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WORLD number one Ronnie O'Sullivan overcame a spirited Jamie Burnett 5-3 to move into the second round of the Grand Prix here in Glasgow.
Snooker's answer to Robbie Williams was strong enough to repell the determined challenge by employing a more considered approach with some punishing safety that frequently left Burnett, the world number 30 from Hamilton in trouble.
Not that he neglected his prodigious potting ability as the rocket blasted off by hammering in a break of 44- and Burnett was to learn then and there that thickly struck safety shots left in mid table was asking for trouble. A lesson he failed to absorb as after a brief safety battle he left Ronnie in at close range with a simple red to the corner and O'Sullivan swiftly put the frame to bed with a 22 to wrap up the opening frame.
But Burnett refused to be intimidated as he hit back to take the second frame matching O'Sullivans' safety with some fine tactical shots of his own. Yet once again the first chance fell to O'Sullivan and he rattled in 14 only to run out of position. From O'Sullivan's safety, which left Burnett tight on the baulk cushion Jamie sized up a long red, and digging down on the cue ball powered in a long red and carved out 33 only to go in off in potting the black. Still O'Sullivan could not make the most of a second chance and Burnett was soon back at the table with runs of 28 and 34.
This goaded O'Sullivan into producing seven minutes of text book breakbuilding as Burnett's safety left Ronnie in prime position in the centre of the table and beginning with a red to the centre he proceeded to compile a 126 break, the 574th century of his professional career to lead 2-1. Not to be outdone Burnett replied in kind in the fourth frame forcing a safety mistake from Ronnie- and hammered in a short range red and put together a break of 58 before jawing a red along the top cushion. Still plenty of points remained on the table for Ronnie to steal the frame and Burnett mindful of that knew that one bad safety would in all probabilities see him 3-1 down at the mid session interval. But it was O'Sullivan who played a loose safety shot leaving Burnett to sink the red and colour he needed to restore parity.
Burnett would have been delighted to have been level at the mid session interval - considering he hadn't take a frame off Ronnie in their last two meetings. And it looked as if he was enjoying that a fact a bit too much as he took a real swipe at a red sitting close to the top pocket. He missed it by a mile and worse still the cue ball smashed into the reds and left them in pottable positions. Ronnie stroked in straight red to the centre and made a break of 53 before running out of position. But still there were enough points left on the table for Jamie to pinch the frame. Firing in a long straight red from the "D" Burnett went on to make 22 before a massive kick on potting the black sent him scurrying to safety. And it was the black that decised the outcome of the frame as Burnett, who was over-stretching managed to leave a simple black hanging over the pocket. Ronnie needed one red to leave Jamie needing a snooker- he got it but had to endure a nervy few minutes as Jamie looked for the snooker he needed to snatch the frame, before fluking the yellow to put the frame beyond doubt.
To make matters worse for Jamie he bungled the break off in the sixth frame as he left a red to the centre for O'Sullivan to sink, the black followed and then powered into the pack of reds it looked to be plain sailing for the Rocket only to miss a red to the centre to break down on 24. Fluffing two reasonable chances himself Burnett then left Ronnie with a straight red to the centre. The Rocket quickly dispatched the red and followed up by powering in a long pink to set himself up for a frame winning break of 51 to put him within a frame of victory.
Burnett looked beaten, as he went for ambitious length of the table red from the baulk cushion and missed it by some distance. Backing away from the table the look of horror and resignation that crossed Jamie's face told the story - he had managed to leave O'Sullivan in with a easy red from the middle of the table. From that O'Sullivan made 32 before losing postion, Burnett looked to have sealed his fate by catching his safety too thinly to leave a red hanging over the corner pocket. Steadying himself O'Sullivan knocked in the red, followed with a mid length pink to the "yellow" pocket and made 32 only to miss a match ball red to the centre. Trailing 14-64 Burnett needed to clear up to steal the frame and he did- firing in a long red under pressure and then negotiated the clearance to snatch the frame with a 51 break.
But Burnett failed to make the most of his reprieve as snookered by the green bungled his escape that left O'Sullivan looking at a red along the top cushion and O'Sullivan made no mistake in clearing up with a break of 71 to set up the mouthwatering prospect of a second round match with John Higgins. It should be a classic.
