This match is Ronnie’s 99th at the Crucible, and this is his 28th consecutive appearance at the World Championship, which is a new record.
Most expected a close affair, but the first session of the Ronnie v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh last 32 match certainly wasn’t.
Ronnie looked composed and played well in building a very significant lead.
Here are the numbers:
There was friendly respect in the way they greeted each other at the start
But no quarters were given at the table.
To retrieve the situation, Theppy needs to win tomorrow morning’s session by 9-1 or best. That’s highly unlikely. But he could possibly come back, without pressure, and make the score much more honourable.
The battle of the speed kings in the first round of the Betfred World Championship looks to be going the way of Ronnie O’Sullivan as he took an 8-1 lead over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in their first session.
So far the contest has clocked just 82 minutes and could set a new record for the fastest match at the Crucible. That record was set last year when Shaun Murphy beat Luo Honghao 10-0 in a tie which lasted 149 minutes.
O’Sullivan averaged just 13.4 seconds a shot today and fired two centuries and five more breaks over 60. He needs just two more frames when they return at 10am on Monday to book a last 16 clash with Ding Junhui.
It’s a far cry from his performance in his first round performance at the Crucible last year, when he lost 10-8 against amateur James Cahill.
World number six O’Sullivan rattled through the first six frames with breaks of 101, 85, 115, 74, 88 and 76. Thailand’s Un-Nooh was relieved to get a frame on the board as he took the seventh with a run of 69. But Chigwell’s O’Sullivan hit back to win frame eight with 40 and 41 then added the last of the session with a 65.
O’Sullivan, age 44, has won this title five times, in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2013, but hasn’t been past the quarter-finals since 2014.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
makes it look to easy , just brushes opponents aside hopefully ding math be close , well played
It is so sweet to watch him when he plays like this. Simply gorgeous.
It was always a possible scenario. Thepchaiya isn’t the first player to be skinned like this – it’s happened to some great players. Everything just happens too quickly…
The Ding match might go the same way, and Williams/Bingham haven’t really been competitive for some time, apart from Bingham’s surprising Masters win. Does this mean Ronnie will win a glorious 6th World title? Not yet, it will be a different game from the semi-final onwards.
From your mouth to God’s ears:) Lewis, correct me if I’m wrong, but you do seem to love Ron after all. You seem to give away the impression of an objective observer of things, but I do notice a love for Ronnie deep underneath. Again, sorry if my observation made you uncomfortable.
I stopped ‘loving’ individual snooker players long ago – I was cured of that by Alex Higgins’ behaviour. When I started playing snooker myself in the mid-80’s I switched over to Steve Davis, but it was more out of respect for his skills, and it’s been the same ever since with almost all of the top players. In that regard I am delighted by Ronnie’s skills. But I have no interest in those players as people. However, I do have concern for the younger players, who are having a tough deal with the current tour structure. I like to watch them develop. Each season I choose a few young players to follow, and I’m normally at the outside tables in the early rounds of tournaments.
+ numbers:
Thank you.
Lovely start to the WSC2020 for ROS
Hopefully a solid win in the first round will set a precedent for the remainder of the tournament
Maybe the absence of a crowd will be just the thing he needs this year