O’Sullivan and Trump excite Sheffield fans

O’Sullivan’s young apprentice Judd Trump was also back to his magnificent best against Ali Carter in their second-round Crucible contest.

But it was the three-times champion whose performance particularly caught the imagination, as the 36-year-old Chigwell cueman fired two scintillating centuries and four further hefty breaks in converting a 5-3 overnight cushion into an 11-5 lead.

He needs two more frames tonight to reach the quarter-finals.

At one point, O’Sullivan had won nine in a row, going from 3-2 behind at one stage to 11-3 ahead.

It was to Williams’s credit that he took the final two frames of the session, but O’Sullivan’s remarkable record against the Welshman looked set to continue.

Not since the Thailand Masters in early 2002 has Williams beaten O’Sullivan, who barring any collapse will face a quarter-final against Australia’s 2010 world champion Neil Robertson.

Williams knew what to expect but could do little to stop O’Sullivan pouring in the heavy breaks, and for the fourth time in seven years the man from Ebbw Vale is poised to go out at the hands of snooker’s No 1 showman.

The pair met in Sheffield in 2006, 2008 and 2010, with the result going O’Sullivan’s way each time.

Although this was day nine of the World Championship, it contained perhaps the moment at which the tournament took off.

That came at 2.55pm, when O’Sullivan completed a tremendous 107 break in the opening frame of the afternoon session, while on the opposite side of the arena Trump sealed a run of 120.

Snooker’s two biggest box-office stars united the auditorium, spectators on both sides in raptures.

The century breaks set the tone for the afternoon but perhaps also the rest of the tournament. Given they are on opposite sides of the draw, the dream ticket of a Trump-O’Sullivan final is a possibility.

Trump came from 5-3 behind to build a 9-7 lead over Carter, with the match concluding this afternoon.