Ronnie O’Sullivan holds an overnight lead in the 2020 world championship final, but both he and Kyren Wilson know that snooker’s showpiece event is there for the taking on Sunday following a remarkable fightback from Wilson. O’Sullivan leads 10-7 after 17 frames of dramatic but fairly low-quality snooker given what both are capable of.
Leading 6-2 after an opening session in which there was just one century break and a litany of missed opportunities, a strong showing from the five-time world champion in Saturday’s evening session would have put him in complete control of the final, with Wilson struggling to cope in his first final and with spectators returned to the Crucible for the first time since the opening day.
But as the evening rolled on, O’Sullivan’s form – already sketchy by his own high standards – collapsed, and Wilson eventually settled and managed to take advantage. He won five of the final seven frames to haul himself back into contention.
Had O’Sullivan discovered his very best form the prospect of taking a commanding lead into the final day was well on the cards. But as O’Sullivan gesticulated over his lack of cue action with each frustrating miss, he began playing more and more erratically, affording Wilson an opening.
Breaks of 75, 80 and 106 – a rare moment of quality in an otherwise stop-start opening day’s play – helped O’Sullivan win six of the eight frames in the afternoon session, with Wilson struggling just hours on from his dramatic semi-final victory over Anthony McGill.
The trend looked set to continue into the evening, as O’Sullivan ground his way to the first two frames to lead 8-2, but a break of 92 from Wilson in the following frame swung the momentum. As O’Sullivan continued to toil, Wilson reeled off four frames in succession to haul himself back into contention.
O’Sullivanreplied with a break of 82, before a century from Wilson made it 9-7. O’Sullivan’s day was summed up best when, looking well-placed to claim the final frame in one visit and make it 10-7, he got a horrendous kick on a simple red. However, he regathered himself to close the frame out and take a three-frame lead into Sunday’s finale.
