Ronnie O’Sullivan in control against China’s He Guoqiang in first round of World Snooker Championship

Liam Pullen left the World Snooker Tour at the end of last season but got his tour card back at Q School weeks later.

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

Before the tournament started, he told how he watched the 2018 final between Mark Williams and Higgins when he was 12 and how he was “star struck” by a chance meeting with the Scot at the Pizza Express.

But if he felt any jitters, Pullen didn’t show it, posting breaks of 57, 63, 97 and 58, but still found himself 4-5 down to fellow Brit Chris Wakelin, last year’s quarter-finalist.

Aided by breaks of 66 and 82, Wakelin has a one-frame advantage with the match to be played from 10:00 on Wednesday.

But Pullen can be pleased with his performance and it was another bright spot for young England players after 19-year-old Stan Moody gave 2024 champion Kyren Wilson a real scare before losing 10-7 on Monday.