World Championship - Day 8

Ronnie O'Sullivan V Pang Junxu - 26/04/25 14.30, 27/04/25 14.30 & 28/04/25 19.00

There's a huge clash of styles and Crucible experience in this last 16 tie. The massively anticipated return of the 7-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan dominated talking points before the championship begun and his display in defeating Ali Carter 10-4 did not disappoint. He was brilliant especially in the second session.

Pang Junxu secured his first Crucible victory on his 3rd attempt with an impressive 10-7 victory over fellow Chinese player Zhang Anda. He had to dig deep at times as the match began to get scrappy but he came out on top compiling 2 centuries (111 & 102) and five 50+ breaks.

He likes to play a more pragmatic game compared to Ronnie's heavy-metal style where he likes to get on with frames, the 25-year-old may be able to frustrate if getting on top of the rocket.

This is a repeat of the first-round clash between the pair in 2023 when Ronnie came out on top 10-7, since then Junxu has improved and has progressed up to 27th in the rankings.

The last meeting between the pair was at the International Championship in November, on that occasion Junxu came out on top 6-4. That victory will no-doubt give him confidence ahead of today's match.

Even though the signs are positive for Junxu, I feel Ronnie is a completely different animal at the Crucible and if he gets momentum at any stage throughout the match, it will be an uphill task for Junxu to compete.

Prediction: 13-6 O'Sullivan

Si Jiahui V Ben Woollaston - 26/04/25 19.00, 27/04/25 19.00 & 28/04/25 13.00

Ben Woollaston will still be riding the crest of a wave following his unbelievable victory over fellow Leicester man Mark Selby when he comes into today's opening session.

I expect Si Jiahui to put an abrupt end to that as his defeat of David Gilbert in the first round showed glimpses of how dangerous he can be. 

On his debut here in 2023 he made the semi-final, so has shown he won't be overawed by the magic of playing at the Crucible.

He currently sits at 13th in the world rankings and was seeded for the first time, an impressive achievement for the 22-year-old.

Woollaston is well down at 44th in the World rankings, it's been a pretty uneventful season for the 37-year-old with victories proving hard to come by making his victory over the 4-time world champion even more of a surprise.

He played brilliantly throughout and took full advantage of a below-par Selby but now faces a very exciting up-and-coming talent in Si Jiahui.

I was very impressed with him at times during his first-round win and expect him to progress to the quarter-final with a possible battle with Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Prediction: 13-8 Si Jiahui

Luca Brecel V Ding Junhui - 26/04/25 19.00, 27/04/25 14.30 & 28/04/25 19.00

2023 World Champion Luca Brecel survived a scare in his first-round win over Ryan Day with the Welshman taking a 5-1 lead in the opening session, the Belgian bullet responded emphatically to come through 10-7 however.

He will know he cannot afford to give Ding Junhui that sort of lead, it would be very hard to claw back that deficit if you were to give the Chinese player that sort of advantage.

It's no secret that Luca Brecel enjoyed himself after claiming the sports ultimate prize in 2023. He seems to slowly be returning to that form and when playing his best can be a very dangerous opponent for anyone.

Ding is widely regarded as one of the best to not have lifted the sports top prize, he finds himself in a difficult section of the draw this year with a possible quarter-final against either Trump or Murphy.

That won't be on his mind yet though as he has to navigate through a very tricky match with Brecel first. The 38-year-old was always in control of his first-round win over impressive debutant Zak Surety and holds a significant H2H advantage (8-1) over today's opponent.

The pair last met in December with the Belgian getting his first win with a 4-3 victory. In truth, the majority of Ding's wins over Brecel have come in very close encounters and I expect this match to be no different.

It's hard to call a winner in what seems to be a 50/50 match but I feel Ding's form and experience will be enough to come through.

Prediction: 13-8 Ding