O'Sullivan strikes ominous form

By Geet Sethi

SHEFFIELD, APRIL 23. What do you expect when the world's most- talented cueist finds form? Fireworks, action, the spectators going wild with joy and the opponent putting his head down in despair. That's what happened last night as Ronnie O'Sullivan struck form. His hapless victim was Andy Hicks, a southpaw who like his opponent, plays with a pleasing fluency. Yet, last night, that fluency deserted him as he watched both in fascination and in horror his adversary achieve what most sportsmen describe as `the zone'.

He has exhibited more entertaining form in the past. He has constructed the fastest 147 maximum in the same venue a few years and he has demolished opponents who rate much higher than Hicks. Still, for those lucky enough to be present at the Crucible Theatre during the first round of the Embassy World Snooker championship, last night's exhibition of sublime eye-arm coordination, quick-paced sighting of the ball and sheer speed of execution with which O'Sullivan annihilated his opponent, will be hard to forget.

While others including defending champion Mark Williams struggled with the table, the unpredictable 26-year old made the game look ridiculously easy. Positioning with impeccable precision, O'Sullivan established a commanding 7-2 advantage at the conclusion of the first session. En route, he uncorked sparkling efforts of 96, 96, 67, 85, 56, 62 & 57.

There were no three-figure breaks, but then O'Sullivan just does not bother about small things like century breaks. His focus is on entertaining himself and more importantly entertaining the audience. He has often been criticised for his unpredictability. The dramatic mood swings and sudden loss of interest in the game - he has often blurted out that he wants to quit the game - have plagued him persistently. Like all geniuses, he has a self- destructive trait, which surfaces from time to time. But not last night.

If he continues in the same manner, one can say confidently that no one will be able to defeat him. But whether or not he can carry on with the same focus is a question, which only O'Sullivan has the answers to. Having laid the foundation of his victory last night, the World no. 4 wrapped up the match in 29 minutes with further contributions of 52, 42 & 66. This 10-2 victory takes him into the second round where he meets Dave Harold.

Mathew Stevens, the World no. 6, who threw away a 13-7 advantage to lose 18-16 to Mark Williams in the final here last year, was off to a flying start as he booked his second round berth with an emphatic 10-1 victory over Tony Drago. Like most others, who have been experiencing difficulties with the table, Stevens too struggled and despite the one sided score line was not impressive. A break of 57 in the second frame was his highest effort in a match which failed to rise to the heights one would have expected considering the pedigree of the player - Stevens is the World no. 6 and last years runner-up, while Malta's Tony Drago has the reputation of being the fastest cueist on the circuit.

But it was the Peter Ebdon-James Wattana contest which provided the excitement on Monday afternoon. Trailing 6-3 overnight against Ebdon, the World no. 12, Thailand's Wattana, seemed to have lost all hope as he trailed 4-8 on the resumption this morning. Ebdon, who had recorded runs of 54, 55, 44, 110, 55 & 46 in the first session, exhibited his grit by establishing a 8-3 lead with a contribution of 83 in the opening frame of the second session.

But the Thai dug deep into his reserves to stage an admirable comeback. Winning four of the next five frames, the 31- year old reduced his deficit to 9-8 and more importantly gained the psychological edge over his opponent.

Wattana, once as high as 3 in the world rankings, is today struggling to maintain his place in the top 32. Ranked 27, his long potting is not sharp as it was and his confidence level is at an all time low. His comeback was therefore creditable.

However, Ebdon, this season's British Open champion, himself is famous for his ability to withstand immense pressure. And he rose to the occasion carving a remarkably-composed 67 to emerge victorious with a 10-8 margin.

On being asked about his chances in the event, Ebdon later said ``I am taking one match at a time. I have worked very hard at my game this season and am also doing a lot of physical training.''

The results (First round, best of 19 frames):

Ronnie O'Sullivan bt Andy Hicks 10-2. 11-90, 97 (96)-31, 96 (96)- 14, 86 (67)-13, 85 (85)-21, 103 (56)-0, 23-81 (62), 66-64 (62), 76 (57)-38, 63 (52)-12, 66- 25, 68 (66)-70.

Mathew Stevens bt Tony Drago 10-1. 99-43, 70 (57)-23, 72-6, 57- 50, 51-80 (56), 86 (85)-31, 53-25, 64-19, 56-23, 71-0, 60-580.

Peter Ebdon bt James Wattana 10-8. 84 (54)-40, 43-81, 71 (55)-1, 83-4, 13-102 (93), 110 (110)-24, 27- 71, 67 (55)-32, 69-34, 107 (83)-29, 86-40, 36-73, 33-67 (54), 32- 68, 99 (99)-5, 5-106 (52, 48), 28-86, 79 (67)-270.

Sunday's result: Anthony Hamilton bt Marcus Campbell 10-4. 33-71, 68-57, 76-16, 38-82, 69-37, 88-17, 46-2, 61-54, 11-85 (85), 63 (52)-53, 55-64, 86 (86)-0, 66- 58, 79-570.

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