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Robertson seals seed record as 15 seeds advance to round two at Crucible
Neil Robertson defeated Pang Junxu 10-6 to help a record-equalling 15 seeded players reach the World Championship's second round. Hossein Vafaei defeated Si Jiahui 10-3 to become the last remaining qualifier, earning a last-16 match with Judd Trump. In the last-16, Shaun Murphy led Xiao Guodong 6-2 after the first session, while Mark Allen led Kyren Wilson 5-3; Robertson will face Chris Wakelin in a weekend last-16 tie.
Why It Matters
The results highlight the strong performance of top seeds at the Crucible and set up high-profile last-16 matchups that could shape the championship.
Timeline
5 Events
Robertson set to meet Wakelin in last-16; ties scheduled for weekend
April 23, 2026
Robertson’s next opponent in the last-16 is Chris Wakelin. The tie is scheduled to start on Saturday and finish on Monday, with the World Championship’s later rounds continuing over the weekend.
Allen leads Wilson 5-3 in last-16
April 23, 2026
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen held a 5-3 lead against England's Kyren Wilson after the first session of their last-16 contest. Wilson had trailed 5-0 before winning the next three frames with help from a 75 and a 50.
Murphy leads Xiao Guodong 6-2 in last-16
April 23, 2026
Shaun Murphy moved into a dominant 6-2 lead over Xiao Guodong in the first session of their last-16 match at the World Championship. The session featured breaks of 79, 103, 63 and 64 as Murphy built the advantage.
Vafaei defeats Si Jiahui to reach last 16; faces Judd Trump
April 23, 2026
Hossein Vafaei defeated Si Jiahui 10-3 to reach the last 16, becoming the tournament’s sole qualifier remaining. The 32nd-ranked player will duel world number one Judd Trump in the next round, after producing a sequence of breaks including 81, 61, 60, 105, 53, 78 and 68 to win nine of the last 12 frames.
Robertson defeats Pang Junxu to advance as seeds record is equalled
April 23, 2026
Neil Robertson, the fourth seed, defeated Pang Junxu 10-6 in the first round to help a record-equalling 15 seeded players progress to the second round at the 2026 World Championship. This left only one seed not through to round two.