O'Sullivan pegged back by Lee

Ronnie O'Sullivan will be looking for a big improvement when he resumes his Embassy World Championship quarter-final clash with Stephen Lee.

The defending champion conceded the final three frames of the first session to tie the match at 4-4 overnight.

Many people expected the pair to race out of the blocks at a fast pace but the match began slowly as tactics dominated the opening two frames.

A break of 36 won O'Sullivan a scrappy first frame, before a more fluent knock of 90 doubled his advantage.

Lee controlled the third frame before missing the black. However, O'Sullivan left him a long pot into the corner and Lee made amends.

The fourth was another closely-contested affair, but O'Sullivan prevailed to take a 3-1 lead into the mid-session interval.

The 26-year-old was clearly unhappy with the way things had gone - but both players also struggled to find their best form after the break.

O'Sullivan stretched his lead to three frames with a 63 break, but a missed green in the next allowed Lee to pull one back.

Lee looked a picture of concentration in the seventh frame as he rattled in a break of 119 to reduce the deficit to one.

The last frame was another scrappy affair which Lee clinched to level.