him putting it all together, and he can win this. He meets Si Jiahui or Anthony McGill in the last four! Two weeks ago, he'd never won a match at the Cruce!
O'Sullivan 10-12 Brecel (1-63)
Luca chops one into the yellow with the rest, and Luca is playing a session from the gods. Ronnie ushered him into this, but make no mistake, the way he brought it home was all him.
O'Sullivan 10-12 Brecel (1-55)
Luca has a little think then oozes a pink to left-middle, and yet again he's fashioned a chance out of a starter. The way he plays and has played today, so much creativity, style and risk - reminds me a bit of Eurosport's Jimmy White. This is glorious, glorious stuff.
O'Sullivan 10-12 Brecel (1-22)
I wonder what angles is thinking - yesterday he was incandescent at Luca thrashing hit-and-hopes when in trouble. But today, maybe it's part of the attack everything strategy, and we're witnessing one of the most incredible sessions of snooker we've ever seen; Luca has annihilated reds everywhere! 10-6 down against the greatest, he looks on the cusp of winning seven in a row. I can barely feel my fingers! I'm pretty much standing up!
O'Sullivan 10-12 Brecel (1-5)
Nealf reports a stunned silence in the arena, people barely able to believe they've seen Ronnie collapse so inexplicably. Left one off the break, he nails it, but then misses pink to middle and Luca now has a chance to win f&m. I said Luca has a chance to win f&m!
O'Sullivan 10-12 Brecel
THIS GAME! THIS GAME! Ronnie has played Luca into form, playing like a drain, and now Luca's in form, playing like Luca! The defending champ needs three straight or he's out, and frankly nothing looks less likely.
O'Sullivan 10-11 Brecel (0-52)
Apologies, my system crashes and refuses to reload but we're here now. Luca misses a red to left corner, Ronnie misses a double, and Luca powers through a break full of verve, touch and imagination. He's starting to play as well as the score suggests now, and this is fantastic!
O'Sullivan 10-11 Brecel
Five in a row for Luca, and I've no idea what's going on with Ronnie. For the best player and front-runner to be turned over in this way, you'd have assumed Luca played unbelievably. But he hasn't - though he's played well - Ronnie has just played unspeakably. I've hardly ever seen him play this poorly.
O'Sullivan 10-10 Brecel (0-61)
Luca takes on a black when the pink was easier, he misses, and Ronnie returns to the table 61 behind with 67 left. Not for long! He plays a dreadful shot, nondescript and white ending up in right-middle; Luca slams in the ball he missed, and WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON PEOPLE?!
O'Sullivan 10-10 Brecel (0-45)
Luca clatters into the pack and he doesn't seem nervous at all. He knows this might be his moment, and is taking these so confidently. This next passage could be epochal, so I advise you to buckle up.
O'Sullivan 10-10 Brecel (0-22)
Even when Luca won the first two frames today I didn't believe he could win, but Ronnie misses a long one to right corner - by a bit - and is now sat down as his opponent accumulates. Luca hasn't led since 2-1, but you can see him growing in confidence as Ronnie struggles.
Here they come and here we go!
O'Sullivan 10-10 Brecel
Luca had never won a match at the Cruce before this year, has done barely any prep, and yet here we are! I cannot wait to find out what happens next!
O'Sullivan 10-9 Brecel (19-72)
Oh yes, a black from Luca promotes a red he didn't even need, he secures the frame, and the way Ronnie's playing, has every chance of moving on!
Selby 6-4 Higgins
Five on the bike for Mark now, and John really needs to nab this next frame.
O'Sullivan 10-9 Brecel (19-43)
I said who saw this coming, but more than that, though I didn't see it coming, had I seen it coming I'd have assumed a Brecel blitz. But, though Luca's played alright this afternoon, it's surprising carelessness from Ronnie that has facilitated this comeback, and if he can't get hold of himself in the interval, he might be going home!
O'Sullivan 10-9 Brecel (19-14)
Luca leaves a long one to left corner than Ronnie tidies up, but he's not feeling it today and soon finds himself stuck to a red that means end of break. Then he misses one to right corner and is really not himself today so Luca, who gets away immediately, now has a chance for mini-sesh sweep to level the match! Who saw this coming?
