Snooker results: Ronnie O'Sullivan takes command of his World Championship quarter-final with Luca Brecel

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.

Allen and Jones can't be split

Mark Allen and Jak 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.

Selby and Higgins all square

Mark Selby built a session in his image to draw level at 4-4 with John Higgins in their Crucible quarter-final.

Trailing 3-1, the four-time world champion conjured breaks of 70, 82 and 103 to square the match for the first time since he lost the opening frame on a re-spotted black.

It was an engrossing afternoon of jousting and jostling between two greats of the sport, one which had all been going Higgins' way until the player who beat him in the 2017 final did what he seems always to do.

No doubt it would've been Selby who left the arena happiest with his work, squeezing everything out of the session just as he had in the previous two rounds.

McGill battles back

Anthony McGill had spoken of the need to do just that if you're to succeed at the Crucible, and he too managed to pull level with Si Jiahui from a similarly precarious position.

Si's century in frame two prompted a run of dominance from the younger and less experienced player, who led 3-1 and then took the first frame back following the mid-session interval.

McGill dug in, however, and having managed just two notable breaks, still managed to collect four of the opening eight frames as the pair exited the stage at 4-4.

World Snooker Championship: Quarter-final playing schedule

• Scroll down further for round-by-round draws and full tournament schedule
• * denotes 'to a finish'

TUESDAY APRIL 25
Morning Session (10am)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

• Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2 Luca Brecel
• Mark Allen 4-4 Jak Jones

Afternoon Session (2.30pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

• Anthony McGill 4-4 Si Jiahui (Match 26)
• John Higgins 4-4 Mark Selby (Match 28)

Evening Session (7pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

• Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-6 Luca Brecel
• Mark Allen 8-8 Jak Jones

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26
Morning Session (10am)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

• Anthony McGill v Si Jiahui
• Mark Allen v Jak Jones *

Afternoon Session (2.30pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

• Ronnie O'Sullivan v Luca Brecel (Match 25) *
• John Higgins v Mark Selby

Evening Session (7pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 25 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport & BBC

• Anthony McGill v Si Jiahui *
• John Higgins v Mark Selby *

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