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O'Sullivan leads Williams 5-3 in tense tie

27/04/2008

A break of 140 helped Ronnie O'Sullivan establish a 5-3 lead over Mark Williams in the first session of their high-profile clash at the Crucible.

The popular Leicester-born player took the opening frame of the session after achieving a solid break of 61, though Williams soon leveled the tie with a 65 in the second.

With both players having previously been crowned world champions at the venue, the snooker on display was of the highest quality and it looked set to be the closest encounter of this year's tournament so far.

However, Williams made a costly error when going for a red in both the sixth and seventh frames, which O'Sullivan duly took advantage of, building upon his 140 break in the third, the highest the crucible has seen this year.

The Rocket's lead was reduced with a classic break of 88 by Williams, leaving the score a 5-3 going into the second session of the best-of-25 frames match.

Whoever makes it through this second round tie will join another former champion, Stephen Hendry, in the third, after the Scot pulled off a solid 13-7 victory over China's Ding Junhui.

Bookmakers have slashed their odds on the veteran following this latest display, with Hendry himself expressing his belief that he has got some of his old form back.