O'Sullivan 10-9 Brecel
With the yellow in the jaws of its own pocket, Ronnie tries to sneak in behind it and the white drops in. Then he flukes a red so has to take on a long cut on the black because otherwise he'll need a further snooker; he misses, so concedes. Do we got ourselves a ball-game?!
O'Sullivan 10-8 Brecel (10-64)
A stun run-through on a red brings Luca onto the black, but he jawses a red sent long to the yellow and with 59 left, the frame remains in the balance.
O'Sullivan 10-8 Brecel (10-46)
This is really good from Luca, who's started well today. He couldn't could he?
O'Sullivan 10-8 Brecel (10-16)
Yeah, we've seen this before. Luca misses to right corner, Ronnie pumps in a dead straight one and looks set to forge ahead. Except he too then misses to right corner, leaving a really good chance.
Selby 5-4 Higgins
Mark johns John, coming back from 50-odd points behind following a miss to right-middle to pinch the frame. That's four in a row for him.
O'Sullivan 10-8 Brecel
A 112 and Luca trails just by two - but every time he's won a couple of frames in a row, Ronnie has responded.
O'Sullivan 10-7 Brecel (14-61)
A pink goes in off the jaws, but otherwise Luca takes these very nicely.
O'Sullivan 10-7 Brecel (14-16)
Luca misses a red to right corner and Ronnie is onto it immediately ... only to overcut a dolly of a black off its pot shortly afterwards. It's so rare you see him miss those, and Luca soon opens the pack in the course of administering due punishment. Can he control the white well enough to make it count?
O'Sullivan 10-7 Brecel
He can! He slides the pink into and along the cushion, and it struggles over the lip.
O'Sullivan 10-6 Brecel (41-54)
Luca jabs a red to right corner, and suddenly the frame is at his mercy! But he plays the blue then realises that, with pink and black tied up, when he returns to the blue in the course of potting the colours, he'll only be 13 in front. But he plays a really good shot that gives an angle on that pink; can he put it away?
O'Sullivan 10-6 Brecel (41-30)
Ronnie undercuts a red to left corner and leaves Luca an opportunity, but, well, oh Luca. He misses a simple black to left corner, and that carelessness, along with his relatively low B-game, will stop him making the most of his rare talent. Clearing up from here, though, won't be easy, and Ronnie soon misses a red down the side rail.
O'Sullivan 10-6 Brecel (12-1)
Ronnie plays a containing safety and a cannon leaves a starter over left corner; Luca knocks it down then overcuts the blue, and it's misses like those that explain why he's in this mess. Every time he looks like making it close, he either makes an error or Ronnie stretches clear again.
Boyz
Ands baize.
Hello again
Hope you didn't miss us too much.
That's us done for the morning
Join me again in 20 minutes for what should be a terrific afternoon.
Mark Allen beats Jak Jones 13-10!
Mark nicks in the brown, adds the blue, and punches the air! He knows how close that was - closer even than 13-10 suggests - and well played Jak Jones, let's hope this is the start of something for him. Mark, meanwhile,the best player on tour this year, reaches his first Crucible semi since 2008 in which he'll meet either Mark Selby or John Higgins.
Allen 12-10 Jones (54-30)
Jak leaves a mid-distance cut of green to green ... he thinks it's over ... and Mark gets so close to the pot! But the ball won't drop, Jak hammers it down - he plays these pressure pots with such conviction - then tries a snooker on the brown, but just misses and instead leaves it to right corner! Can Mark handle his nerves?
Allen 12-10 Jones (54-30)
The pink winds up over left corner and my system crashes, returning to let me know that snookers have been exchanged, so Jak needs one to stay in the competition. We've not had a pot in 18 or so minutes, but then Mark leaves the last red in the yellow jaws, so it and the pink go down, but he misses what a difficult to lay but fiendish to escape snooker behind the brown ... before potting the yellow and clipping the green towards the side, tucking in behind the black further along the rail! And Mark misses his escape! Jak now "just" needs the remaining balls ... if he can get on them, which he currently is not! This frame is up at nearly an hour now!
