Snooker:Northern Ireland's Mark Allen had one foot in the second round of the Betfred.com World Championship after tearing to a 7-2 lead over Martin Gould. The pair were playing for the right to take on Ronnie O'Sullivan but part-time casino croupier Gould endured a miserable Crucible debut and faces almost certain defeat.
Breaks of 69, 65, 77, 129 and 52 put the Antrim potter in complete control against his English opponent. They will return for the concluding session tomorrow morning with left-hander Allen requiring just three more frames to book a clash with defending champion O’Sullivan. Victory in his opener should also guarantee Allen’s top-16 place in next season’s rankings.
Gould’s only break above 50 came in the third frame, which he took thanks to a run of 71. However he at least finished the session on a high by clearing the colours to deny Allen an 8-1 lead.
Allen, 23, is bidding to reach the second round for the second time in his career. He lost 10-9 to Stephen Hendry in the first round 12 months ago, but in 2007 knocked out Ken Doherty before bowing to defeat against Matthew Stevens in the last 16.
O’Sullivan, meanwhile, claims he will need a break from the World Championship if he is to keep his head together.
The 33-year-old began his campaign with a 10-5 victory over Stuart Bingham, and is seeking to defend his trophy and win the world title for a fourth time.
“It’s a long tournament at 17 days,” O’Sullivan said. “I think it’s too long to be at a tournament. It’s longer than the Olympics. Being here for 17 days, I’d be demented.”
He must wait until Thursday for his second-round match to start, which is a source of frustration to O’Sullivan.
“I might go home or go and stay at my friend’s house, just to break it up a little bit,” he said. “Being somewhere for 17 days is a long time. I get bored after three days on holiday.”
O’Sullivan will certainly practice between now and Thursday, having detected room for improvement in his performance against Bingham.
His break-building was as impressive as ever, as three centuries and two breaks of 90-plus demonstrated.
However O’Sullivan’s safety play was not always perfect, nor was his long-potting which he cursed after the match. He remains confident of his ability to lift himself for the tougher matches ahead though.
“I know what I’m capable of and I know I can play decent stuff,” said O’Sullivan. “I know it can come so I’m not panicking.”