Shaun Murphy believes Ronnie O’Sullivan is already showing “ominous” form the in defence of his title at the Betfair World Championship.

Barry Hearn found nothing to laugh at in 'Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em' as the BBC interrupted the closing stages of defending world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan’s first match back to show the 40-year-old sitcom.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has lodged a complaint with the BBC after it pulled the plug on coverage of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s opening Crucible match last night when victory was in sight.

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.

Ronnie O’Sullivan showed a little rust but it was largely superficial as he set about the defence of his Betfair World Championship title in impressive style today.

Ronnie O’Sullivan insisted he would be taking nothing for granted and enjoying the “adventure” today as he began the defence of his Betfair World Championship title.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed the warmth of his relationship with artist Damien Hirst was a major factor behind his decision to return to snooker after almost a year out.

Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin the defence of his Betfair World Championship title against Scotland’s Marcus Campbell.

John Higgins and defending champion Peter Ebdon both crashed out of the Bank of Beijing China Open in the first round today.

John Higgins made a shaky start to his Betfred.com World Championship title defence this morning but still took three of the opening four frames against Liang Wenbo.

Ireland's Mark Allen suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Ricky Walden in the first round of the China Open in Beijing today.

Ronnie O'Sullivan looked in fine form as he reached the last 16 of the 888 Welsh Open with a 4-1 win over Marco Fu today.

Ken Doherty has punished Liang Wenbo for his World Cup sartorial blunder with a 5-4 win at the Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo today.

World number one Mark Williams booked his place in the quarter-finals of the inaugural Australian Snooker Goldfields Open with a comfortable win over David Gilbert at Bendigo Stadium today.

World champion John Higgins admits he “needs to knuckle down” after his shock first-round elimination from the Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo today.

World champion John Higgins crashed out of the Australian Goldfields Open in Bendigo today.

Ronnie O'Sullivan's miserable run continued today as he was eliminated from the Bank of Beijing China Open at the first-round stage.

John Higgins battled past Nigel Bond today to seal his place in the second round of the Bank of Beijing China Open.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins were today handed tough-looking first-round draws for this year’s Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

Mark Selby gained a measure of revenge for his defeat to Mark Williams in last month's German Masters final as he knocked the Welshman out of the Partycasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Dublin last night.

Marcus Campbell came from behind to beat Stuart Bingham 4-3 in today’s last-16 clash at the Players Tour Championship Finals in Dublin to continue his good run of form.

Mark Williams cruised into the quarter-finals of the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Dublin with a 4-0 win over Anthony Hamilton.

Stephen Maguire has given up the chance to land a £60,000 (€69,063) jackpot this weekend to be present at the birth of his third child.

Former Crucible runner-up Matthew Stevens booked a return to the World Snooker Championship with a nail-biting 10-9 victory over Ireland’s Fergal O’Brien in a match decided on the final black.

Six-time winner Steve Davis tonight failed to qualify for the World Championship after he was thrashed in the final round of qualifying by Stephen Lee.

John Higgins admitted he was "all over the place" after returning to action for the first time since his father's death with a workmanlike 4-3 win over youngster Jack Lisowski today.

Veteran Nigel Bond proved himself a champion sprinter as he triumphed at the Snooker Shoot-Out in Blackpool tonight.

The WPBSA are to investigate yesterday's Caesarscasino.com Snooker Shoot-Out match between Jimmy Michie and Marcus Campbell because of suspicious betting patterns.

Ronnie O’Sullivan will need to be on his best behaviour when he returns for the conclusion of his opening match this afternoon at the Betfred.com World Championship.

Ronnie O’Sullivan was told to cut out the nonsense after he made a rude gesture during his opening match at the Betfred.com World Championship at the Crucible.

Marco Fu was involved in a tense tussle with qualifier Martin Gould as their first-round clash at the Betfred.com World Championship neared its conclusion.

Ken Doherty will play England's Mark Selby in the first round of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, it was announced today.

Stephen Hendry completed a remarkable turnaround, coming back from 4-0 down to seal a 5-4 win over Marcus Campbell in the second round of the Shanghai Masters.

Former world champion Ken Doherty wasted little time marching past India’s Aditya Mehta 5-0 in the qualifying round of the Shanghai Masters.

Former world champions Peter Ebdon and Mark Williams are through to the last-16 stage of the Honghe Industrial China Open.

World champion John Higgins produced a battling comeback to avoid a shock defeat at the Welsh Open tonight.

Ireland's Ken Doherty has suffered defeat to fellow Dubliner Michael Judge in his opening game of the Snooker Grand Prix.

Alan McManus maintained his encouraging start to the season when he began his Maplin UK Championship campaign in York today.

Ronnie O’Sullivan thrashed Stephen Hendry 5-0 in the Premier League semi-finals tonight – nine days after questioning his future in snooker.

Dubliner Michael Judge will play Marco Fu in the third round of the Totesport Grand Prix in Preston today.

PRESTON’S Ian McCulloch left a good share of his home crowd deflated last night despite achieving a brave victory to reach the last 16 of the Totesport Grand Prix.

Aussie bad-boy Quinten Hann swaps his boxing gloves for a snooker cue today as the Totesport Grand Prix enters its third day at Preston’s Guild Hall.

Stephen Hendry will need to pull off a comeback that would surpass any of his seven Embassy World Championship titles if he is to topple Ronnie O’Sullivan after being blitzed by the Rocket yesterday.

UNDERDOG Graeme Dott held his nerve under pressure to move to within touching distance of his first Embassy World Championship final.