World Snooker Championship 2024: Ronnie O'Sullivan potters into the last 16

Ronnie O'Sullivan completed a straightforward 10-1 opening round victory over qualifier Jackson Page on Thursday afternoon at the 2024 World Snooker Championship.

World number one O'Sullivan sets up a last 16 meeting with Ryan Day, a scheduled three-session match that begins on Sunday morning.

Despite not being at his absolute best, a focused O'Sullivan did the damage in the first session 24 hours earlier when he made breaks of 54, 56, 81, 122, 66 and 53 in establishing an 8-1 advantage.

Welsh youngster Page - a semi-finalist at the recent World Open in China - was left frustrated throughout almost all of that session, although he exhibited his class in frame seven with a blistering 142 total clearance, his highest break in professional competition.

Returning to the Crucible for the concluding session, O’Sullivan wasn’t occupied for long as an effort of 79 helped him take the first frame of the day before he secured a scrappy frame 11 for progression to round two with minimal fuss.

As well as chasing a record-breaking eighth world title in snooker’s modern era, 48-year-old O’Sullivan is looking to record a ‘Triple Crown Grand Slam’ for the first time in his career having already won the UK Championship and Masters earlier this season.

In total, throughout the 2023/24 campaign, the Englishman has claimed three other titles (five in total): Shanghai Masters, World Grand Prix and the World Masters of Snooker.