McGill 8-8 Jiahui
Another big break from Si, and he is such a joy! Thus endeth another brilliant session; I cannot wait for the final one.
Allen 12-10 Jones (50-12)
Jak tries to develop the final red but doesn't land on it, so plays safe and the chase for it is on.
Allen 12-10 Jones (50-12)
Not for long! Jak misses to left corner ... but Mark can only capitalise to the tune of four, missing a red to right corner, and now Jak's back at the table seeking to steal! This frame is wild!
Allen 12-10 Jones (46-7)
Jak leaves one to left corner, Mark sinks it ... but gets no position. Another reprieve for Jak! The tension!
McGill 8-7 Jiahui
I said Si needed something and by jove he finds it, ripping long pots in an 86 which closes him to within one.
Allen 12-10 Jones (45-7)
Mark misses a double from side to left corner, and though his lead is surmountable, the four reds are all tied up, so it's a colossal ask for Jak to rescue himself from here.
Allen 12-10 Jones (32-7)
A fine rest pot, red moving from centre to left corner, keeps the break going, but he soon sinks a red to left corner and follows it down with the white; reprieve for Jak! Not for long! He misses a pink to left corner and hands Mark a chance to draw nearer the finish line.
Allen 12-10 Jones (11-2)
Jak cuts to right-middle, but misses a blue to the opposite bag and this is a massive chance for Mark to see this match away.
McGill 8-6 Jiahui
Has the tide turned? Anthony dominates frame 14, and Si needs something, quickly.
Allen 12-10 Jones (0-1)
Jak rockets a starter into left corner, trying to develop the black, but it remains on the rail so a safety and more safety follows.
Allen 12-10 Jones
Mark sees it out, and Jak needs three straight if he's to make the final four.
McGill 7-6 Jiahui
Another long frame led by Si before Anthony seizes it late doors.
Allen 11-10 Jones (64-22)
Mark finishes a little short of his chosen red but sinks it with the rest - that's frame-ball, and this is another excellent pressure-break. But then a pink, that looks in slides off at the last second, so Jak returns to the table needing two snookers.
Allen 11-10 Jones (50-22)
Mark's cue-ball control, usually so good, hasn't been great in this match, but when he really needs it - now - it's there for him, and a clever cannon, developing two more reds, means the frame is nearly his.
Allen 11-10 Jones (27-22)
Though Jak leaves nothing, a snooker from Mark, white beside black on the top rail, yields a chance, and when he nudges the pack he discharges a couple more balls for the potting. The frame is at his mercy.
Allen 11-10 Jones (0-22)
Jak Jones has stones, taking a fine opener to left corner and setting about another break. He's responded so well to every question he's been asked, a plant to left corner, the two balls not near one another, sustaining the run. But playing it with safety in mind means a yellow to middle; he rams it down, but a kiss on the black means he's not got much in the way of options, sending one long to the yellow and seeing it wobble in the jaws and out.
Allen 11-10 Jones
Mark knows he's not playing well, but he also knows he can trust himself to keep the heid when the balls need clearing, and he does so beautifully here.
Allen 10-10 Jones (69-62)
Ach, Jak runs out of position so plays safe, then seeking a thin contact on one of the two remaining reds, he rolls between the two, offering Mark a chance at a pot with the rest. P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E. He wears it well though, and if he can see away a yellow down the side - he gets decent position - he'll be a huge favourite for a crucial frame. He sinks it nicely, but the angle prevents him from getting good position ... no matter, he cuts home the green, the monsters in an eminently missable brown! Blue and pink to pilfer the longest frame of the match...
Allen 10-10 Jones (43-41)
Refreshed, Mark returns, extends his lead ... then misses red to left-centre. Jak duly sticks it in the green bag, then off the blue goes into the reds, clustered around pink and black just above the top rail, liberating one; he sinks it then repeats the process, and he's crafting a frame-winning opportunity here.
Allen 10-10 Jones (37-24)
Jak runs out of position so plays safe, then misses to left corner leaving a chance; Mark decides this is the time to take a toilet break, and this could barely be tenser.
Allen 10-10 Jones (37-24)
Jak misses to left corner but Mark does likewise to right-centre, and now another chance for Jak! Winning the frame at this visit is a big ask, but he should at least retrieve the penalty points he lost, and with a maximum of four frames to come after this one, the chances of Mark suddenly hitting form look remote.
