O'Sullivan hits three centuries on his way to victory
Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Stuart Bingham 10-5 in opening round
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Saturday, 18, Apr 2009 09:16
Ronnie O'Sullivan has begun the defence of his World Snooker Championship crown with a 10-5 victory over Stuart Bingham at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
The reigning champion - known as 'The Rocket' - hit three centuries, including a 140 in the second frame.
O'Sullivan trailed 3-2, but rallied to take a 7-3 lead. Bingham hit back with two frames of his own, with breaks of 84 and 100, but then the champion won three frames in which his opponent failed to register a score.
Breaks of 94, 100 and 97 sealed victory for O'Sullivan, who is looking to become the first player to retain the world title since Stephen Hendry in 1996.
The Rocket even came close to yet another 147 maximum break in the 10th frame, but missed the 10th black into the top left pocket.
Elsewhere, Englishmen Mark King and Rory McLeod will take a 3-3 match to its finale tomorrow - organisers hope. Their match in the first session had to be halted two frames earlier than scheduled because of its slow pace.
Stephen Hendry faces an uphill struggle against Welshman Mark Williams, losing 4-5 ahead of tomorrow's action, while former champion Graeme Dott is also trailing by the same margin to England player Barry Hawkins.
Meanwhile, Ali Carter - who along with O'Sullivan hit a 147 in last year's championship - currently leads Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene 3-1.
The opening day of the 2009 championship has come amid investigations by Police and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association into a UK Championship match between Jamie Burnett and Stephen Maguire in December.
Irregular betting patterns were recorded on Burnett's 9-3 defeat to Maguire in that competition.
The pair, who are due to meet in the first round at the Crucible this week, both deny any wrongdoing.