Meanwhile Mark Williams strolled into the second round with an impressive display against Stuart Bingham,
Yet Stuart, the world number 21 from Basildon will look back on the match with a sense of what might have been- given that he had first bite of the cherry with an opening effort of 56 before he ran out of position. Leaving the balls in relatively safe positions Bingham was shaking his head then inutes later as Mark promptly cleared with 71 to take the opener.
And it was deja vu stuff for Stuart in frame 2 as break of 55 ended with him missing a long blue- and it was a depressing case of history repeating itself as Williams stepped with a 74 clearance to snatch the fram and with it a 2-0 lead.
Mark looked across to see Stuart down mentally and promptly rubbed salt into the wounds,powering in a 38 and followed with a run of 18 to leave Stuart needing a snooker. Two steller efforts from Bingham where left the cue ball hidden behind firstly the brown and the yellow ellicited amazing escapes from the Welshman who then put the frame beyond any foubt by snookering Bingham on the blue with the yellow hiding behind that at the baulk end of the table.
Three nil soon became 4-0 as Williams raced off with a break of 58 but then made his only mistake missing a simple red. With the red sitting over the corner pocket a demoralised Bingham made the grand total of one before disappearing back to his seat after missing a simple pink. He knew what was coming- and of course it followed as Williams stepped in and put away the solitary red he needed to leave the arena in total command.
Stuart had just run into a top form Williams, who looks back to his best after recovering from a broken wrist. There were no breaks going Stuarts way in the fifth frame as long red from Mark put him in prime position to open up the balls to make a sizeable break. The Welshman powered in a black and then saw the reds scatter around the pink and black and fired in an effort of 62, only to break down when running out of position. But it left Stuart needing a snooker. He was doomed to disappointment as a long red from him saw him snookered on the black and pink, he couldn't escape and with that he turned and shook Mark's hand.
And with that victory for Mark Williams comes thanks to the random draw an enticing encounter with Stephen Hendry - and the message to Stephen is clearly- watch out.
Suzy Jardine
Snooker's answer to Robbie Williams was strong enough to repell the determined challenge by employing a more considered approach with some punishing safety that frequently left Burnett, the world number 30 from Hamilton in trouble.
Not that he neglected his prodigious potting ability as the rocket blasted off by hammering in a break of 44- and Burnett was to learn then and there that thickly struck safety shots left in mid table was asking for trouble. A lesson he failed to absorb as after a brief safety battle he left Ronnie in at close range with a simple red to the corner and O'Sullivan swiftly put the frame to bed with a 22 to wrap up the opening frame.
But Burnett refused to be intimidated as he hit back to take the second frame matching O'Sullivans' safety with some fine tactical shots of his own. Yet once again the first chance fell to O'Sullivan and he rattled in 14 only to run out of position. From O'Sullivan's safety, which left Burnett tight on the baulk cushion Jamie sized up a long red, and digging down on the cue ball powered in a long red and carved out 33 only to go in off in potting the black. Still O'Sullivan could not make the most of a second chance and Burnett was soon back at the table with runs of 28 and 34.
This goaded O'Sullivan into producing seven minutes of text book breakbuilding as Burnett's safety left Ronnie in prime position in the centre of the table and beginning with a red to the centre he proceeded to compile a 126 break, the 574th century of his professional career to lead 2-1. Not to be outdone Burnett replied in kind in the fourth frame forcing a safety mistake from Ronnie- and hammered in a short range red and put together a break of 58 before jawing a red along the top cushion. Still plenty of points remained on the table for Ronnie to steal the frame and Burnett mindful of that knew that one bad safety would in all probabilities see him 3-1 down at the mid session interval. But it was O'Sullivan who played a loose safety shot leaving Burnett to sink the red and colour he needed to restore parity.
