Six out of the 17 days at the Crucible Theatre have come and gone, with the second-round lineup at the 2025 World Snooker Championship now known.
An entertaining opening to this year’s competition has resulted in plenty of standout victories from the heavy hitters but equally a few notable shocks.
The biggest among those materialised on the very first day in Sheffield with defending champion Kyren Wilson crashing out at the initial hurdle.
With all the last-32 ties finished, let’s take a look at how the round of 16 is shaping up at the 2025 World Snooker Championship.
Lei Peifan vs Zhao Xintong
Six of the record ten Chinese snooker players who were in the main draw have survived the first round of the venue stages.
At least one of those will advance to the quarter-finals with Lei Peifan entertaining Zhao Xintong in the last 16.
Lei produced a stirring fight back from 6-2 behind to inflict the Crucible Curse on Wilson on Saturday.
The Scottish Open champion will be regarded as the underdog again when he takes on Zhao, who some bookies rate as the third-favourite to win the whole thing.
Zhao may be competing as an amateur as he continues his comeback from a ban, but he is very much looking like the top-six ranked player he was before his suspension in 2023.
The 28 year-old thrashed 2024 runner-up Jak Jones 10-4 in the first round and, should his relentless scoring prowess continue, will take some stopping.
Chris Wakelin vs Mark Allen
Chris Wakelin was visibly shaking but managed to hold himself together to win a Crucible match for the first time in his career.
Beating someone of the calibre of Neil Robertson on the sport’s biggest stage is a fair reflection of how Wakelin’s career has taken a dramatic upward trajectory in the last couple of years.
In the last 16, the former Shoot Out champion will clash with Mark Allen, who produced a solid display to see off the challenge of Fan Zhengyi.
As is well documented, Allen has a disappointing record in Sheffield with only two semi-final appearances to his name.
The Northern Irishman came into the last couple of editions as one of the heavy favourites, but in 2025 his form has been lacking and it might aid his cause that he’s flying in under the radar on this occasion.
Allen boasts a 5-1 head-to-head record against Wakelin, with the pair exchanging victories in their two prior clashes from this season.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Pang Junxu
Ronnie O’Sullivan looked a bit tentative and rusty when playing his first few frames against Ali Carter upon making his much-awaited return to competitive action.
But by the end of his 10-4 defeat of the Captain, the Rocket was soaring high with four century breaks to his name and very much looking like a contender again.
O’Sullivan wasn’t properly tested, so it remains to be seen how he will fare when things get a bit hairy towards the end of a match.
But it would be a surprise if he didn’t at least reach the quarter-finals for what would be the fourth year on the spin.
Pang Junxu represents O’Sullivan’s next challenge with the 25 year-old qualifier prevailing from a gruelling all-Chinese clash with Zhang Anda.
Pang took advantage of sloppy mistakes from Zhang to secure a maiden Crucible victory, but he is unlikely to be afforded cheap opportunities like that against the seven-time champion.
Si Jiahui vs Ben Woollaston
Si Jiahui snapped a six-game losing streak on the main tour when he emerged with a 10-6 victory over David Gilbert earlier this week.
Despite being on the wrong end of that scoreline, the latter wasn’t particularly impressed with Si’s performance and thought he was there for the taking.
But the fact of the matter is the Wuhan Open runner-up lives to fight for another day, and as he proved in 2023 when reaching the semi-finals, he has the talent to spark into life.
Si would have been expecting to play Mark Selby next but will pleased to not have to face the opponent who beat him in both of the last ranking events on the calendar.
Selby was another big-name casualty of the first round, with the four-time world champion experiencing tip issues in 10-8 defeat to Ben Woollaston.
The latter is in uncharted territory now and will experience a best-of-25 competitive match over three sessions for the first time in his 20-year professional career.
For the full 2025 World Snooker Championship draw, results, and schedule, click here.
John Higgins vs Xiao Guodong
Considering his recent form, it’s a surprise that John Higgins is considered only the sixth favourite in the outright betting market.
A winner of two big ranking events in the last couple of months, an emotional Higgins fought his way past Joe O’Connor in the first round.
The Scot’s father-in-law suffered from a heart attack on the eve of this year’s event, which has obviously impacted his overall preparations.
Chasing a fifth World Snooker Championship title and a first since 2011, the 49 year-old will still be fancied to overcome his next opponent, however.
Xiao Guodong has had a brilliant breakthrough season during which he has won a ranking event, featured prominently at the latter stages of several events, and broken into the top 16 for the first time.
The Wuhan Open champion safely reached the last 16 with a 10-4 triumph against Matthew Selt, but Xiao lost to Higgins in both the Players and Tour Championships recently.
Hossein Vafaei vs Mark Williams
The predicted grudge match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter transpired to be a very friendly affair altogether, with the pair appearing to call a truce on their former squabbles.
It will be interesting, then, to see how the match between Mark Williams and Hossein Vafaei turns out.
There is a bit of needle between the duo that dates back to their last match against one another in the 2024 World Grand Prix.
Vafaei refused to shake the hand of Williams upon defeat – slamming his esteemed opponent’s reaction upon potting the winning ball – with Williams then labelling the Iranian as “pathetic”.
Both players emerged from tight first-round affairs, with Vafaei producing a four-ton display in ousting Barry Hawkins 10-9 and Williams taking the last three frames to deny Wu Yize 10-8.
Luca Brecel vs Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui won a World Snooker Championship match in the main draw for the first time since 2020 with a hard-fought 10-7 triumph against Zak Surety.
There has been plenty of Crucible anguish for Ding since he first competed at the iconic venue in 2007.
China’s finest-ever player, who ended a five-year ranking title drought with his success in this term’s International Championship, still craves the world crown that is lacking from his CV.
Ding will fancy his chances against Luca Brecel, with the Belgian Bullet down at a lowly 83% pot success rate during his 10-7 defeat of Ryan Day.
Brecel, who fought his way back from 5-1 down against the Welshman, has a gung-ho approach that has often suited Ding in the past.
Shaun Murphy vs Judd Trump
Saving the best for last, the match of the second round in Sheffield is undoubtedly between Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy.
In a repeat of the Shanghai Masters final from the start of the campaign, this duel pits the reigning UK champion and the reigning Masters champion against each other.
Both Trump and Murphy produced World Championship-winning form in the first round, tallying eight century breaks between them in respective 10-4 defeats of Zhou Yuelong and Daniel Wells.
The former’s five tons takes his total for the campaign up to 98, just two shy of the century of centuries milestone that will earn him a tidy £100,000 bonus.
Aside from their tight semi-final clash at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, Murphy has been on the receiving end of several hidings from Trump this term.
The Magician is definitely the underdog considering their most recent battle in Telford ended 6-0 in Trump’s favour, but if they can both reproduce their best standards, it promises to be a humdinger.
For the full 2025 World Snooker Championship draw, results, and schedule, click here.
Featured photo credit: WST
Ding will certainly fancy his chances as he’s 8-1 up on the h2h, although Brecel won their most recent meeting.
Si and Woollaston have never met outside the Championship League.