THE World Snooker Championships begin TODAY – and Ronnie O'Sullivan is back and looking to create more history.
The Rocket joined Stephen Hendry on seven championship titles, a joint record, last year with his win over Judd Trump.
But now he begins the defence of his gong against Pang Junxu today at the Crucible.
- Start time: 10am BST
- Live stream: BBC iPlayer
- TV channel: BBC Two
- FULL SCHEDULE
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Follow ALL the action from the Crucible with our live blog below…
- Rob Maul
Ronnie in his chair
Ronnie O'Sullivan, who made his debut at the Crucible in 1993, sits down in his chair in frame two after a break of 42.
He missed a blue to the middle cushion.
Not enough to take the frame so Pang Junxu is at the table now.
The reds are scattered so there is a chance for Pang to make inroads here.
- Rob Maul
A work of art
There were some visible nerves from O'Sullivan in that first frame but those appear to have gone by now.
He is in the groove now and finding his range.
Frame two is re-racked at the request of both players.
Damien Hirst, the world-renowned artist, is in the auditorium with a beanie hat on. He is close pals with the Rocket.
- Rob Maul
Frame one drama
Ronnie O'Sullivan takes the lead 1-0 in this first-round match.
But credit to Pang Junxu, who did really well there and showed he will not be a push-over despite his inexperience.
It came down to the final three balls but O'Sullivan, who is slowly gauging the speed of the cloth and table, knocked in a long blue and then the pink to put himself on the scoreboard.
Interesting scenes here in Sheffield.
- Rob Maul
Squeaky bum time
If Ronnie O'Sullivan is seen furiously slapping his bum at the Crucible, there is an explanation for his madcap behaviour.
After last year’s first-round win over David Gilbert, O’Sullivan got in trouble with authorities for making a “lewd and offensive gesture” – one that rival Matthew Selt had mischievously shared on his Instagram feed.
It was the second time O’Sullivan had performed an inappropriate gesture inside in five months and he was fined £4,000.
Asked on the eve of Crucible how he would control his emotions this time, world No.1 O’Sullivan joked: “I have a new one now. I’m going to slap my bum. Slap my bum really hard.”
- Rob Maul
Here we go, snooker fans
O'Sullivan received a tremendous reception as he made his way down the stairs for the 10am start.
One punter was told off by the referee for trying to film his break-off.
But Pang Junxu, who accidentally went down the wrong stairs, knocked in a long red and started off really well in this opening frame.
The Chinese rookie leads 50-2 in frame one.
On table two, Stuart Bingham has taken a 1-0 lead over David Gilbert.
- Rob Maul
Good morning, greetings from the Crucible.
SunSport is here in Sheffield as Ronnie O'Sullivan begins the defence of his World Snooker Championship title.
The Essex potter, making a record 31st campaign here, is up against debutant Pang Junxu on table one.
- Henry Tomlinson
Rocket set to defend his title
Ronnie O’Sullivan is set to try and defend his 2022 World Snooker Championship.
The Rocket beat JuddTrump in last year’s final to take home the crown, equalling Stephan Hendry’s modern-day record of seven snooker World Championships.
The 47-year-old will take on China’s Pang Jinx in the first round of the competition at the Crucible in Sheffield.
They will face off against each other at 10am.
O’Sullivan will try to control his emotions during this year’s tournament and will “slap” his bum “really hard” in order to stay calm.
The world No.1 will also hope that a torn muscle in his right arm will not cause him any issues in the match.
He said: “I’ve iced it. It has calmed down. It still feels a bit sore, but it’s playable.”
The injury has kept O’Sullivan from playing since March 17.
Credit: PA
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