Ronnie O'Sullivan has started his World Snooker Championship in impressive fashion, securing a 10-1 victory over Wales' Jackson Page to cement his status as the favourite for this year's tournament.
While it was an emphatic victory from 'The Rocket', there were one or two awkward moments over the course of the match.
The first of them came in the sixth frame, with a cue ball unexpectedly taking flight after O'Sullivan's attempted pot on a red.
That moment when things work out a bit more ... aerial ... than you expected 🤨
(Ronnie O'Sullivan still potted the red, though.)#CazooWorldChampionship | @WeAreWST pic.twitter.com/jLO2yIpnaZ— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 24, 2024
However, that did not put off the seven-time world champion.
He would lead 8-1 at the end of last night's first session, going on to take the first two frames earlier today to complete a 10-1 victory.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has awkward encounter with snooker referee at The Crucible
While Ronnie O'Sullivan may been comfortably in control of this match, he made sure not to allow any mistakes from the snooker referee.
During the final frame of last night's session, at which point the Englishman led 7-1, there was an awkward moment with the official when he questioned the position of the cue ball on a re-spot.
After O'Sullivan failed to make contact with any balls after attempting to play his way out of a snooker, Page asked for the ball to be re-placed.
The referee did so, but Ronnie O'Sullivan would suggest that the official was well off with his placement of the ball on the table. This led to somewhat of an awkward exchange, although the players proved to be correct in his claim.
It made little difference in any case.
Ronnie O'Sullivan would go on to win that frame, as well as the match. He will take some stopping at the Crucible over the coming days, where he will also have the full backing of the fans in Sheffield.
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