World Snooker Championship LIVE: Latest scores and results as Ronnie O’Sullivan shocked by Luca Brecel

Ronnie O’Sullivan is back in action today at the World Snooker Championship but he trails Belgian Luca Brecel in their quarter-final at the Crucible Theatre.

O’Sullivan was looking to win an eighth world title – an achievement unprecedented in the modern era – but utterly collapsed in a tepid showing against the ninth-seed Brecel, who took full advantage by rattling off seven frames in a row. The Belgian Bullet will play either Scotland’s Anthony McGill or the hugely impressive 20-year-old Chinese debutant Si Juahui in the semi-finals.

Across the Crucible floor, two four-time champions are locked in an entertaining encounter. John Higgins stormed into a 4-1 lead over Mark Selby but the second seed roared back to set up a well-poised match, with the winner to face the in-form Mark Allen, who saw off Welsh debutant Jak Jones 13-10 to reach the semi-finals.

Follow all the live scores and results from the Crucible Theatre with our live blog, below:

World Snooker Championship 2023

• World Championship quarter-finals resume at the Crucible Theatre

• Result: Ronnie O’Sullivan shocked 10-13 by Luca Brecel

• Latest score: John Higgins 4-6 (25) Mark Selby

• Continues tonight: Anthony McGill 8-8 (25) Si Jiahui

• Result: Mark Allen wins 13-10 to see off Jak Jones

World Snooker Championship – result: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-13 (25) Luca Brecel

16:21 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brecel has done it! A fantastic break clinches his seventh successive frame to knock out the great Ronnie O’Sullivan. What a shock.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-12 (25) Luca Brecel

16:19 , Lawrence Ostlere

After some impressive pots and ambitious positional play, Brecel has got the cue ball under control among some very enticing reds. The black is out of commission on the left side of the table so he is making do with blue and pink. This is excellent break-building by the Belgian.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-12 (25) Luca Brecel

16:16 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brecel rolls in an easy red, then powers in the green and works the cue ball off two cushions to get on the next red. Confident stuff. He is needing to do a bit of work here to turn this into a frame-winning opportunity. Has O’Sullivan played his last snooker of this year’s championship?

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-12 (25) Luca Brecel

16:13 , Lawrence Ostlere

So here we go then – Ronnie O’Sullivan is fighting for his place in the World Championship. He immediately slams home a long red and he’s on the pink... but it bounces off the jaws!

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-12 (25) Luca Brecel

16:11 , Lawrence Ostlere

Luca Brecel doesn’t make it to a century but he does enough to clinch the frame. That’s six in a row, and he’s on the verge of the semi-finals – he needs only one more to knock out the seven-time champion.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-11 (25) Luca Brecel

16:08 , Lawrence Ostlere

This feels like a critical frame in this World Championship. Brecel has got himself in amongst the balls once more and has quickly racked up a half-century. If he can finish the job here, O’Sullivan will need to win all three of the final frames to reach the semi-finals.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-11 (25) Luca Brecel

16:02 , Lawrence Ostlere

Luca Brecel knocks off a break of 61 before letting his opponent back to the table, but O’Sullivan makes a bizarre mistake which ends with the cue ball rolling into the middle pocket. Brecel pots another red and it’s all over – he leads 11-10, and he needs only two more frames to progress to the semi-finals. This is an extraordinary collapse by the reigning champion.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: John Higgins 4-6 (25) Mark Selby

15:56 , Lawrence Ostlere

On the other side of the room, Selby and Higgins are engaged in an almighty battle to win this 11th frame. Selby is 23 points ahead with one red remaining, and he’s just played an excellent snooker to leave Higgins in a quandary.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-10 (25) Luca Brecel

15:53 , Lawrence Ostlere

O Sullivan and Brecel are back out on the Crucible floor after their interval.

World Snooker Championship: Mark Allen through to semi-finals

15:46 , Lawrence Ostlere

Here’s Mark Allen reflecting on a hard-fought quarter-final win over Jak Jones earlier today: “Experience got me through.”

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-10 (25) Luca Brecel

15:36 , Lawrence Ostlere

What a phenomenal mini-session this has been by the Belgian Bullet. Luca Brecel rattles of all four frames and he reaches the mid-session interval at 10-10.

