Neil Robertson holds off Wu Yize to lead at World Snooker Championship, advantage Ronnie O’Sullivan going into evening

Neil Robertson battled his way to a 6-3 lead over Wu Yize in their first-round match at the World Championship after resisting a mid-session resurgence from the Chinese player.

Robertson led 3-0 and 4-1, but a century from Wu in the sixth frame saw the momentum shift towards the Crucible debutant.

Wu, 19, is the youngest player at the event and began to play with more freedom after Robertson’s 79 in frame five.

The Australian had made a century and had an early attempt at a 147 maximum break earlier in the match, as he backed up his comments to Eurosport that he had the “best preparation ever” in his career coming into Sheffield.

But, Wu made back-to-back 107s which brought him back to 4-3 and Robertson had a match on his hands.

A scrappy eighth frame went the way of the 2010 world champion, before he took the final frame of the session to give himself a three-frame advantage going into Sunday afternoon when the match concludes.

Earlier on Saturday, Ronnie O’Sullivan started his quest for a record eighth World Championship crown by also building a 6-3 lead over Pang Junxu in the opening session of their first-round match at the Crucible.

The world No. 1 arrived in Sheffield without a ranking title to his name this season, but he picked off his error-strewn opponent to leave him needing just four frames when the pair play to a finish from 19:00 BST later on Saturday.

Pang briefly defied his debutant status with a composed 50 break in the first frame but his challenge quickly unravelled. Although O’Sullivan under-hit his first pot of the tournament, he was soon motoring along and – after a brief breakdown on the colours – pinched the opener. Just 70 more and he would be world champion again.

The Chinese youngster was in again in the second frame but botched the simplest of blacks to invite O’Sullivan to the table. The Rocket looked to have the frame in the bag until an unfortunate kiss allowed Pang back in, but it only delayed him doubling his lead.

Pang was starting to miss with alarming regularity but he took his second long-range opportunity in the third frame to hint at improving fortunes. But it was O’Sullivan who got amongst the balls and a break of 61 was enough, even if Pang returned get some much-needed table time chasing five snookers.

“That’s more like it,” cried Joe Johnson on Eurosport commentary as Pang arrowed home a long red into the top pocket after O’Sullivan had missed an easy black. But his break ended after an aggressive shot into the middle pocket cannoned off the jaws, before another chance came and went when he missed with the rest. O’Sullivan compiled a marvellous 53 – the highlight an outrageous red from distance when hampered cueing – and it was suddenly 4-0 at the interval.

Pang had recovered from four frames down to see off 1997 world champion Ken Doherty in qualifying and he returned from the break with renewed vigour – until a tidy break of 56 imploded in two shots. First he failed to find the cluster of reds when rifling home a black, then, much more inexplicably, played a hopeless safety that left O’Sullivan with a brilliant opening. The seven-time champion duly snapped up the offering and it was 5-0.

Only two whitewashes have occurred in Crucible history and Pang was desperate to not make it a club for three. But if there was any hangover from the previous frame, it was not visible as he constructed a brilliant 133 total clearance, the first century of the match, to hint at the most unlikely of comebacks.

But his habit of playing two bad shots consecutively returned to haunt him in the seventh frame, when he snookered himself and then missed rolling up to the green to leave O’Sullivan with a free ball. “Never play a bad’un after a bad’un,” bemoaned Johnson, who was then aghast when Pang – presented with another opening – missed the final black off its spot. Although O’Sullivan went in-off on the blue, Pang shanked his long-range effort from distance as O’Sullivan returned to clean up for 6-1.

To his immense credit, Pang stayed tough. A rare drama-free knock of 83 saw him reduce the deficit to four, before two smart visits in the final frame of the session saw him cut the deficit to three frames and leave him with a glimmer of hope heading into the evening finale.

Coincidentally, Luca Brecel leads Ricky Walden 6-3 and Stuart Bingham is ahead of David Gilbert by the same scoreline.

Gilbert was 3-1 in front, before Bingham raised his game to win five consecutive frames after the mid-session interval.

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