Welsh Open Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Jimmy White 4-0

White would have held high hopes of rolling back the years in a clash that pitted two of the sport's great entertainers, and close friends, against each other, but O'Sullivan was largely untroubled after getting the better of a couple of scrappy frames that dogged the early part of the match.

White might well have won the first of those frames had O'Sullivan not pulled off a brilliant escape on the yellow when in big trouble, and it was a similar story in the second frame after both players missed chances before the Rocket did enough to double his lead.

As the match wore on, White cut an increasingly-frustrated figure as O'Sullivan slowly clicked into gear and a typically fluent run of 70 was enough to see him move within a frame of victory.

Moments later, the four-time Welsh Open winner was safely in the draw for the third round, another miss from White opening the door for his opponent to wrap up victory with a break of 65 that was a long way from vintage O'Sullivan but signified a job well done.

He told Eurosport afterwards: "I enjoyed it - I enjoy every match I play in. I just go out there and have fun.

"I've tried to change a technical thing and go back to how I used to play two or three years ago. I feel like to try and give myself a chance of winning, I've got to try and find a higher level. It's alright trying to be steady and consistent and solid, but to win tournaments I need to find some magic from somewhere. I've probably gone back to the old way of playing.

On getting the better of his old friend, White, O'Sullivan added: "I've just trained to focus, stay in my own lane and concentrate on what I've got to do. If Jimmy had have come out and made two centuries back-to-back, I would have still had to stay in my own lane and focus on what I had to do.

"Later on we'll have a cup of tea and he'll probably have a moan to me, and I'll say 'yeah, I get what you're saying' but while you're out there in the moment, it's your job."