O’Sullivan is certainly off his game but Brecel has still needed to be on his to capitalise, and he’s done so brilliantly. He has the momentum and might even be the favourite to reach the semi-finals right now. O’Sullivan must now find a way to gather himself during the break.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: John Higgins 4-6 (25) Mark Selby

15:30 , Lawrence Ostlere

Mark Selby needs a couple of visits this time but he’s put another frame on the board – that’s five in a row – to lead 6-4 against fellow four-time champion Higgins.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9 (25) Luca Brecel

15:23 , Lawrence Ostlere

Brecel gets over the line and all of a sudden he’s within a frame of O’Sullivan, who looks totally out of sorts. If ever someone was going to pull off a comeback against the seven-time champion, it’s surely today.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-8 (25) Luca Brecel

15:16 , Lawrence Ostlere

Make no mistake, Ronnie O’Sullivan is a long way from the top of his game, and his drop off from the previous two rounds is alarming. Here, wtih 10 points on the board, he misses a mid-range red which rattles in the jaws, and the seven-time champion dumps his head on the table in frustration.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: John Higgins 4-5 (25) Mark Selby

15:12 , Lawrence Ostlere

A big moment at the start of this session, as Higgins misses a relatively straightforward red to the middle while 52 points ahead, allowing Selby to come to the table, who clears up to steal it.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-8 (25) Luca Brecel

15:06 , Lawrence Ostlere

Another sloppy mistake by O’Sullivan, missing a routine black off the spot, lets Brecel in and the Belgian mops up with a beautiful century break full of flow and composure, to reduce the gap to two frames.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: John Higgins 4-4 (25) Mark Selby

14:58 , Lawrence Ostlere

Over on the other table, John Higgins has taken command of the first frame of the session against Mark Selby and is closing on the frame.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-7 (25) Luca Brecel

14:55 , Lawrence Ostlere

OK, so this time he has got away with it. O’Sullivan misses an awkward red down the rail and Brecel gets back to the table, sweeping up the rest of the balls to reduce the deficit.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-6 (25) Luca Brecel

14:50 , Lawrence Ostlere

O’Sullivan’s break doesn’t last long – on 29 he makes an uncharacteristic misjudgement as the red he’s trying to pot clips another red and rolls wide of the pocket. Brecel is back to the table and he now has a good chance to make a frame-winning contribution... but he misses a straightforward black! Oh dear. You cannot do that against O’Sullivan and expect to get away with it.

World Snooker Championship – live scores: Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-6 (25) Luca Brecel

14:46 , Lawrence Ostlere

O’Sullivan is immediately in amongst the balls and he plays a deep screw after potting a red into the green pocket to get back down around the black. He’s well placed to quickly add another frame to his lead.

World Snooker Championship – live scores

14:36 , Lawrence Ostlere

The players are waiting in the wings at the Crucible Theatre, about to emerge for the afternoon session. Mark Selby is having a chat with Luca Brecel, while O’Sullivan stalks the corridor.

World Snooker Championship: Quarter-finals resume

14:29 , Lawrence Ostlere

So, up next is the afternoon session. Here is where these two quarter-finals stand:

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-6 (25) Luca Brecel

John Higgins 4-4 (25) Mark Selby

Anthony McGill 8-8 (25) Si Jiahui

14:26 , Lawrence Ostlere

Meanwhile Si Jiahui and Anthony McGill remain evenly matched and finish their early session at eight frames apiece. The pair will return this evening to finish their first-to-13 quarter-final.

Result: Mark Allen knocks out Jak Jones to reach semi-finals

14:24 , Lawrence Ostlere

Mark Allen has done it, seeing off the Welsh debutant Jak Jones to reach the last four after racking up three frames in a row to clinch the win. He will meet either John Higgins or Mark Selby in the semi-finals.

Snooker needs Ronnie O’Sullivan’s chaotic genius more than ever

14:15 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ronnie O’Sullivan can cement his legacy as the game’s greatest player with a record eighth World Championship title over the next two weeks – a story snooker badly needs right now.

A preview of O’Sullivan’s quest to win title No 8:

Snooker needs Ronnie O’Sullivan’s chaotic genius more than ever

Video: Just Stop Oil protester halts play

14:03 , Lawrence Ostlere

A look back at last week and what an extraoardinary moment this was:

What was the snooker protest about? Video shows Just Stop Oil incident

Si Jiahui continues dream debut at the Crucible

13:52 , Lawrence Ostlere

Amid the betting scandal there is at least some positive news for the Chinese arm of the sport, with the impressive Crucible debut of 20-year-old Si Jiahui.

The world No 80 is the lowest ranked player left in the tournament but has already dispatched a former world champion in Shaun Murphy in a nerve-shredding deciding frame, before seeing off the seventh-seed Robert Milkins with relative ease.

Si is locked at 6-6 with the Scot Anthony McGill, and they will resume their battle this evening.

Chinese betting scandal hearing begins

13:37 , Lawrence Ostlere

A reminder that in the background to the World Snooker Championship, there is an important hearing going on relating to the Chinese betting scandal.

Snooker’s biggest match-fixing inquiry got under way on Monday, coinciding with the start of the second week of the Crucible tournament.

The independent disciplinary hearing, chaired by Ian Mill KC, is expected to last around two weeks and could result in lengthy bans for those found guilty.

Here is all you need to know:

What is snooker’s Chinese betting scandal?

