O’Sullivan enters record books](Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands.)
SHEFFIELD (Reuters) - Ronnie O’Sullivan has entered the record books after becoming the first player to record two 147 breaks at the Crucible Theatre.
His latest maximum break, during the world championship first-round clash with Hong Kong’s Marco Fu on Tuesday, comes six years after his first at the same venue.
O’Sullivan cleared the table in the seventh frame, a feat that could earn him 169,000 pounds – 147,000 for the maximum and 22,000 for the top break – if it is not equalled during the tournament.
It was an otherwise disappointing opening session for O’Sullivan, who won the world title two years ago, with Fu posting a surprise 6-3 lead at the close.
Fu now needs four more frames to record a shock win when play resumes on Wednesday afternoon.
World number four John Higgins was forced to work hard to beat qualifier Ian McCulloch in his first-round match.
McCulloch knocked in breaks of 100 and 94 to cut Higgins’ lead to just two frames at 9-7. But a missed yellow in the 17th frame allowed Higgins to clear up and complete a 10-7 win.
“I’m delighted to get through,” said a relieved Higgins, winner of the tournament in 1998. “Ian played some great stuff to get back into the match and he’s definitely going places.”
GREAT SEASON
Higgins will face lowly-ranked qualifier Sean Storey in the second round, but he insists the tie is not a mere formality.
“He’s had a great season and I’m not going to take the match lightly,” added the 27-year-old Scot.
Thailand’s James Wattana has a 6-3 lead over Jimmy White in their first round encounter.
Wattana went 4-0 up before White cut his advantage to one frame by winning the next three. But Wattana, who had to qualify for the tournament, edged the last two frames of the afternoon to regain control.
Another qualifier, Tony Drago from Malta, will resume in his first-round match against Joe Swail with a 5-4 lead.
Drago produced a typical display of attacking snooker to go 4-0 up before the dogged Swail rallied.
The world No.16 claimed four out of the last five frames of the session to cut Drago’s lead to a single frame.