Snooker: O'sullivan Dispatches Ding at World Championships

Ronnie O'Sullivan wasted little time taking the two frames he needed for a place in the world championship second round in Sheffield this afternoon.

The "Rocket" beat the Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui 10-2 at the Crucible Theatre, having led 8-1 overnight. "It was a tough game, I'm pleased to have got through," said O'Sullivan. "I'm pleased with the way I executed. I scored OK, I played safety OK and potted OK. I was happy with my form in that game. I had to be on my game and I knew I'd have to make use of every opportunity which came my way. "That's what I managed to do - and I was pleased I was able to do that."

With a seven-frame lead, O'Sullivan was never in danger of not progressing and although the 20-year-old Ding won the opening frame of the concluding session with a 45 break, the world No3 sunk breaks of 87 and 72 to secure an easy victory.

The only potential distraction for O'Sullivan came from press photographers who were taking pictures while this year's Masters champion was taking shots. "It's unsettling," added O'Sullivan, who had other match breaks of 58, 50, 48, 109, 60, 63, 63, 70 and 45. "All I could hear was click, click, click when I was down on a shot. I don't mind them taking photos, but I need to finish my shot first. "In the end, I was just waiting for the click - they seemed hell-bent on getting their photo."

Ding, who lost 10-3 to O'Sullivan in the Masters final in January, admitted he struggled to find his best form. "Ronnie's a very good player, but the Masters defeat didn't affect me," reflected Ding, speaking through a translator. Ronnie played very well and didn't give me many chances. I never thought about anything other than trying my best even though I was 8-1 down. I'm still young, so I've got lots of chances to win here."