It may not have been with the smooth brilliance that he displayed in winning the world title 12 months ago, but Ronnie O’Sullivan took another significant step towards retaining his crown on Sunday.
With Ali Carter, the man the Rocket beat in last year’s final, erasing an overnight 5-3 deficit to level at 7-7 it appeared as if O’Sullivan might succumb to the malaise which has afflicted so many seeded players at The Crucible.
Instead, breaks of 61 and 86 allowed the four-time champion to re-establish his advantage to 9-7 going into Monday night’s concluding session.
Weighing up his options: Ronnie O'Sullivan opened up a narrow lead against Ali Carter
In truth, Carter ought to be ahead in this match but errors at crucial moments have allowed the Rocket to accumulate frames with passages of fluency.
Trailing 6-5 and with O’Sullivan’s long potting and safety game both wobbling, a horrendous misjudgement by Carter on a safety shot returned the favour. Eight minutes and a 105 break later, O’Sullivan was back on track.
It is too early yet to say that the draw is opening up for the Rocket to prove that a year’s absence from snooker is no barrier to him maintaining his pre-eminence in the game, but with every session that he plays in Sheffield, the match sharpness will return and fortify his challenge.
While so many of the leading players have played poorly – a sign that the heavier schedule introduced by snooker supremo Barry Hearn to the sport requires careful planning instead of chasing every last ranking point – O’Sullivan may be a little rusty but he is at least wholly fresh.
Plenty to ponder: Ali Carter
Steve Davis, commentating for the BBC, suggested O'Sullivan 'looks like he's been struggling out there' and said it was 'great testament to his temperament' to be in front.
And the overriding sense inside the Crucible is that a fifth world title for O'Sullivan is very much on the cards.
His rivals know he will be hard to stop, with Shaun Murphy saying: 'I've had a really consistent year but when Ronnie's in the event it's hard to look past Ronnie.'
And Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, believes O'Sullivan has a crucial advantage as his rivals feel the toll of a long season.
'The likes of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Mark Allen have played almost 100 matches this season. That's quite a lot,' Doherty said.
Those big names have fallen but O'Sullivan remains on the prowl for the big prize.
Doherty told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'He's come into this tournament so fresh and he's a fit young man as well. That may play a small part in the whole of this World Championship.'
A host of low-ranked players remain in the tournament, with 21-year-old world No 40 Michael White through to the quarter-finals in the bottom half of the draw, along with Barry Hawkins, and Doherty is not discounting a shock winner of the title, likening the situation to the 1986 championship when long shot Joe Johnson triumphed.
'The bottom half is so open that we maybe could have a 'Joe Johnson year' this year, with someone coming completely from the field, a complete outsider, getting easily to the final at least,' Doherty said.
Ding Junhui had breaks of 59, 98, 74, 81 and a closing 103 in surging from 6-2 behind against Mark King to lead 9-7, with that match ending Monday afternoon.Ricky Walden stayed ahead of Robert Milkins in their all-English tussle, finishing the day 10-6 in front after getting the better of their exchanges over morning and evening sessions, pursuing the incentive of a quarter-final against qualifier White.