Burnett would have been delighted to have been level at the mid session interval - considering he hadn't take a frame off Ronnie in their last two meetings. And it looked as if he was enjoying that a fact a bit too much as he took a real swipe at a red sitting close to the top pocket. He missed it by a mile and worse still the cue ball smashed into the reds and left them in pottable positions. Ronnie stroked in straight red to the centre and made a break of 53 before running out of position. But still there were enough points left on the table for Jamie to pinch the frame. Firing in a long straight red from the "D" Burnett went on to make 22 before a massive kick on potting the black sent him scurrying to safety. And it was the black that decised the outcome of the frame as Burnett, who was over-stretching managed to leave a simple black hanging over the pocket. Ronnie needed one red to leave Jamie needing a snooker- he got it but had to endure a nervy few minutes as Jamie looked for the snooker he needed to snatch the frame, before fluking the yellow to put the frame beyond doubt.
To make matters worse for Jamie he bungled the break off in the sixth frame as he left a red to the centre for O'Sullivan to sink, the black followed and then powered into the pack of reds it looked to be plain sailing for the Rocket only to miss a red to the centre to break down on 24. Fluffing two reasonable chances himself Burnett then left Ronnie with a straight red to the centre. The Rocket quickly dispatched the red and followed up by powering in a long pink to set himself up for a frame winning break of 51 to put him within a frame of victory.
Burnett looked beaten, as he went for ambitious length of the table red from the baulk cushion and missed it by some distance. Backing away from the table the look of horror and resignation that crossed Jamie's face told the story - he had managed to leave O'Sullivan in with a easy red from the middle of the table. From that O'Sullivan made 32 before losing postion, Burnett looked to have sealed his fate by catching his safety too thinly to leave a red hanging over the corner pocket. Steadying himself O'Sullivan knocked in the red, followed with a mid length pink to the "yellow" pocket and made 32 only to miss a match ball red to the centre. Trailing 14-64 Burnett needed to clear up to steal the frame and he did- firing in a long red under pressure and then negotiated the clearance to snatch the frame with a 51 break.
But Burnett failed to make the most of his reprieve as snookered by the green bungled his escape that left O'Sullivan looking at a red along the top cushion and O'Sullivan made no mistake in clearing up with a break of 71 to set up the mouthwatering prospect of a second round match with John Higgins. It should be a classic.
Meanwhile Mark Williams strolled into the second round with an impressive display against Stuart Bingham,
Yet Stuart, the world number 21 from Basildon will look back on the match with a sense of what might have been- given that he had first bite of the cherry with an opening effort of 56 before he ran out of position. Leaving the balls in relatively safe positions Bingham was shaking his head then inutes later as Mark promptly cleared with 71 to take the opener.
And it was deja vu stuff for Stuart in frame 2 as break of 55 ended with him missing a long blue- and it was a depressing case of history repeating itself as Williams stepped with a 74 clearance to snatch the fram and with it a 2-0 lead.
Mark looked across to see Stuart down mentally and promptly rubbed salt into the wounds,powering in a 38 and followed with a run of 18 to leave Stuart needing a snooker. Two steller efforts from Bingham where left the cue ball hidden behind firstly the brown and the yellow ellicited amazing escapes from the Welshman who then put the frame beyond any foubt by snookering Bingham on the blue with the yellow hiding behind that at the baulk end of the table.
Three nil soon became 4-0 as Williams raced off with a break of 58 but then made his only mistake missing a simple red. With the red sitting over the corner pocket a demoralised Bingham made the grand total of one before disappearing back to his seat after missing a simple pink. He knew what was coming- and of course it followed as Williams stepped in and put away the solitary red he needed to leave the arena in total command.
Stuart had just run into a top form Williams, who looks back to his best after recovering from a broken wrist. There were no breaks going Stuarts way in the fifth frame as long red from Mark put him in prime position to open up the balls to make a sizeable break. The Welshman powered in a black and then saw the reds scatter around the pink and black and fired in an effort of 62, only to break down when running out of position. But it left Stuart needing a snooker. He was doomed to disappointment as a long red from him saw him snookered on the black and pink, he couldn't escape and with that he turned and shook Mark's hand.
And with that victory for Mark Williams comes thanks to the random draw an enticing encounter with Stephen Hendry - and the message to Stephen is clearly- watch out.
Suzy Jardine
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