Rapid Rocket gets the ideal start in Sheffield

DEFENDING champion Ronnie O’Sullivan breezed past Crucible debutant Mark Joyce 10-4 as the World Championship got underway in Sheffield yesterday.

The Rocket rattled off three consecutive century breaks to finish with a flourish and get his tilt at a seventh title off to the perfect start. The six-time Crucible king is chasing Stephen Hendry’s record of seven world titles and five further 50-plus breaks hauled him into the second round in rapid time.

Stephen Maguire, however, faces an uphill battle to keep his hopes alive after trailing 5-4 against Welshman Jamie Clarke in a topsy-turvy first session.

The Glaswegian has endured a bumpy season on the World Snooker Tour and delivered another scrappy display against his lower-ranked opponent.

Maguire, the world No.8, struck the first-round clash’s only half-century break in the second frame as both players struggled for fluency on the hallowed baize.

The Scot, 40, has progressed past the third round of a ranking event just once this season – he reached the last four of the Welsh Open in February – and continued his inconsistent form in the prestigious snooker showpiece.

In front of a limited crowd returning to the 980-capacity venue, Maguire edged the first frame by 61 points to 45 before that break of 51 opened up a 2-0 advantage.

He then made it 3-0, but Clarke, ranked 78 places below Maguire, reduced the deficit in an uneventful fourth frame.

The 26-year-old then rattled off four frames on the spin after the mid-session interval to stun his opponent and leave him with work to do.

Maguire did pinch the final frame of the day by 47 points but knows he will need to up his game when he takes to the table for the match’s second session tonight.

Meanwhile, Neil Robertson leads Chinese star Liang Wenbo 6-3, while Martin Gould and reigning Masters champion Yan Bingtao are locked at four frames apiece in a tantalising tussle and David Gilbert holds a 4-1 lead over underdog Chris Wakelin.