O'Sullivan & Brecel one frame each from last eight

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Luca Brecel are in opposite halves of the World Championship draw so could only meet in the final

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Luca Brecel are both one frame away from making the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Snooker Championship as they hold 12-4 leads over Chinese duo Pang Junxu and Ding Junhui respectively.

O'Sullivan, 49, is aiming to become world champion for an eighth time for what would be a record in the modern era, while Brecel lifted the trophy at the Crucible two years ago.

Both men will be looking to clinch quick victories when their matches resume at 19:00 BST on Monday.

O'Sullivan led 6-2 after the first session, although qualifier Pang pulled two frames back following breaks of 87 and 62. But O'Sullivan quickly regained his form as he won the remaining six frames on Sunday, aided by runs of 79, 80, 105, 135 and 62.

Belgian Brecel produced one of the most remarkable sessions at the Crucible on Saturday evening. Having arrived at the venue only 25 minutes before play was due to start after flying on a private jet from his home country, he lost the opening frame before winning seven in a row with a sensational display of attacking snooker.

He continued where he had left off on Sunday.

Scores of 53, 75 and 56 helped him win four consecutive frames to leave the score at 11-1, although Ding showed good character to take three of the next four, ending with back-to-back centuries of 107 and 110.

Elsewhere, world number one Judd Trump holds a 10-6 lead over 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy in a match that saw Trump win £100,000 for reaching 100 centuries in a season.

'I'm so proud of myself,' says Zhao after win

Zhao Xintong's previous best run at the Crucible came in 2022 when he went out in the last 16

China's Zhao Xintong moved into the quarter-finals for the first time in his career thanks to a 13-10 win over Lei Peifan.

Leading 10-6 after the second session, 27-year-old Zhao looked on course for a maximum 147 in the opening frame of the day and potted nine reds and nine blacks before his break ended on 72.

He was 41-12 ahead in frame 20, only for Lei to win that and the next two frames as Lei, who beat 2024 world champion Kyren Wilson in round one, threatened a comeback.

But a break of 54 saw Zhao clinch victory to set up a quarter-final against England's Chris Wakelin, a player that has already eliminated 2010 world champion Neil Robertson and former world number one Mark Allen.

"I'm so happy, that's the first time into the quarter-finals and I'm so proud of myself," he said. "In the first round he [Lei] came back against Kyren Wilson so I knew I wasn't ready to win and I needed to be strong.

"I just want to go through the Crucible and I need to try my best and enjoy it as it is very nice, the crowd is nice and I want to stay longer. This is my first time to play Chris Wakelin, I know he is really good player."

In June 2023, Zhao, a former UK Championship winner, was one of 10 Chinese players to receive bans for their involvement in match-fixing.

He served a 20-month ban and has been the only player to return after he had not directly thrown a match but accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.

Zhao is officially classed as an amateur for this tournament, but had already ensured his return to the World Snooker Tour full-time next season.

In the day's other tie, China's Si Jiahui holds a 9-7 lead over England's Ben Woollaston, who defeated world number four Mark Selby in the opening round.

Si, a semi-finalist two years ago, began the session with a 5-3 lead and the two players alternated the frames as the Chinese player eventually managed to hold on to his two-frame lead.

Woollaston made the better breaks of the evening with a 100 in frame 13 and an 85 in frame 15, but Si snatched what could be a crucial 16th frame on the black to gain the advantage.

The match will be played to a finish on Monday from 13:00 BST with the winner to face either O'Sullivan or Pang in the quarter-finals.