Rocket given a lift at Crucible as fans return

Ronnie O’sullivan admitted the return of fans spurred him into the second round of the Betfred World Championship.

The Rocket is gunning to level Scottish snooker legend Stephen Hendry on seven Crucible crowns.

And the world No. 2 kicked off his title defence with an impressive 10-4 victory over debutant Mark Joyce at the game’s Theatre of Dreams.

O’sullivan signed off in style with a trio of century breaks after a workmanlike first session.

And he said: “It helps having a crowd there. If there was no crowd maybe I’d have sunk even lower into my chair and thought ‘let’s get out of here as quick as I can’.

“It’s great having a crowd in because they force you to try a bit. “They’ve paid their money to come and watch and there’s no better feeling than giving them a good night out.”

O’sullivan booked his spot in the last 16 with breaks of 137, 124, 112, 70, 69, 63, 58 and 58.

Ronnie O’sullivan acknowledges the fans after his win Stephen Maguire will have to battle from behind to keep his title hopes alive. The Scot squandered a healthy 3-0 lead to finish his first session against qualifier Jamie Jones 5-4 behind.

Neil Robertson, the 2010 Crucible King, holds a commanding 6-3 overnight lead in his match against China’s Liang Wenbo.

Meanwhile, Covid protestors marred the opening day of this year’s 17-day marathon as they gathered outside the iconic venue as fans returned to sport for the first time this year.

The tournament has been picked as one of Government’s pilot events to help reintegrate fans to sporting venues.

But a group of protestors with placards highlighted their displeasure at fans entering the famous theatre.