Ronnie O’Sullivan dominates China’s He Guoqiang in the first round of the World Snooker Championship

Liam Bullen withdrew from the World Snooker Tour at the end of last season, but regained his tour card weeks later at Q School.

The 20-year-old from York is ranked 86th in the world and had to go through four qualifying rounds to make his Crucible debut.

Before the tournament began, he spoke of how, as a 12-year-old, he watched the 2018 final between Mark Williams and Huggins, and felt “blown away” by a chance encounter with the Scot in a Pizza Express.

But if he was feeling any nerves, Bolin did not show it and broke back 57, 63, 97 and 58, although he still found himself 4-5 down to fellow Englishman Chris Wakelin, who reached the quarter-finals last year.

Wakelin, who helped with breaks of 66 and 82, has a one-frame advantage with the match scheduled to finish on Wednesday from 10:00.

But Boulin can be pleased with the performance he put in and it was another bright spot for the young England players after 19-year-old Stan Moody gave 2024 champion Kyren Wilson a real scare before Monday’s 10-7 loss.