Ronnie O’Sullivan punishes nervy debutant as he begins record-extending Crucible campaign

Ronnie O’Sullivan has opened up a healthy 7-2 lead over debutant He Guoqiang in the World Snooker Championship first round, punishing the nerves of the newcomer.

The Rocket is making his 34th consecutive appearance at the Crucible, extending his own record for most World Championship appearances on the bounce.

Even with that many visits to the venue, it was O’Sullivan who looked confused when he entered the arena, heading to the table occupied by Wu Yize and Lei Peifan before changing track to go to the right table.

China’s He is making his very first trip to the iconic theatre after coming through qualifying impressively, beating Jack Lisowski in the final round,

However, his inexperience showed as he seemed to struggle with the occasion early on, missing a string of shots he would normally expect to sink.

At the same time, it was a cracking start from the Rocket as he took a 2-0 lead in little time thanks to runs of 72 and 97.

Are you snooker loopy?

You’re in the right place. I’m Phil Haigh, and I cover the game we all love for Metro.

In my new newsletter, The Table, I’ll be analysing the biggest talking points, breaking down frames and crowning the week’s winners and losers every Monday.

The World Championship is here, so there’s no better time to sign up.

The 50-year-old pinched a tight third frame and then knocked in his first century of the tournament, 113, to go into the interval 4-0 up.

Despite a light schedule on tour this season, the Rocket’s game looked in good shape, with his long-potting encouragingly on point.

When O’Sullivan returned to take a close fifth, things were looking very bleak for He on his first outing at the Crucible.

However, the world number 47 composed himself after a difficult start, getting on the board in the sixth before an excellent break of 77 to take the seventh.

It was a strange eighth frame, which saw O’Sullivan miscue and later hit the wrong ball from distance, but the Englishman still made a 52 to take it.

The seven-time’s focus appeared to have dipped after a strong start, but it was back at the climax of the session as he made a brilliant break of XX to end the afternoon in style.

The pair will return to the table on Wednesday afternoon to complete their race to 10 and it is O’Sullivan who looks almost certain to win that race.

If he does so then he will set up a huge second round clash with Class of 92 rival John Higgins.

More to follow…

MORE: Mark Selby brushes off last year’s Crucible nightmare as match he ‘couldn’t win’

MORE: Hossein Vafaei speaks out on challenge of playing on during Iran war

MORE: Shaun Murphy calls out fan for X-rated heckle during World Snooker Championship match