Ronnie O'Sullivan leads Barry Hawkins in World final

World Championship final - O'Sullivan v Hawkins

  • Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
  • Date: 5-6 May

Coverage: Monday: 14:30-18:00 & 19:00-23:00. Live on BBC Two, BBC Two HD, Red Button and online on the BBC Sport website, mobile and BBC Sport app. Updates on BBC Radio 5 live.

Ronnie O'Sullivan leads Barry Hawkins 10-7 after the first day of the World Championship final at the Crucible.

But so far it has not been the walkover many had predicted, with Hawkins making the defending champion sweat for the first time in the tournament.

Four-time winner O'Sullivan, 37, made four century breaks to surpass Stephen Hendry's previous record of 127 at the venue.

But world number 14 Hawkins was not overawed, making four half-centuries and one century of his own.

Asked beforehand what chance Kent left-hander Hawkins, 34, had of winning the final, seven-time world champion Hendry answered: "None."

Image of Philip Studd Philip Studd BBC Radio 5 live at the Crucible

"The snooker has been world class and the frustration for Hawkins is that, as superbly as he's played, he still finds himself well behind. Hawkins has held his nerve, taken his chances and scored heavily, but rather than wilt under the pressure, O Sullivan has excelled. The final frame felt huge. To calmly roll in a tough deciding black for a three frame lead might prove to be a pivotal moment."

And when O'Sullivan won the first two frames with breaks of 74 and 92, it looked like the procession that Hendry had predicted might transpire.

However, Hawkins, who had never progressed beyond the second round at the Crucible before this year and who was an 80-1 shot before the tournament started, hit back with runs of 88 and 81 to level.

And when Hawkins nicked the next frame to take a 3-2 lead into the mid-session interval it was the first time O'Sullivan had trailed in the tournament.

But O'Sullivan soon regained his poise, reeling off the next three frames and drawing level with Hendry's record with consecutive runs of 113 and 100.

Both players were unhappy with the cloth during the first session but that did not affect the quality of play, with six breaks above 50 and two centuries. That being the case, no alterations were made.

Hawkins took the first frame of the evening session but O'Sullivan, who has never lost a Crucible final, had restored his two-frame cushion by the mid-session interval. However, the rest did Hawkins good.

Indeed, when Hawkins knocked in breaks of 83 and 133 to draw level at 7-7 O'Sullivan, who has barely played any competitive snooker since last May's Crucible triumph, looked rattled for the first time in this year's event.

But O'Sullivan stayed calm under fire, retaliating with back-to-back breaks of 103 and 106. Of the 52 century breaks made in this year's tournament so far, O'Sullivan has made 11 of them.

And the final frame of the evening could prove to be a crucial one, with Hawkins having chances to win it only for O'Sullivan to nick it on the black and increase his overnight lead to three frames.