Higgins Fightback Rattles O'Sullivan as 'Class of '92' Clash Goes Down to the Wire

For a long stretch of Sunday evening, the Crucible looked like witnessing a straightforward procession. Ronnie O'Sullivan, chasing a record-extending eighth world title, had opened up a five-frame cushion twice over and appeared to be dictating proceedings with all his customary authority. Then John Higgins remembered he had been doing this sort of thing since 1992 as well.

By the time the final frame of the session had been completed, the complexion of this second-round contest had shifted dramatically. Higgins, who had contributed little of note in the opening session, produced a sustained burst of quality snooker to claw back to 9-7. O'Sullivan's frustration at the shift in momentum was visible when he thumped the cushion with his knuckles after missing an early red in that decisive final frame, and Higgins made him pay by edging over the line.

The match resumes on Monday with O'Sullivan holding a two-frame advantage in a best-of-25 contest. A place in the quarter-finals is the prize, and given what unfolded in Sunday's second session, nothing can be taken for granted by either man. This is, after all, a rivalry that has produced some of the most compelling snooker of the modern era, and Higgins has demonstrated he still possesses every weapon required to turn this tie around.

How Higgins Turned the Match on Its Head

The numbers from O'Sullivan's first session told a story of near-total domination. He had led 6-2 heading into Sunday's play, and when that advantage stretched to five frames on multiple occasions during the second session, the assumption around the Crucible was that the formalities were merely being completed. Higgins, though, is a player who has spent three decades finding solutions in difficult positions, and he located his once again.

Frame 14 proved to be the turning point. Higgins failed to escape cleanly from a snooker during that frame, yet recovered sufficiently to claim it regardless, a moment that appeared to shift something in his mindset. He then produced a sequence of sustained potting to overhaul a 55-point deficit in the following frame, demonstrating exactly the kind of tenacity that has brought him four world titles of his own. What makes that kind of recovery particularly telling is that overhauling deficits of that size at the Crucible, where the long sessions amplify mental fatigue, requires a player to be thinking and executing clearly under conditions that have already been draining for some time. The final frame of the evening was tense and scrappy, with both players going in-off at critical moments, but it was Higgins who kept his nerve to close out a session that could prove decisive to the overall outcome of the tie.

From O'Sullivan's perspective, the manner of those closing frames will sting. Twice having five-frame leads and failing to extend them suggests there were passages of play where his own game fell short of his expected standard, and the frustration of that knuckle-rap on the cushion spoke to a player who knows this tie is no longer in his control in the way it appeared to be heading into Sunday.

Zhao Moves Closer to Cracking the Crucible Curse

While O'Sullivan and Higgins were battling through their second session, defending champion Zhao Xintong completed his second-round victory over compatriot Ding Junhui, winning 13-9 to book a quarter-final meeting with Shaun Murphy. It was a performance of considerable mental strength from the 29-year-old, who at times looked visibly nervous as he attempted to become the first first-time winner to retain the world title at the Crucible.

Zhao had taken a 9-7 lead overnight but the opening frame of Sunday's play ran to 46 minutes, was littered with errors from both players, and saw Ding temporarily close the gap to a single frame. That period of vulnerability could have unravelled Zhao's ambitions entirely, but he steadied himself and capitalised on a series of misses from Ding to gradually pull clear. A break of 108 in the penultimate frame settled the contest and demonstrated that when Zhao is finding his rhythm, his ball-striking remains exceptional. Beating Ding, a player of considerable Crucible pedigree who reached the final as recently as 2016, in any circumstances represents a notable achievement, and it is worth noting that Zhao did so having had to weather a spell where the match could quite plausibly have gone the other way.

Trump and Robertson Consolidate Their Positions

World number one Judd Trump endured a nervy passage during his second session against Iran's Hossein Vafaei before eventually reasserting his class. Having resumed at 4-4, Trump found himself trailing 7-6 as Vafaei, an aggressive and unpredictable opponent, seized the initiative in impressive fashion. What happened next illustrated why Trump occupies the top of the world rankings. A century break helped swing the momentum back decisively, and frame-clinching contributions of 74 and 94 followed as Trump closed out the session leading 9-7. The sequence mattered beyond the scoreline: converting pressure frames with those kinds of scores suggests Trump was not merely scraping through but beginning to impose his own tempo on the match. He will resume on Monday with a two-frame cushion and the sort of confidence that comes from having found a way through when the match was against him.

Neil Robertson's progress into the closing stages of his match with Chris Wakelin was assisted by a moment of controversy in the 14th frame. Wakelin appeared to be in a commanding position in that frame having potted a long red, only for referee Peggy Li to call a foul, having observed Wakelin feather the yellow ball in the process. Wakelin was visibly unhappy with the ruling, and Li called for a replay to confirm her decision before allowing it to stand. Robertson, four-time world champion and a player who has spent his career taking advantage of whatever opportunities arrive, responded by making 65 to take the frame. Further breaks of 65 and 101 followed to leave him leading 10-6 and on the verge of his first quarter-final appearance since 2021. Robertson's ability to perform at this level at the Crucible has occasionally been questioned by commentators who note his relative difficulties in Sheffield compared to his dominance on the European circuit; this week's form suggests that narrative may be in need of revision.

Tactical Reads Heading Into Monday's Conclusions

The O'Sullivan versus Higgins tie carries the most intrigue of all the second-round matches concluding on Monday. O'Sullivan needs just four frames from the remaining eight to advance, which on paper sounds comfortable enough. The complication is that Higgins closed Sunday's session at a gallop and will carry genuine belief that a further fightback is possible. The psychological damage of conceding a five-frame cushion twice over can linger, and O'Sullivan's visible frustration suggests he is aware his level has not been consistent enough to kill the match off.

For Higgins, the task is straightforward to identify if not to execute. He needs to win five of the eight remaining frames, continuing the form he showed from frame 14 onwards on Sunday. He has done more difficult things than this across a career that stretches back to the early 1990s, and the fact that he is still capable of reeling in deficits of 55 points suggests there is nothing wrong with the fundamentals of his game at this stage of the tournament.

Elsewhere, Trump will be the firm favourite to complete his expected progress against Vafaei, while Robertson appears likely to close out his match with Wakelin given a four-frame advantage with nine to play. The more intriguing subplot in that encounter may be whether Wakelin, still unhappy about the controversial foul decision, can find the composure to make a late statement. Monday at the Crucible promises a full schedule of compelling snooker across all four second-round ties concluding, and the game's great names appear on course to dominate the quarter-final draw as anticipated.

Sources: Match details, scores, and session information sourced from Sky Sports' coverage of the 2026 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, Sheffield.