Ronnie O'Sullivan expects 'acid test' in World Championship quarter-final with Si Jiahui at the Crucible

O'Sullivan took control of the round two tie early on as he established a 4-0 lead in the opening session on Saturday afternoon.

Qualifier Pang - who recorded his maiden match victory at the Crucible after an opening round success over number 12 seed Zhang Anda - closed to within two of the seven-time World Champion at the start of the second session, at 6-4 down.

However, just like he did during his 10-4 win over Ali Carter in round one, O'Sullivan quickly ripped the match away from his opponent, stringing together six consecutive frames - highlighted by runs of 105 and 135 - to finish the session on the hill at 12-4 up.

Requiring just one more frame when they returned for their concluding session on Monday evening, world number five O'Sullivan fashioned a speedy 95 to get the job done.

Across his opening two matches in Sheffield, O'Sullivan has dropped just eight frames - fewer than any of the remaining contenders in this year's competition - although both Carter and Pang struggled, and didn't apply great pressure.

This is O'Sullivan's first event on the World Snooker Tour since the start of January when he deliberately snapped his cue in frustration at the behind-closed-doors Championship League Invitational.

After much speculation, the 49-year-old elected to play in the season-ending spectacular, therefore turning up for a record-extended 33rd Crucible campaign.

There have been inconsistencies in O'Sullivan's game during his first two assignments, although that is perhaps to be expected considering his lack of matchplay in recent months, and getting used to new playing equipment.

However, in the balls, the sport's greatest-ever breakbuilder is still scoring heavy, and has already totted up six centuries across his campaign, so far.

O’Sullivan on Si: “His scoring power was just too much for me”

Next up for O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday is a date with another young Chinese talent, Si Jiahui. There is a 27-year gap between the two cueists.

• Check out our bumper quarter-finals preview here

Si famously reached the semi-finals here two years ago on debut, having initially come through the qualifiers.

'The Pearl' defeated Mark Williams as he made the last 16 last year, while this year he is in the main draw as a seed player for the first time in his career, having broken into the world's top 16 rankings earlier this season.

The two-time ranking event finalist hasn't made too many headlines during his opening two wins over the past several days, but he did progress from both his matches with frames to spare.

Against David Gilbert - a semi-finalist 12 months ago - Si never trailed, and went on to record a 10-6 victory.

In round two, Si was unable to break free of Ben Woollaston until the end of the encounter, where he pieced together three successive frames - featuring an effort of 126 - to secure a 13-10 triumph.

It will be the third time that O'Sullivan and Si have met in professional competition. O'Sullivan won their first encounter at the 2023 English Open, but Si took their most recent - in the quarter-finals of this season's Saudi Arabia Masters.

Speaking with the BBC after seeing off Pang, that defeat seems to be on O'Sullivan's mind as he looked ahead to the last eight.

"This will be the acid test because he does score" said O'Sullivan.

"The opponents I've played in the first two rounds have had enough chances to put me away but they haven't.

"I think this guy will - he beat me in Saudi Arabia this year, I was scrapping but his scoring power was just too much for me.

"Three-session game, best of 25, I'm going to have to see where I'm at."

O'Sullivan continues to cool down talk of a record-breaking eighth Crucible crown, but is focused on his ongoing plan to rebuild his game.

In a post-match interview with the World Snooker Tour O'Sullivan said: "When I am playing well, as soon as I get a chance, before I even pot the first red I think it's probably 'game over'.

"The more table time I get, the more of a chance I have to try to get my game to where I need it to be. Whatever happens here doesn't make a difference to how I approach the next two years.

"If I play my game then it is irrelevant who is sitting in the other chair. I always back myself that if I am somewhere near my best then I'm confident of beating anyone. But when I am not playing well, then I have to rely on my opponent making mistakes.

“It can click into gear at any time, but I am a realist and I know my own patterns of where I am and where I need to be."

Please visit our 2025 World Snooker Championship tournament information centre here for details on the draw, results, format and order of play.