World Championship Day 1

Ronnie O’Sullivan, the defending champion and overwhelming favourite for this year’s title, successfully negotiated his first round match as he beat Robin Hull 10-4. A strong first session saw the five times World Champion come out with a 7-2 advantage including a top run of 124, a scoreline which may have flattered him a little. The Rocket nicked the tenth on the final black but Finland’s Hull dug in and drew two back with breaks of 52 and 68. However O’Sullivan dominated the next two to progress into the last 16.

Dangerous qualifier Ryan Day enjoyed a devastating five frame spell as he leads Stephen Maguire 6-3 overnight. Maguire was 2-1 up but breaks of 130, 65 and 61 put the Welshman 6-2 ahead however Maguire stopped the rot by taking the ninth. They resume Sunday evening.

Another qualifier to have ruffled the feathers of a seeded player on Saturday is Jamie Cope who leads Shaun Murphy 5-4 after their first session. After sharing the first four frames, Haikou World Open winner Murphy went 4-2 ahead with runs of 87 and 70. But it was Stoke-on-Trent’s Cope who finished the better, winning the last three frames of the session to lead overnight. They also conclude on Sunday night.

Ali Carter holds a slender 5-4 lead over Chinese qualifier Xiao Guodong who is a Crucible debutant this year. Carter settled the quicker and led 4-1 but Xiao hit back with runs of 59 and 73 before drawing level by winning the eighth after Carter went in-off on the final black. But 2008 finalist Carter recovered by winning the last frame of the session to lead 5-4. They finish on Monday morning.

Stuart Bingham also leads his first round match 5-4 over 2007 World Champion Ken Doherty. Ballrun Bingham started well by winning the first three on the bounce but Doherty stopped hit back with a 6 to take the fourth. The next four were shared but Ken took the final frame of the session to trail by just one. They re-commence at 10am on Sunday.