World Snooker Championship 2016 Results: Sunday's Scores and Updated Schedule
Five-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan has made a typically assured start to his 2016 World Snooker Championship venture, opening up a three-frame lead over David Gilbert at the halfway point of their first-round match in Sheffield.
In the day's earlier action, Shaun Murphy was sent tumbling out of the tournament after he was defeated 10-8 by Anthony McGill in a thrilling match on Sunday.
Murphy, the 2005 winner, actually took a 5-4 lead into the morning session on Day 2 of the tournament. But McGill, who lost to the former champion at the quarter-final stage last year, played superbly in the second stanza to take a memorable triumph.
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It was also confirmed on the day legendary player Steve Davis had officially retired from the sport, per BBC Sport. The 58-year-old attempted to qualify for this year's tournament but lost out in the preliminary rounds; he won this tournament six times in total and is regarded as one of greatest to ever play the game.
Elsewhere in the session, Robbie Williams capitalised on a nervy Ricky Walden, taking a 5-4 lead at the break. Meanwhile in the afternoon, Mark Williams established a 7-2 advantage over Graeme Dott, Alan McManus finished off Stephen McGuire 10-7 and Sam Baird opened up a 5-4 advantage over Michael White.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the day and a recap of how the action has panned out to this point.
| Shaun Murphy | 8-10 | Anthony McGill |
| Ricky Walden | 4-5 | Robbie Williams |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6-3 | David Gilbert |
| Stephen Maguire | 7-10 | Alan McManus |
| Michael White | 4-5 | Sam Baird |
| Mark Williams | 7-2 | Graeme Dott |
Morning Recap
After reigning champion Stuart Bingham’s surprise elimination on Saturday, the man who finished runner-up last year, Murphy, is also out of the running for the title.
Credit must go to McGill, though, as he continues to impress here. The 25-year-old could have easily let this one get away from him with a one-frame deficit to make up; even more so when Murphy knocked in this excellent 105 to go 6-4 ahead:
But McGill kept composed on the big stage and slowly started to find his groove. The Scot wasn’t able to put together any massive breaks initially, but runs of 64, 85, 81 and 50 were sufficient in the next four frames, and suddenly, he was 8-6 ahead.
As Matt from ProSnookerBlog noted as he rattled off this sequence, he’s a player who seems tailored to excel on the biggest stage:
Murphy did cut the gap to one with a break of 88 in the very next frame, but the high-quality play continued to come from McGill, who re-established his two-point buffer with his second century break of the match.
Again, nerves could have easily gripped him when Murphy made it 9-8, especially with the prospect of a decider so close. However, a calm break of 97 sent McGill into Round 2 and last year’s runner-up packing.
“I'm obviously disappointed but having a child on the way has changed my perspective on things, it is just a game of snooker,” said Murphy afterwards, per BBC Sport. “My preparation could not have been better, my game was in better shape than last year. If Anthony can keep his composure, keep himself under wraps and play with enjoyment, he will take some stopping.”
On the other table, the action wasn’t quite to the same standard. Although Williams certainly won’t care, as he took a one-frame advantage at the interval against Walden.
A lot of big things were expected of Walden after his impressive form on the way to the final of the China Open. But his game did not look in good order as he got his campaign underway, allowing his opponent to capitalise on some very basic errors.
As Live Snooker noted, towards the end of the session, there was some particularly poor play from Walden, who will feel fortunate to only have a 5-4 deficit to make up:
Afternoon Recap
Those with tickets for the afternoon stanza got their money’s worth on Sunday, as O’Sullivan's quest for title No. 6 got underway.
The Rocket is the most entertaining player on the circuit, but he has blown hot and cold at the Crucible in recent seasons. Against Gilbert, O’Sullivan demonstrated just what good form he is in, ahead of another absorbing pursuit of silverware.
O’Sullivan came storming out the traps with breaks of 72, 84 to establish a 3-1 lead at the mid-session interval, sending the remaining members of the World Snooker fraternity a clear message that he was on his game.
Gilbert was unwilling to lie down, however, and returned from the break a determined man and notched the fifth frame before O’Sullivan bounced back after the following rack.
Thirty-four-year-old Gilbert returned with a frame-winning break of 125 before O’Sullivan moved three ahead by taking the remaining frames with the final action of their first-round clash.
O’Sullivan’s opponent was unwilling to accept defeat showed great promise to battle back, as detailed by LiveSnooker.
In the afternoon’s other action, Stephen Maguire was eliminated from the competition at the hands of Alex McManus after a 10-7 defeat.
The all-Scottish affair was settled by McManus, who took a 6-3 lead into the session, resulting in his compatriot Maguire was forced to exit the competition at the first-round stage for the four year in succession.
After dropping the opening frame of the session, Maguire won three consecutive frames to draw to within one of his experienced rival. However, McManus’ break-building came into fruition as he won three of the final four frames to seal progression into the next round.
Advancing saw another milestone added to the 43-year-old's career history, as Matt from ProSnookerBlog accounts:
Evening Recap
The evening session at the Crucible kicked off with 2002-03 Triple Crown champion Williams facing off against 2006 winner Dott, while White was drawn against Baird in the other matchup.
Williams—known as one of the best ever break builders in the game—was in stunning form in his first match of the tournament as he stormed into a 7-2 lead over Dott.
The Welshman has struggled for form in the build-up to the event but showed no signs concern and now needs just three frames in tomorrow’s decider to secure a place in the last 16.
Dott won the opening frame with a break of 58 but would go on to lose the next five consecutive frames as left-hander Williams began to rack up significant breaks.
Champion ten years previous, Dott pulled one frame back before Williams reaffirmed his status by taking the next two before the session closure.
Williams now appears to have one foot in the next stage of the competition, as confirmed by World of Snooker.
Meanwhile on the other table, qualifier Baird squeezed into a one frame lead over his 15th seed opponent.
White looked to be mounting a charge when he recorded a top break of 86 to move 3-2 ahead but he was unable to add to his momentum.
Baird bounced back by taking three of the next four frames on offer, including a stylish 108 break to take a slim overnight advantage into tomorrow’s evening decider.
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