SNOOKER: Ronnie O'Sullivan emphatically announced his arrival at the World Championship in Sheffield last night when he scored a maximum 147 break in his first-round match against Marcu Fu.
"The Rocket" took just six minutes 30 seconds in frame seven to earn himself £147,000, plus a £22,000 high-break bonus. It worked out at £433 for every ball potted.
However, it was Joe Swail and Tony Drago who were to provide a breath of fresh air at the Crucible.
Ulsterman Swail and Maltese star Drago raced through their opening nine frames session in only two hours 19 minutes.
In fact, Welsh referee Eirian Williams had problems keeping pace in the early stages as Drago sprinted into a 4-0 lead.
The 37-year-old Valletta cueman took only 48 minutes to claim the opening four frames with runs of 44, 76, 74 and 39.
His average shot-time was a blistering 11 seconds compared to Scotland's Chris Small who was timed at 31 seconds in his first round game against Matthew Stevens.
Swail, a semi-finalist twice in the last three years, was ripe for an upset after a poor season.
He has dropped from 16th to 24th in the world rankings and only salvaged some confidence by reaching the quarter-finals of the Scottish Open.
But the Crucible clearly brings the best out of him and the former English Amateur champion from Belfast rallied to trail only 5-4 at close of play. Their match continues today.
Jimmy White has a mountain to climb today if he is to remain in the tournament. The six-times Crucible runner-up faces a 6-3 deficit against Thailand's James Wattana.
And that represents a massive recovery for a player who won his one and only ranking tournament match of the season in the Scottish Open earlier this month.
However, there is a glimmer of hope for the Whirlwind making his 23rd appearance in the final stages of the game's most prestigious event.
He scored a remarkable 6-5 victory over world champion Peter Ebdon in the Masters back in February after being 5-1 down.
Wattana requires four of the remaining 10 frames to earn a last 16 meeting against world number seven Stephen Lee.
