Stiffer tests lie ahead but Ronnie O’Sullivan returned to snooker today with a victory and a performance that suggests he will take some stopping in the Betfair World Championship.

Neil Robertson swept into the quarter-finals of the Players Tour Championship Finals with a 4-1 win over Barry Hawkins in Galway last night.

Six-time champion Steve Davis has failed to qualify for the Betfred.com World Championship in Sheffield.

Jimmy White booked a first-round China Open clash with Judd Trump by coming through qualifying today,

It’s been Ireland’s best kept sporting secret but from tomorrow through to Sunday, snooker’s version of the Champions League final takes place in Galway — and over 40 million people will tune in to watch it.

RISING Irish snooker talent Davy Morris has finally qualified for a ranking tournament after three years as a professional.

SUPER-CONFIDENT Shaun Murphy was in record-breaking form at the Welsh Open yesterday.

Peter Ebdon’s hopes of finishing a season as world number one for the first time were dealt a severe blow when the UK champion collapsed to a 5-4 defeat, from 4-1 up, against Dave Harold at the Welsh Open.

Andrew Higginson did John Higgins a friendly favour on the Scot’s arrival in Newport but hopes to be firmly in the driving seat when they clash in the second round of the Welsh Open tonight.