World Championship: Maximum drama on opening week at the Crucible

The tournament is contracted to remain in Sheffield until 2027 – the 50th anniversary of the World Championship at the Crucible – and positive talks between World Snooker Tour, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Theatres have been going on behind the scenes over the last 12 months to try and extend the deal.

Increasing the capacity is always a major talking point – each session at the Crucible is a sell-out – and few could argue against that.

Certainly those who were lucky enough to witness the opening seven days of this 17-day snooker marathon.

The anticipation of 10 Chinese snooker players competing in the opening round – a new record high – in their adopted hometown. They all live and train at the city’s two highly-respected schools, Ding Junhui Acadamy and Victoria’s Academy.

The welcome return of seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan – who swept to a first-round win over Ali Carter after over three months away from competitive action.

Or the ‘Crucible curse’ striking again when defending champion Kyren Wilson fell at the first hurdle in a final-frame decider, losing 10-9 to Lei Peifan.

The drama of the Crucible. And it was encapsulated in a 24-hour whirlwind.

On Thursday night, four-time champion Mark Selby became the latest high-profile casualty in the first round – “I was pathetic from start to finish” he admitted – when he lost 10-8 to Ben Woollaston, making just his second appearance at the Crucible in his 22-year career.

Then, on Friday morning, world No 8 Mark Allen joined an exclusive club in producing a maximum 147 in his second-round match with Chris Wakelin. The 39-year-old is only the 11th player to produce a maximum in Sheffield. A subplot was Woollaston’s wife Tatiana was the referee in Allen’s match.

These are extraordinary sporting tales, but the Crucible setting – a wonderful theatre in the round, with the audience so close to the action – simply elevates the moment which no other snooker setting can.

Not that that will be much comfort to Selby, who joined Wilson and Neil Robertson as the major casualties of the opening round.

The 41-year-old admitted: “It was tough from start to finish.

“I didn’t play nowhere near where I can play and probably didn’t deserve to win.

“Ben played some good match snooker and his safety was second to none.

“I threw a lot of frames away. I came here with a bit of confidence, but didn’t expect to play like that.”

Allen recovered from a nightmare start to the second session of his second-round match against Wakelin by completing the 15th maximum break at the Crucible.

The Northern Ireland cueman had failed to pot a ball in the three previous frames as qualifier Wakelin proceeded to turn a 6-2 overnight advantage into a 10-2 lead.

But Allen made his intentions clear in the first frame after the mid-session interval, targeting a long black and riding his luck on the yellow to wrap up his first 147 at the famous venue.

Allen punched the air after sinking the black and was warmly congratulated by Wakelin, who took a commanding 12-4 lead into Friday night’s concluding session, needing just one more frame for victory in their best-of-25 contest.

Allen’s consolation, though, is he is in line for a £45,000 payout.

The first round has also seen a new record set for the number of centuries. A total of 55 100-plus breaks have been witnessed in Sheffield, smashing the previous best of 44 which was set in 2022. The record for the most centuries in the entire tournament stands at 109, also in 2022.

Top hundred-makes in the first round were Judd Trump (5), Zak Surety (4), Hossein Vafaei (4), O'Sullivan (4), Shaun Murphy (3) and Daniel Wells (3).

Former champion Luca Brecel plays Ding Junhui in the second round on Saturday, after battling from 5-1 down to beat Ryan Day 10-7.

The only other time the Belgium potter has reached the last 16 – in 2023 – he went on to win the world title, having lost his opening match on six of his previous seven appearances.

“The way I play is unique, I guess it's not boring!" said Brecel. "I was 5-1 down but I hadn't had many chances at that stage. I never panicked because I have made so many comebacks here. From 5-3 down I felt I couldn't lose.

“The way I play, everything needs to work. I am too lazy to change that. So if it doesn't work I will go home.

“Ding is a bit like Ryan, he can miss anything and pot anything - a bit like me as well. It could be scrappy or it could be a great game.”

In an all-Chinese second-round meeting, Zhao Xintong impressed after the opening session to lead Lei Peifan 5-3.

That match resumes on Saturday morning when former champion John Higgins is also back in action, tied 8-8 with with Xiao Guodong.

On Saturday afternoon, Pang Junxu starts his second-round match with Ronnie O’Sullivan.