Report: Selby fights back to set up mouthwatering fight with Higgins

13:28 , Lawrence Ostlere

And here’s what happened yesterday between two four-time world champions in a fascinating contest which continues this afternoon:

Mark Selby racked up his 99th Crucible century as he hit back from a 4-1 deficit to earn a share of the opening session of his semi-final against fellow former winner John Higgins.

A series of uncharacteristic errors from Selby helped Higgins move into a commanding position but the Leicester man benefited from a fluked red midway through a break of 70 that helped him claim his second frame of the day.

Selby followed up with an 82 then rounded off an intriguing session with a clearance to black of 103 to ensure the pair will resume on Wednesday at 4-4.

Report: Allen and Jones in close quarter-final contest

13:19 , Lawrence Ostlere

One quarter-final that continued this morning and will pause now until tomorrow is the contest between No3-seed Mark Allen and Jak Jones, the 28-year-old Welshman making his first appearance at the Crucible:

Allen and Jones remain locked together after a gruelling second session of their quarter-final clash.

Tied at 4-4 after the opening session, the highlight of which was a 137 from Allen in the third frame of the match, neither player could seize the initiative in what became an increasingly pressure-filled affair. After losing the first frame of the evening, Allen, despite looking far from his best, reeled off three in a row to take command, only to fail to capitalise on further opportunities and allow Jones to dredge his way back to 7-7.

Allen broke down on a break of 53 in the penultimate frame, a fluked red teeing Jones up for a steady 63 clearance, but the Ulsterman responded with a gritty 61 to make it 8-8 overnight, and this morning the pair shared two frames each to take a 10-10 score into tomorrow’s final session, with the first to 16 reaching the semi-finals.

Report: Out-of-sorts O’Sullivan takes lead against dangerous Brecel

13:05 , Lawrence Ostlere

While we wait for the afternoon session, here’s a reminder of what happened yesterday between the reigning champion and his Belgian challenger:

Ronnie O’Sullivan repelled a fightback from Luca Brecel to move three frames away from a place in the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

Despite looking far from his best over the majority of the opening two sessions of their last eight clash, O’Sullivan preserved his early four-frame lead and will take a 10-6 advantage into Wednesday afternoon’s concluding session. Twice Brecel pounced on uncharacteristic errors by the seven-time champion to haul himself back within two frames of levelling the match, only for lapses of concentration to prove his own worst enemy as O’Sullivan pulled away again.

The tournament favourite had struggled to rediscover the form that had swept him through his second round match against Hossein Vafaei with a session to spare, complaining that “it’s a hard game today” as he laboured through a scrappy fourth frame of their opening session.

O’Sullivan also thumped his leg in anger after missing a black in the seventh frame, but still managed to overhaul a 2-1 deficit and reel off five in row to take a convincing 6-2 lead ahead of their evening resumption.

The 28-year-old Brecel made a scorching start to the evening session as he responded to an early O’Sullivan miss with a break of 128 to reduce the deficit.

When O’Sullivan missed a rare black off its spot in the next, Brecel sensed a real chance to pull back in contention and a cool clearance of 33 took him firmly back into the contest. But it was a position from which Brecel would singularly fail to capitalise, running out of position when he got the first chance in the next, then labouring through a disjointed 12th frame as O’Sullivan restored his four-frame lead at 8-4.

Once again the momentum swung back in Brecel’s direction, as consecutive breaks of 58 and a dazzling 81 took the Belgian back within two frames, but his raw talent could not disguise an inconsistency in his game that was to cost him dear. A missed red to the middle blew Brecel’s hopes of capping another comeback, and O’Sullivan will count himself fortunate to have emerged unscathed from the evening’s action after he fought through the final two frames of the session to emerge unscathed.

Today’s snooker schedule

12:55 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ronnie O’Sullivan is back in action this afternoon, looking to potentially close out his match against Luca Brecel, while John Higgins and Mark Selby go toe to toe.

From 2:30pm

Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-6 Luca Brecel

John Higgins 4-4 Mark Selby

From 7pm

Anthony McGill 6-6 Si Jiahui

John Higgins v Mark Selby

World Snooker Championship – latest scores

12:31 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ronnie O’Sullivan is back in action today at the World Snooker Championship as he leads Belgian Luca Brecel in their quarter-final at the Crucible Theatre.

O’Sullivan is looking to win an eighth world title – an achievement unprecedented in the modern era – and he is well placed to move into the final four after establishing an early lead over the ninth-seed Brecel. The winner will play either Scotland’s Anthony McGill or the hugely impressive 20-year-old Chinese debutant Si Juahui in the semi-finals.

Across the Crucible floor, two four-time champions are locked in an entertaining encounter. John Higgins stormed into a 4-1 lead over Mark Selby but the second seed roared back to set up a well-poised match, with the winner to face either the in-form Mark Allen or the Welsh debutant Jak Jones.

World Snooker Championship – latest scores

12:27 , Lawrence Ostlere

Follow all the latest from the World Snooker Championship.