Ali Carter pots the first ball of the match. A beautiful long red that leaves him on the black.

He adds the seven extras but can’t get position and plays safe.

Kyren Wilson
2024 World Championship winner on BBC TV

On Ronnie O’Sullivan losing his temper and breaking his cue earlier in the year:

I think he was going through a spell where it just wasn’t quote happening for him. He was losing in a few tournaments early on for his very high expectations.

I’ve dealt with lot of pressure this year. He has it 10-fold. He’s had it for many years so I sympathise – maybe it just got to boiling point.

Sometimes a new cue can give you a whole new challenge, and maybe that’s something he needed.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has typically dominated against Ali Carter.

There is another match stat that goes into all the best-of-four matches on a snooker statistics website that has him down as winning 24 of their 27 matches as well.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible Theatre

We weren’t sure if he would be competing, with Ronnie O’Sullivan only confirming his appearance at the tournament late last week.

But it would not be a world championship without the Rocket, at the Crucible for a 33rd year in succession. What an ovation for him from the Sheffield crowd as he made his way into the arena.

Here come the players…big names everywhere. And a huge cheer for the biggest name of all…

Steve Davis
Six-time world champion on BBC Two

Apprehension. You don’t know how you are going to play. You can prepare on the practice table but as soon as the balls fly around against another great opponent you never know what will happen.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is currently prowling the back-stage corridor, where the players assemble prior to walking out.

We are about to have lift-off on his return to snooker.

Just what can we expect?

John Parrott
1991 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Live

People don’t know what they are going to get and that is what people are excited about.

Nobody has seen Ronnie O’Sullivan in a tournament, so we don’t know what we are going to get. You can lose the feeling of playing at a great venue like this very quickly. It is not a switch you can flick and you are in tournament mode.

But he came here in 2013, where he had not played for nearly an entire season and he won the whole tournament but in the first match Marcus Campbell had a lot of chances to knock him out.

He was a bit rusty and today he is playing Ali Carter who is tuned up and ready to go.

Ding Junhui is in action on the other table, where he leads Zak Surety.

Ding is among 10 Chinese players in the competition, bidding to become the first player from their country to win the title.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is eyeing a record eighth World Snooker Championship crown.

He is tied on seven titles with Stephen Hendry.

Mark Selby and John Higgins are both looking to win the title for a fifth time.

There is plenty of history when it comes to Ronnie O’Sullivan versus Ali Carter.

Formerly practice partners, their relationship appears to have soured over the years. They have met twice with the world title on the line and more recently played out a fiercely contested Masters final in 2024, with O’Sullivan victorious.

After that encounter, O’Sullivan called Carter “not a nice person” and “a nightmare” to play against after being criticised by his opponent.

O’Sullivan, who has claimed a record 41 ranking titles, has dominated their head-to-head meetings previously.

However, Carter did triumph in the second-round contest at the World Championship in April 2018, in another match with a bit of spice to it.

The pair barged shoulders during the 19th frame of Carter’s 13-9 second-round win at the Crucible. Referee Paul Collier told the players to get back to the game after words were exchanged between the pair.

O’Sullivan later said the incident was “nothing” – and blamed the media for trying to make a story out of it.

Jamie Broughton
BBC Radio 5 Live at Crucible Theatre

Ronnie O’Sullivan gave some very honest and revealing answers when we spoke before the tournament.

The game’s greatest ever star has not been happy with some technical aspects of his game over the past four years, despite winning a number of big titles during that time.

He explained that his reluctance to play on tour since January, when he deliberately broke his cue at an event in Leicester, was the result of that frustration. He also admitted that he had suffered stage fright and maybe even lost his bottle.

But make no mistake, he has been practising hard before the World Championship, including playing a few days with Barry Hawkins, and he will believe he can play his way in the tournament as he looks to contend for a record eighth title in the modern era.

O’Sullivan starts his campaign against Carter – and the two players do not like each other – so that could also add to the atmosphere.

Two-time Crucible finalist Ali Carter overcame a neck injury in qualifying to set up this blockbuster first-round tie against Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The 45-year-old said he would be off to get some physiotherapy after his 10-5 win over China’s He Guoqiang.

He put it down perhaps to being one of the drawbacks of the job with players often finding themselves in unusual positions down on shots and then struggling with their necks and back. Will he be fully recovered for today?