McGill 6-6 Jiahui
Another long frame in which Si builds a lead then has to hang in there as Anthony attempts the steal, but eventually he sees it out and they go to the interval still level having splut the min-sesh.
Allen 10-10 Jones (37-7)
Mark measures a superb safety, white near the bottom rail and behind the brown; Jak almost tickles his red of choice but instead knocks pink, then does the same thrice more, points mounting. When he does hit, though, he gets the balls safe, and the way the reds are, this frame might take some time to resolve,
Allen 10-10 Jones (13-7)
Seeking a thin contact, Jak foul-misses, but there's no further damage done, and when Mark dangles a tempter, he has a look - it's not clear it passes the black to go long to left corner - then creams it home. Lovely pot! But he then misses a yellow to the yellow bag; chance for Mark! Who, trying to hold the white, doesn't give the blue enough and it doesn't reach right-middle! So Jak crunches home a starter, removing one of the reds blocking off the black, only to play a dreadful shot edging in Mark's blue, the white staying up in baulk meaning end of break.
We go again...
McGill 6-5 Jiahui
Might Anthony stealing frame 10 be a turning point? He dominates 11, and now leads again.
Allen 10-10 Jones
Jak levels the match with a total clearance of 124, and after the interval we'll enjoy a jaunty best-of-five to decide who moves into the semis! Goodness me.
Allen 10-9 Jones (0-84)
Well played Jak Jones. He's shown great mental strength in compiling this run, and a total clearance of 134 is on the table.
Allen 10-9 Jones (0-54)
Jak's break-building has been excellent throughout this competition, but here he's forced to play a few hairier shots than usual. No matter: he downs them, and looks a cert to make this 10-10.
Allen 10-9 Jones (0-19)
Mark leaves one off the break and Jak sends it down right corner, then adds a black. he's in, and making this visit count would be a big statement - to himself as much as to Mark.
McGill 5-5 Jiahui
Another long frame that looks, most of the way through, that it's going to Si. But Anthony steals it on the pink, and we're back level.
Allen 10-9 Jones (0-12)
Oh, Jak. He opts to dig into the pack before he needs to, missing his pot on the blue in the process, and sitting in his seat he suddenly looks red in the face; he's struggling and he knows it. He doesn't leave owt but, so Mark feathers the nearest red and very quickly, Tatiana Woollaston suggests a re-rack and the players consent.
Allen 10-9 Jones (0-8)
Mark tries an attacking safety but misjudges it; no matter, Jak can't send a starter down into right corner ... but nor can Mark into the green bag. So Jak pots two at once, a plant into left corner that sees both balls disappear, and this is a good opportunity to get himself going again.
Allen 10-9 Jones
Jak gets a double-kiss, leaves a red, and concedes. He badly needs the next frame; if he loses it, it'll feel like it's slipping away.
Allen 9-9 Jones (64-10)
A red dropped into the same right corner bag that Jak couldn't find means the frame is Mark's barring a snooker and when he misses the black, the quest for that begins.
Allen 9-9 Jones (47-10)
A delicate cut to right corner suggests Mark is starting to feel himself, and he'll have seen an opponent who might, finally, be flagging. He knows he can stay calm when it gets fraught; Jak does not, and if he punishes him a second time, both players will wonder if this momentum will be decisive.
Allen 9-9 Jones (8-10)
Mark misses to left corner but goes at the pot with safety in mind; Jak does the reverse, failing to find right and leaving balls all over. Is he losing composure slightly? We shall see, but he gets away with the error when Mark can't drain with rest, then steers a tester into the green. A fine long yellow follows, but it precedes a red that ought to go into right corner and doesn't. It's starting to tell, and Mark will know the pain a kill at this visit will inflict.
McGill 4-5 Jiahui
Si razzes out more long pots and though it take a while to become official, the first frame of the day was his for quite some time.
Allen 9-9 Jones
Jak misses the black so concedes; Mark looks unimpressed with himself.
