Paul Scholes had paid the Crucible front-row premium to watch Ronnie O’Sullivan and, while it lasted only 38 minutes, he did at least get to see two century breaks.
That was how long snooker’s GOAT needed to turn a 7-2 overnight lead against China’s He Guoqiang into a thumping and highly encouraging 10-2 first-round victory. It is the most emphatic scoreline of the entire tournament so far and, for all O’Sullivan’s “Rusty Ron” protestations, it completed one of the best performances so far this year at the World Championships.
O’Sullivan gave a thumbs up and smile to Scholes at the completion of his match to leave the former England and Manchester United midfielder to watch China’s Si Jiahui and Iran’s Hossein Vafaei play their first round match.
Paul Scholes watches on as Ronnie O'Sullivan opens the session with a BANG at the Crucible 🚀 pic.twitter.com/CxTL7RJSd7
O’Sullivan had briefly even threatened another Crucible maximum 147 but, after nine reds and eight blacks, he then took a blue in the 11th frame. It all sets up a mouth-watering second round match against fellow 50-year-old John Higgins, who O’Sullivan first played at the Crucible 30 years ago and beat in the final a quarter of a century ago for the first of his seven world titles.
Higgins is himself still among the leading contenders and going for a fifth world title.
“It’s still rusty Ron,” said O’Sullivan, who has brought two different cues with him to Sheffield. “I did a good job considering. A bit of a roll of the dice, a gamble, I was a bit nervous because I thought I could look a bit silly but you have to back yourself. I make some crazy decisions in everyone else’s eyes [with changing cues and tips] but they make complete sense to me and it’s seemed to work over the years so I tend to listen to my own advice.”
Of the prospect of facing his old rival again, he added: “A couple of oldies. I was saying just hanging around this venue I feel kind of old now because everyone is 22, 23, it’s like walking into a creche but we are still hanging around and having a go. I am not the player I was and probably never will be but as long as I can enjoy the game... I am starting to enjoy it again. I am getting through the ball but still not good enough to win these events, I have to rely on a bit of luck.
The Rocket is into Round 2! 🚀Ronnie O'Sullivan makes it a hat-trick of centuries to win in his 2026 Crucible opener 👏 pic.twitter.com/XHOHU9iq8b
“John loves playing me. I think he plays better than me than I play against him. I think in a way I will be a bit of an underdog because I’ve hardly played over the last three years compared to John. He’s probably favourite but it’s a different type of pressure.”
Although O’Sullivan has now slipped down the rankings and is seeded only 12th to Higgins’ fifth this year, he has also played a far more limited tournament schedule. There have also been other encouraging signs in recent months, with O’Sullivan following up his 153 total clearance in the International Open in China with a resounding victory against Higgins in the final of the invitational John Virgo Trophy in Ireland last week.
The Rocket is into Round 2! 🚀Ronnie O'Sullivan makes it a hat-trick of centuries to win in his 2026 Crucible opener 👏 pic.twitter.com/XHOHU9iq8b
“Most important thing is how do you come through [the pressure] and come on the right side of the victories. That’s probably my biggest asset, probably not being the best at potting or break-building or safety, but I know how to win.”
“I brought two cues, I’ve been saving this one all year because it had a bit of life in it.. I can get used to anything pretty quickly if I like it. Tip wasn’t good yesterday, I did a good job considering. Bit of a role of the dice, bit of a gamble, bit nervous because I thought you could look a bit silly but you have to back yourself. I make some crazy decisions in everyone else’s eyes but they make complete sense to me and it seems to have worked for me over the years so I just tend to listen to my own advice.”
With O’Sullivan-Higgins booked in for Saturday’s evening session, snooker fans are now allowed to get excited about the possibility of having all three members of the Class of ‘92 – O’Sullivan, Higgins and Mark Williams – gracing the Crucible floor at the same time. It would, though, rely on Williams and Barry Hawkins’ 25-frame second-round match reaching a third and final session.
When asked about this possible meeting of the trio, Higgins said: “It has maybe happened in previous years but now, as we got on in life, and we’re not going to be about forever, so that would be a special occasion.”
Guoqiang comes to the table with O’Sullivan already having raced into a 20-point lead. As has been the story for much of this encounter, he is unable to get anything going despite O’Sullivan leaving reds over both middle pockets.
With the pack nicely split, O’Sullivan makes serene progress through various red-pink combinations, caressing the cue ball into position A each time. He passes frame ball just before the match passes the three-hour mark and is even able to bring a tricky red off the cushion with precise cuing.
Now into the colours, O’Sullivan has the chance to sneak in a third century on the number. In the black goes and that is game over. 10-2.
An interesting chat on the BBC about O’Sullivan’s equipment – apparently he is using a new cue in Sheffield. The Rocket had famously been a lifelong John Parris cue user before making a shock switch to a Ton Praram model during last year’s World Championship semi-final, even changing his ferrule from brass to titanium. At this season’s Shanghai Masters he said he was using a Sunny Akani-modified cue and went on to make his double 147s in Saudi Arabia with it.