Defending Betfair World Snooker Championship champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is looking the strong favourite to reach the quarter-finals after taking a 9-7 lead over Ali Carter. Ding Junhui is also looking strong to progress, having come from 6-2 down overnight to lead Mark King 9-7.

World Snooker Championship 2013 - O'Sullivan rockets to lead Carter overnight

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Ronnie O'Sullivan has been absent from the tour in recent months, but coming in to the defense of his Betfair World Snooker Championship title at the Crucible he looks to be as sharp as ever as he currently holds a 9-7 lead over Ali Carter in their second-round clash.

O'Sullivan won both of his previous two world titles by beating Carter in those finals and to this day the Captain has yet to beat the Rocket in a major ranking event on the tour.

The 5-3 lead that the four-times world champion established in the first session yesterday was extended to 6-3 with a smooth break of 86 in the first frame of the afternoon.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Carter showed the form that took him to the German Masters title in the next two frames, making runs of 44, 73 to win the 10th and 87 in the 11th to keep in touch before O'Sullivan made his second ton of the match (a 105) to go two clear again at 7-5. 

Once again it was Carter that responded strongly, nicking the next two frames before O'Sullivan hit straight back with 73 and a well held 85 to ensure he would still keep his two frame cushion going in to tomorrow's final session, 9-7.

The winner of that match will face another tough Englishman in the quarterfinals as Stuart Bingham & Mark Davis are currently locked in a fiercly contested encounter.

Neither players have made it past the second-round at the Crucible and neither of them seem to be able to pull away from each other, as they finished 4-4 in the first session and currently sit 8-8 overnight. Try to a pick a winner there!

PTC Grand Finals winner Ding Junhui will no doubt be thrilled with his day's work as he fought from 6-2 down to win seven out of the eight available frames in the second session to establish a 9-7 lead over Mark King.

Ding Junhui

King, who has reached the second round at the Crucible multiple times in his long career, just couldn't maintain the focus and the intensity that helped him in the first session. Chinese no.1 Ding dominated scoring and made runs of 59. 98, 74, 81 and an awesome 103 in the last frame, ensuring he only needs four frames more to progress this week.

Ricky Walden & Robert Milkins are also battling it out for their debut place in the quarter-finals, and it's Wuxi Classic champion Walden that looks to be the most likely to make it through as he holds a 10-6 lead.

Despite Gloucester's Milkins making two centuries, Walden held a 5-3 lead after the first session and won a further five out of the evening's eight frames to go only three away from quarter-final clash with Michael White, who as well is making his debut appearance at this stage of the championship.

Today's Betfair World Snooker Championship report was sponsored by PJN SPORTS, the UK's number 1 supplier for snooker and pool equipment. Visit them at www.pjnsports.co.uk for all the latest deals and offers.