Allen 8-9 Jones (66-29)
Sat in his seat, Jak still looks livid at himself for missing the black; how he reacts in the next frame will give us a good insight into how this match will finish up. And he gets back to the table sooner than expected because Mark misses and leaves a red to left corner, so he's now seeking the snooker he needs with the colours on their spots.
Allen 8-9 Jones (44-28)
This looks like being close to the end, Mark breaking the pack twice in the process of nudging in front. But the second effort leaves a red needing sent long to the green and he doesn't really fancy it, getting down and getting up ... before coaxing it home. The frame is at his mercy.
Allen 8-9 Jones (1-28)
Jack zips into the pack off the black then, out of nowhere, misses a black to left corner, catching the near knuckle. "The easiest ball he's missed in this championship," says Fouldsy - but can Mark punish him?
Allen 8-9 Jones (0-6)
It's very odd how badly Mark's done at this venue - one semi, 15 years ago, and now playing his first quarter in five years. I wonder if the desire to do well here prompted his move to a more defensive style that might sustain him over the stretch, but he misses to left corner, offering Jak an immediate opportunity. The way he's playing, there's every chance he makes it count.
Allen 8-9 Jones
A missed red means not ton, but Jak won't mind at all. That was a terrific contribution.
Allen 8-8 Jones (25-54)
Taking the first frame would be a massive statement, especially in this style - Jak's cue-ball control has been superb, and he plays a really nice black to get on a red down the rail. he slots that, then another black, and Mark needs a snooker. "No one could've made this break better," says Nealf. "Inch-perfect every shot."
Allen 8-8 Jones (25-32)
Yes he will, easing to left corner then sends a really nice black to the same bag, ruffling the pack to decent effect. Nealf notes that, though he plays fairly slowly, he's still aggressive in what he plays - an uncommon combination - and he's crafted this opportunity by taking on pots. He looks really calm out there.
Allen 8-8 Jones (25-0)
Jak leaves one and Mark gets away immediately. The standard last evening was not high, which feels like bad news for Jak: in a match this long you imagine Mark will play well at some point, he hasn't yet, and it's all-square. Jak, on the other hand, had a decent patch yesterday morning, didn't get a lead out of it, and is playing the biggest session of his life and trying to become the first debutant to reach the semi-finals since Andy Hicks in 1995. Meantime, while I was wittering, Mark ran out of position so played safe onto the bottom cushion. Will Jak take on the pot?
Let's get the baize
Under the boyz.
Two debutants in the last eight
That hasn't happened in 30 years, so well done Jak and Si. If you're pushing me I'm saying Si will move on and Jak is going out - but with no confidence.
Mark Allen 8-8 Jak Jones
Will be our featured match this session as it's to a finish. But of course we'll keep you updated with Anthony McGill 4-4 Si Jiahui - the first portion of that was a lot of fun.
Goooooood morning!
And what a morning it is, the start of our final three-session day featuring a frankly indecent quantity of glorious snook. Here we go!
Hello and welcome to today's coverage from the 2023 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible. The quarter-finals continue today.
First up, it is Mark Allen against Jak Jones and Anthony McGill versus Si Jiahui, before the blockbuster matches between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Luca Brecel and John Higgins and Mark Selby in the afternoon.
The day concludes with further instalments of McGill against Si, and Higgins and Selby.
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE - QUARTER-FINALS
Wednesday 26 April
10:00
- Mark Allen 8-8 Jak Jones
- Anthony McGill 4-4 Si Jiahui
14:30
- Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-6 Luca Brecel
- John Higgins 4-4 Mark Selby
19:00
- Anthony McGill v Si Jiahui
- John Higgins v Mark Selby
ESSENTIAL READING
O'Sullivan retains four-frame lead over Brecel despite second-session struggles
Ronnie O’Sullivan was given a serious examination by Luca Brecel on Tuesday evening, but emerged relatively unscathed as he shared the session to secure a 10-6 lead in their World Championship quarter-final.
Despite being short of his best, O’Sullivan eked out a 6-2 lead in the opening session. Returning on Tuesday evening, Brecel played on the front foot and had his opponent in trouble on occasions.
But O’Sullivan kept fighting and cashed in on enough of Brecel’s errors to move within three frames of a place in the semi-finals.
Read the full story here.
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