Ronnie O'Sullivan reached another career milestone on Monday as he bagged his 1100th career century in a 10-8 victory over John Higgins.
O'Sullivan began the opening match of the Tour Championship on 1098 and missed chances in the afternoon session, but finally converted an opportunity with a run of 112 in frame 13, and soon added another century break in frame 16.
Both were timely in keeping Higgins, who led after frame one but never again in the match, at arm's length. The Scot had bagged the only century of the afternoon to level at 2-2 and was level again at 3-3, but O'Sullivan took the final two frames of the session to establish what proved to be a significant advantage.
The pair traded the first six frames of the evening, too, before Higgins at last got back within one with a run of 70 in frame 15.
O'Sullivan's response was a 101 break to reach the 1100 mark and while Higgins snapped back to prolong the match further, a 69 break from O'Sullivan in frame 18 was just enough to put an end to another engrossing tussle between these two giants of the sport — only after Higgins had forced a snooker to revitalise his hopes one last time.
Higgins though missed a mid-range yellow which might have seen him earn a re-spotted black, and O'Sullivan eventually finished the job to advance to the quarter-finals.
"It wasn't as bad as it's been feeling," O'Sullivan said of his cue, which has been causing him problems lately. "It weighs a ton, it's totally out of balance.
"To be honest, if he plays well, he beats me every time. If he's below par, I've got a chance of beating him. He had a stinker today, and it's why I got through."
Ask to reflect on the 1100 centuries and his 83rd ranking semi-final, both records, he deflected: "(I) just go down, hit a few balls, see what happens. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, I can't do week after week. You have to find out what works for you, and a few defeats is probably a good thing."
O'Sullivan, making just his second Tour Championship appearance having won in 2019 but failed to qualify last year, will face either Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins, who face each other on Thursday in the last of the first-round matches.
Tour Championship draw
Seedings in brackets
- Judd Trump (1) v Barry Hawkins (8)
- John Higgins (4) v Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- Neil Robertson (3) v Jack Lisowski (6)
- Mark Selby (2) v Kyren Wilson (7)
Daily schedule and results
All matches best of 19 frames
Monday March 22 (1pm & 7pm)
- John Higgins (4) 8-10 Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
Tuesday March 23 (1pm & 7pm)
Neil Robertson (3) v Jack Lisowski (6)
Wednesday March 24 (1pm & 7pm)
- Mark Selby (2) v Kyren Wilson (7)
Thursday March 25 (1pm & 7pm)
- Judd Trump (1) v Barry Hawkins (8)