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible

A seven-time winner versus a two-time finalist.

There’s no doubt that Ronnie O’Sullivan versus Ali Carter was the standout tie from the draw.

There have been long queues outside with fans waiting to get into the arena, while the table two entertainment comes in the form of Ding Junhui versus Zak Surety, with the Chinese player 6-3 ahead.

Not long to go now before the second session gets under way.

Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan tells BBC Sport’s Jamie Broughton that he has been struggling on and off with nerves for the past two years.

O’Sullivan only confirmed his participation in the World Championship on Thursday and has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.

Seven-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan says he will overcome “stage fright” to take on Ali Carter in the first round of the World Snooker Championship.

O’Sullivan, 49, who only confirmed his participation on Thursday, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.

“Because it is the World Championship and the last tournament [of the season] I thought I need to try and break that cycle,” he told BBC Sport.

“Call it stage fright, I just haven’t had the [will] to go and compete. Call it lost my bottle. You sometimes lose your nerve. Just to come here is an achievement for me.

“The kind of nerves I have [been] feeling off and on for the last two years have not been good nerves. I have just been not wanting to go out there – sometimes struggling to even take my eyes off the floor. The confidence has been draining away, so it has not been a great place to be.”

Tuesday’s meeting with Carter, who at 18th in the world is the highest ranked qualifier, is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 Crucible finals, which were both won by ‘The Rocket’.

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There’s no doubting today’s main event – as Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on Ali Carter, with the first session beginning at 14:30 BST before the second session on Wednesday afternoon.

The match is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 finals, both of which were comfortably won by O’Sullivan, who also defeated Carter in the final of the Masters in 2024.

Carter, who had to win two qualifying matches to get to the Crucible, said on BBC Two: “I’ve had to do it the hard way. The game is always in a better place when Ronnie is competing and it’s a great opportunity for me to play on the big stage and that’s where I want to be.

“There’s no pressure on me and I have to go out and enjoy it and see what happens.”

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan has not played in a ranking tournament in 2025 and said: “Ali is a tremendous match player, capable of beating anybody. I don’t see it as a grudge match, I have really good matches with Ali and sometimes it is heat of the moment stuff.

“You have to say Ali is favourite considering I’ve not played much since December. I will give it my best and just see if I can make a game of it and that will be a victory in itself.”

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible

Time has been called on the match on table one. China’s Zhang Anda, the 12th seed, leads 5-3 against compatriot Pang Junxu.

Only eight of the nine frames could be completed with the arena now emptied before the afternoon fun, with Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ali Carter coming up next on table one.

That means an extra frame will be added to the Zhang v Pang second session at 10:00 BST on Wednesday.

If they can’t complete the match then the remaining frames will be played on Wednesday evening on whatever table comes free first.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport at the Crucible

Former world champion Shaun Murphy moved into a commanding 7-2 lead in his first-round tie against Crucible debutant Daniel Wells.

In a high-quality session, 42-year-old Murphy, aiming to win a second world title 20 years after his first success, won four frames in a row to take control.

He needs to win only three more frames when the match resumes on Wednesday morning (10:00 BST).

Murphy won the Masters in January and is looking to become the first player since Judd Trump in 2018-19 to win that and then the World Championship in the same season.

He made a fine start with a break of 64 but Welshman Wells, who had to battle through three qualifying rounds, showed his break-building ability with a clearance of 131.

But Murphy showed his class with breaks of 63, 100, 57 and 138 to move into a dominant 5-1 advantage.

Wells, 36, made his second century with an effort of 109 in frame seven, only for Murphy to instantly restore his four-frame lead with a run of 76. However, Wells had a chance to end the session well but missed a black off the spot with Murphy taking advantage with a break of 89.

Crucible debutant Daniel Wells is showing his break-building skills in his match with 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy.

Wells made a 131 clearance in frame two and has just recorded his second century with a run of 109 in frame seven.

It has been high-quality stuff as there has been a break of at least 50 in every frame, with Murphy 5-2 ahead, although Welshman Wells will be keen to win the final two frames of the session.

Over on table one, Pang Junxu has just compiled a break of 71, the best of the match, and trails fellow Chinese player Zhang Anda 3-2.