THE ROCKET TAKES OFF
No stoppping Ronnie as he takes a giant stride towards last 16
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN announced himself at this year’s World Championship as he put one foot into the last 16.
The Rocket, 48, saw seven top seeds fall by the wayside before his bid for a record eighth Crucible crown even got underway in Sheffield.
But the world No.1 stamped his authority at the sport’s spiritual home as the old master slapped down young pretender Jackson Page (right) 8-1 in their opening session.
The title favourite’s stunning start came on a day when fellow contender Mark Allen also sunk his teeth into his own title tilt with a routine 10-6 victory over Robbie Williams.
There has been plenty of anticipation surrounding O’sullivan’s Crucible charge and it was well worth the wait.
The Chigwell ace is not only chasing the destiny of his life’s work in his challenge to eclipse Stephen Hendry’s haul of seven world titles.
But he is also gunning to complete a season Triple Crown for the first time in his illustrious career having already pocketed the UK Championship and Masters this season.
The question is how will he handle the pressure cooker of the Crucible cauldron?
The initial indication is good as he showed his class against the talented Welsh qualifier, who made a classy clearance of 142 in the only frame he won.
O’sullivan roared out of the blocks and never looked back as he produced a devastating display of 122, 81, 66, 56, 54 and 53 breaks to leave himself needing just two frames for victory this afternoon.
It left Hendry purring in the BBC commentary box.
He said: “It’s quite obvious there’s been an absolute gulf in class at the table this afternoon.
“It’s a job well done by the favourite.”
World No.3 Allen, who resumed 7-2 up, withstood a brief Williams fightback.
The Northern Irish potter eventually saw off the lowest-ranked player in the draw with a matchclinching break of 114.
He said: “After that, there’s lots of room for improvement.
At 7-2 all you can really do is lose. At 9-4 I was a bit flat, but when he came back to 9-6, I switched back on.
“You can’t avoid it. I know who’s got beat and the seeds that have lost. There’s no upsets these days because the standard is so good. That didn’t add any pressure.
“I don’t watch the draws too much. I know who I’m going to play, but you can’t change it. You just have to go out there and play.”
Chinese superstar Ding Junhui was dumped out 10-9 in a thrilling decider with Jack Lisowski.
And former finalist Kyren Wilson hammered Dominic Dale, the oldest qualifier since Steve Davis in 2010, 10-1.