Ronnie O'Sullivan Completes Victory Over Craig Steadman in First Round of World Snooker Championship
- Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Craig Steadman 10-3 at The Crucible
- The five-time world champion was 7-2 ahead overnight
- O'Sullivan won the final three frames he required on Wednesday morning
- The 39-year-old was forced to change his shoes on Tuesday
By PA, 22 April 2015
Ronnie O'Sullivan came through his first test of the Betfred World Championship but struggled to put his best foot forward.
A 10-3 victory over Craig Steadman, whose Crucible debut was a constant struggle, asked more questions than it answered about O'Sullivan's form.
A handsome winning margin disguised what was a mediocre opening performance from the five-time champion, who was wearing a comfortable old pair of dress shoes for the finale to the contest, having risked a fine by briefly playing in his socks when a new pair were causing him pain on Tuesday.
Ronnie O'Sullivan moved into the second round of the World Snooker Championship on Wednesday
The five-time world champion beat Craig Steadman 10-3 in their first round contest at The Crucible
It is understood O'Sullivan could face a small punishment, in the region of £250, for being in breach of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's dress code.
He told BBC after clinching his last-16 place:
'I've got no fashion sense at all. I had the last ones for 10 years - I didn't want to get rid of them and then I left them in a hotel and I lost them.
'I had this old battered pair, and I thought, "I've got to buy a new pair", and I just bought the wrong pair basically.
'They were bashing my feet and I had to take them off. I couldn't wear them.'
O'Sullivan led 7-2 overnight and returned on Wednesday morning to win the final three frames he needed
O'Sullivan won by a comprehensive margin but didn't hit top form during his first round match
O'Sullivan borrowed shoes from tournament director Mike Ganley, who had warned him he required suitable footwear.
'He said, "You cant play in your socks", but I didn't want to play in my shoes either,' O'Sullivan said.
'I got a pair of Mike Ganley's stinky old shoes, and you know what - they felt great.'
O'Sullivan began the two-session match with a break of 104, and added runs of 61, 59, 54 and 75 in establishing a 7-2 overnight lead, before doing enough in a scrappy morning session on Wednesday to cross the winning line and set up a shot at Matthew Stevens or Mark Williams in the second round.
The 39-year-old had trouble with his shoes during the session on Tuesday afternoon
O'Sullivan was seen playing in socks on Tuesday and could face a small fine for breach of dress code
However many chances O'Sullivan needed to win his frames, Steadman invariably obliged, with a string of missed blacks on Tuesday proving highly damaging. A more composed opponent would have punished O'Sullivan.
The first frame of Wednesday morning went O'Sullivan's way, as Steadman's missing ways persisted. It seemed the pattern would continue into the next too when Steadman missed brown for the frame.
However the 32-year-old lorry driver's son from Manchester had an unexpected reprieve when O'Sullivan overcut what looked a quite straightforward shot on the same ball, and this time Steadman made it count.
It was snooker from amateur hour at times, even from O'Sullivan, looking way off the game that has taken him to the last three World Championship finals.
As the mistakes from both men continued, O'Sullivan had a highest break of 27 to nudge 9-3 ahead, and snaffled the next to safely clear his first hurdle in the tournament.
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