Rocket not over the moon

Ronnie O’Sullivan had 169,000 reasons to be cheerful in Sheffield last night but the ‘Rocket’ was not exactly over the moon.

O’Sullivan compiled the sixth maximum break of his career against Hong Kong’s Marco Fu in frame seven of the opening session to their first round clash.

Providing no player emulates his 147 clearance in the remaining 13 days of the tournament, the world number one is entitled to £147,000 (€211,000) plus a £22,000 (€32,000) high break prize.

What O’Sullivan really hopes is that his six minutes 30 seconds break does not come in a losing effort against the former Grand Prix finalist.

Despite becoming the first player to make two maximums in the final stages of the world championship, the 27-year-old from Chigwell resumes this afternoon trailing Fu 6-3.

It is a surprise scoreline given that O’Sullivan has been such a firm favourite to lift the trophy on May 5.

And Fu certainly has the game and the temperament to attain the four frames he requires to cause an amazing upset.

O’Sullivan was in no mood to discuss his latest 147 and slipped away into the night to leave his rivals leading the tributes to a player once described by defending champion Peter Ebdon as “snooker’s equivalent of Mozart”.

John Higgins, a 10-7 winner over British Open finalist Ian McCulloch, said: “I had no idea about Ronnie’s break until he was on about 80.

“But it was unbelievable, wasn’t it?. Fantastic, especially at the Crucible.”

Fellow Scot Alan McManus, who overcame Nigel Bond by the same scoreline after an extra third session, added: “It was a bit of a night with Ronnie doing a maximum.

“He’s some lad, isn’t he? He never wasted any time either. It was absolutely awesome.

“He is 6-3 down which is amazing. But if you watch him for that seven minutes or so, it’s like watching God.”

O’Sullivan’s coach, Derek ‘Del’ Hill added: “Ronnie cued as smooth as silk and took the balls so well.

“It never looked in doubt. Once the first red goes in you know he is always looking for a maximum.

“The thought of making a 147 max gets his juices flowing. He’s not looking to make the frame safe, he’s looking to make the max.”

However, unless he produces something special again this afternoon then the 2001 world champion will be on his way out.

Indeed, of the 45 maximum breaks since Steve Davis started the balls rolling in 1982 against John Spencer, 10 players have lost the match.

Fu cleared the 15 reds, 15 blacks and all the colours against Ken Doherty in the 2000 Regal Masters but lost 5-1.

All of the top seeds have got through so far including Ebdon, Higgins and seven times champion Stephen Hendry. But now O’Sullivan has to prove himself the true champion.

O’Sullivan’s great mate Jimmy White is also in trouble against Thailand’s James Wattana.

The six times world championship runner-up, who made his Crucible 147 against Tony Drago 11 years ago, trails 6-3.

But White missed two glorious chances to end the session 5-4 up.

He suffered a bad contact trying to pot the final pink in frame eight and then missed an easy red in the ninth to allow Wattana to take control.

Defeat for White will end his stay in the top 16 and force him to qualify for the final stages of the 2004 event.

Higgins and McManus have no such worries after last night’s wins. Higgins now plays world number 82 Sean Storey while McManus’ reward for edging a seven-hour marathon with Bond is a meeting against Fu or O’Sullivan.

“Sean has been a journeyman professional for the last few years but I think he’s knuckled down this season and is putting in the work,” said Higgins.

“He’s had a fantastic season so I’m not going to take the game lightly.”

McManus summed up the feelings of many fellow professionals who sample the Crucible atmosphere.

“The pressure out there is tenfold compared to other events. If anyone tells you otherwise they are lying.

Welshman Matthew Stevens, a semi-finalist for the past two seasons, resumes with a 7-2 lead over LG Cup champion Chris Small, who could be the first of six Scot to lose out in the opening round.

And it’s a belated first appearance at this year’s tournament tonight for provisional world number one Mark Williams, who meets Lancashire qualifier Stuart Pettman.