Snooker: Favourites on course for second round

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Matthew Stevens, two of the leading contenders for the Embassy World Championship, put themselves on course to reach the second round when the tournament began in Sheffield today.

Title-holder O’Sullivan, aiming to overcome the hoodoo of first-time winners the year after their maiden Crucible victory, took a 6-3 lead over Scotland’s Drew Henry into tonight’s concluding session.