Ronnie O'Sullivan comfortably advanced to the second round of the Wuhan Open. The seven-time world champion secured a 5-1 victory over Ken Doherty in the opening match, temporarily maintaining his position as the top-ranked snooker player in the world. Had O'Sullivan suffered a first-round defeat against Doherty, he would have surrendered his number one ranking to reigning world champion Luca Brecel, a position he has held since April 2022.
However, Mark Allen still has a chance of knocking O'Sullivan off the top spot, but he would have to win the Wuhan Open to do so.
Unlike "The Rocket", however, the Northern Irishman had to work hard in round one against Mark Joyce to stay in the tournament at all. The 37-year-old found himself trailing 3:4, but pulled his head out of the noose again and eventually won 5:4.
"I'm very happy to be through, but that was terrible. It's been a very long time since I played that badly. Mentally I was pretty good and that's what got me through because I had no form," Allen expressed his disillusionment after the match.
O'Sullivan also took some time to get going on the World Snooker Tour's return to Wuhan after four years.
O'SULLIVAN TURNS UP THE HEAT AFTER FALSE START
Doherty, the 1997 world champion, took the first frame but the world number one responded with an 88 break to level and went 2-1 ahead soon after after a competitive third frame.
O'Sullivan then found his game more and more and managed further breaks of 89 and 82 on the way to an ultimately unchallenged 5-1 victory.
"I played a lot with Ken as a kid. I learned a lot from him," the 47-year-old praised his opponent afterwards.
DING JUNHUI WINS AND EARNS PRAISE FROM O'SULLIVAN
Meanwhile, at the next table, Ding Junhui prevailed 5-3 over Ashley Hugill in his home match.
"I call Ding the godfather of snooker in China. He put snooker on the map here. He joined at a young age and won tournaments. He is a great player and has been a constant in the game for 20 years. Ding is a legend in China," O'Sullivan enthused about the local hero.
Advancing to the second round, Jack Lisowski secured a 5-3 victory against Scott Donaldson. Ali Carter left no room for doubt as he triumphed with a 5-2 scoreline over the British Open champion Bai Yulu.
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