Six Of The Best Again From Rocket
Ronnie O’Sullivan scored his second consecutive 6-0 victory at the Betway UK Championship, beating Rhys Clark to reach the last 32.
The Rocket needed 56 minutes to win his opening round tie with Boonyarit Keattikun last week and this time he needed 17 minutes more to finish off his victim. Breaks of 112, 79, 82, 81 and 131 helped five-time UK champion O’Sullivan sail into round three, where he will face Michael Georgiou.
“Rhys is a good player and he looked nervous today, but it’s nerve racking for everybody,” said O’Sullivan, who hasn’t won a title since the Welsh Open last February. “If you think that I’m going out there totally relaxed then you’re mistaken. You need to have nerves out there, it’s who handles it best. That’s what you do as a professional, block everything out and concentrate on the job at hand.”
Magic Moment of the day came from Mark Allen as he made the first 147 of his career. The Pistol went on to beat Rod Lawler 6-4. “It’s good to get that monkey off my back, I was very nervous the whole way through the break,” said Allen. “I saw the 147 when I was on 16, the balls were sitting so nice. It puts you under it because you know they’re all sitting there and you’re expected to make it. If you miss you look like a bit of a tube.
“It’s big for me because I was one of the few top players who hadn’t made a 147. If you did a checklist when you turn pro it would be to win events, make your first century on TV, make a 147 and obviously go on to win a world title or be world number one. I’m sort of halfway through that checklist already.”
Ding Junhui came from 2-1 down to beat Ross Muir 6-2. “I had the feeling I controlled the match and also I had very good luck,” said Ding.
China’s Mei Xiwen saw off Martin Gould 6-3 while up-and-coming Yan Bingtao won a Chinese derby against Liang Wenbo by a 6-4 scoreline