"75 Sanjie" shines in the 2025 Snooker World Championships, and the three of them with 14 crowns in hand are expected to win more glory

On the 26th local time, the 2025 Snooker World Championship continued to start the second round of competition. Among them, seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is still online, temporarily leading Chinese player Pang Junxu 6:2 after the first stage of the second round. John Higgins battled Chinese player Xiao Guodong to the deciding game, winning 13-12 to reach the quarterfinals of the World Championships with Mark Williams.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (left), Mark Williams (center) and John Higgins are still doing well at the 2025 World Snooker Championship

The 50-year-old Williams, fellow 49-year-old O'Sullivan and Higgins have won 14 World Snooker Championships. Now each of them is continuing their journey again at Super Saturday at the Crucible Theatre and is expected to be in even more glory.

Welshman Williams defeated Iran's Hossein Vafi 13-10 to become the oldest player in 15 years to reach the quarterfinals of the World Snooker Championships, and Steve Davies once finished in the top eight at the 2010 World Championships at the age of 52. Williams said he hopes Higgins can join him in the next phase. After missing out on winning the match in the 23rd and 24th games, the Scottish wizards plucked up their courage in a late-night tiebreaker to defeat Xiao Guodong 13-12 to advance.

O'Sullivan is also expected to play alongside Williams and Higgins in the quarter-finals, as he took a 6-2 lead after the first stage of the second round. "The Rocket" aims to become the first man in modern history to win the World Championship eight times, and his second stage match against world No. 27 qualifier Pang Junxu will be played at 21:30 GMT on the 27th.

O'Sullivan won the last five games in the first round of this World Championships with a 10-4 victory over Ali Carter, and scored 58, 91, 50 and 63 points in a single stroke to win four consecutive games in the opening round of the second round. Pang Junxu scored 119 points in a single stroke in the fifth game, but this was the only time he broke through 50 points in a single stroke at this stage. He had a chance to fall behind only two games in the first period, but a mistake in the eighth game helped O'Sullivan take a 6-2 lead.

O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams, known as the "75 Three Heroes" in China, all joined the snooker professional tour in 1992, and 33 years later, they are still strong competitors on the biggest stage. With nine days left in the World Championships, they will once again compete for the trophy.