Rocket rallies after disastrous start gives long-shot Dott cause for hope

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN overcame an horrendous start to move into a 9-7 lead at the half-way stage of his Embassy World Championship final with rank outsider Graeme Dott at The Crucible Theatre last night.

O'Sullivan had been stunned to find himself trailing 5-0 at one juncture to Dott, who was a 200-1 long shot at the start of the tournament.

But The Rocket gradually began to impose himself on his 26-year-old opponent, who had come close to quitting the game in January after smashing his cue in frustration at his lack of success.

O'Sullivan won the final three frames of the opening session and then edged ahead with a 6-2 scoreline in his favour when the players returned to the table in the evening.

Dott will rue missed opportunities which should have left him at least on level terms with the 2001 champion.

But the initial stages were scarcely believable as O'Sullivan was kept off the table by a superb display of potting.

Dott has recruited the services of O'Sullivan's former coach Derek Hill during the tournament. He would have been impressed as Dott put together breaks of 71, 77, 64 and 60 and O'Sullivan failed to pot a ball.

Only after that onslaught did O'Sullivan show the kind of potting that had demolished Stephen Hendry 17-4 in the semi-final. A break of 100 in frame six stopped the rot as O'Sullivan claimed his 13th century of the fortnight, only three short of the 2002 record of 16 by Hendry.

The Rocket continued his fightback by taking three of the four frames before the mid-session interval when play resumed.

Runs of 56 and 30 secured frame seven before Dott ended a four-frame losing streak in the next after an initial 33.

Frame 11 could prove pivotal in the final context, with Dott missing several chances to re-establish a three-frame advantage.

The final frame before the break was more clear-cut, with O'Sullivan's 78 in just six-and-a-half minutes hauling him back on level terms.

But Dott was back in front after frame 13 with a rapid 86 after O'Sullivan had attempted a long red with no apparent thought of safety.

Dott was beginning to regret missed opportunities and it was the same scenario in frame 14. He moved onto 46 before breaking down, saw O'Sullivan respond with 56 and then snookered himself on the final green after potting the yellow. He managed to escape from the snooker but O'Sullivan was left an easy pot to level the match and he went ahead in frame 15.

Even a scoreboard failure did not put him off as modest runs of 34 and 33 proved sufficient.

It was a similar scenario in the next with a 33 and 36 enough for O'Sullivan before Dott conceded although he is still very much in the hunt for the title and the £250,000 first prize.