ken doherty was part of the conversation around a tense day at the Crucible as Neil Robertson beat Pang Junxu 10-6 to reach the second round of the World Snooker Championship 2026 in Sheffield on Thursday ET. The result left Robertson through to the last 16, while Kyren Wilson fought back from 0-5 down to trail Mark Allen 3-5 after their first session. The day also confirmed that 15 of the 16 seeded players had won their first-round matches, with only Hossein Vafaei still standing from qualifying.
Robertson finishes the job at the Crucible
Neil Robertson’s victory over Pang Junxu was the headline result in the opening round. The Australian won 10-6, and the match added to a striking trend at this championship: 15 seeds advanced, matching a Crucible milestone that had only been reached twice before. The only qualifier left in the event is Hossein Vafaei of Iran, who defeated Si Jiahui 10-3 earlier on Thursday ET.
Robertson said after the match that he was trying to keep frames on his terms and avoid being pulled into long safety exchanges. He added that the players who have troubled him most at the Crucible over the years are strong safety players, saying he wants as few of those exchanges as possible and prefers the balls open so he can play his shots.
Ken Doherty on the pressure around Wilson v Allen
In the other match drawing attention, Kyren Wilson recovered from a slow start to close the gap on Mark Allen, ending the first session 3-5 behind after falling 0-5 down. The session shifted the mood dramatically after Wilson’s early struggle, but Allen still held the advantage heading into the next stage of the contest.
Stephen Hendry, speaking on Four, noted that Robertson’s result created pressure around the field because the seeds kept winning and the sense was growing that one player would eventually be the one to drop out. That context made the evening session even more intense, with Wilson and Allen carrying one of the day’s biggest storylines.
What the day means now
The immediate picture is clear: Robertson is into the last 16 and will face Chris Wakelin, with that match set to begin on Saturday ET and finish on Monday ET. The broader picture is even more striking, with the Crucible on the brink of an unusually clean sweep for the seeds after another strong day for the top names.
For now, the focus stays on the next session of Wilson against Allen and on whether the championship’s pattern of seeded dominance will continue. ken doherty remains part of the discussion because this is the kind of pressure-packed Crucible setting where every frame can change the tone of the event.
