In the first round of the 2024 Snooker Championship, the second stage of O'Sullivan and Page has not been played. In the first stage, O'Sullivan temporarily led with a score of 8-1, and if everything went well, he would advance to the second round without suspense. In the first stage of the competition between the two sides, O'Sullivan broke the historical record with a score of 100 strokes.
In the fifth game with Page, O'Sullivan scored 122 points in a single stroke, setting a new career record for breaking 100 strokes, and the data came to 1261 strokes, according to the current situation, it is expected to break the 1300 mark next season. In addition, this is also the 30th consecutive year that O'Sullivan has scored a single shot to break 100 in Crucible, and now Crucible has a total of 204 strokes, and he is the only player who has exceeded 200 strokes.
In the 1995 World Championships, O'Sullivan won the first game against Harold 10-3. In the fourth game of the game, O'Sullivan scored 112 points in a single stroke for the first time in Crucible. In the 30 years since, he has performed more than 100 times. At the same time that O'Sullivan broke 100, his opponent Page also scored 142 points in the seventh game, the highest score of the day. In addition, on the same day, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Jamie Jones and others also achieved a single stroke to break 100.
After the high probability of advancing to the second round, O'Sullivan's confidence was boosted, and he sent his wish to his opponents to challenge for the eighth crown of the World Championships. Although many people are questioning whether his 49-year-old "advanced age" can have enough physical strength to support the entire World Championships, O'Sullivan said that "as long as you feel young next to the pool table, then age is a number." So, can O'Sullivan get his wish?
In terms of rankings, O'Sullivan is the world No. 1, so he has the strength to challenge for the world championship, and he is in good form this season, achieving eight Masters titles. In addition, 8 of the 16 seeded players have been eliminated, which is a good thing for O'Sullivan, at least reducing the number of competitors, and the following matches can also appropriately reduce some physical strength and energy in order to cope with more difficult matches.
The seeded players who have now been eliminated are No. 1 seed and defending champion Brechel, No. 5 seed and four-time world champion Selby, No. 6 seed Williams, No. 7 seed Ding Junhui of China, No. 9 seed Ali Carter, No. 10 seed Wilson, No. 11 seed Zhang Anda and No. 15 seed Hawkins. Today, O'Sullivan is the highest-seeded player.
Selby and Williams are the favorites to win the tournament, but they ended the tournament early with a round of tours, and the remaining potential winner should be Trump, who has advanced to the round of 16. If O'Sullivan behaves normally or even plays extraordinarily, he is very likely to win the 8th crown of the World Championships and set a new historical record.