Iconic snooker superstar Ronnie O’Sullivan eased into the second round of the World Grand Prix at Preston’s Guild Hall before delivering an awkward post-match interview.
The 41-year old clinically dispatched Chinese youngster Yan Bingtao 4-2 in a best of seven encounter before appearing non-committal to the media after the match.
The current Masters champion is facing on-going disciplinary action from governing body World Snooker after a post-match outburst at last week’s German Masters where he was surprisingly knocked out in the first round by Mark King.
And the player, affectionately known as ‘The Rocket’ for his speed of potting, has clearly taking umbrage at the investigation, despite dazzling the Preston crowd with century breaks in both the opening and final frames.
O’Sullivan is currently competing at the 2017 Ladbrokes World Grand Prix which sees a ranking snooker event return to the venue for the first time since 2005.
The World Grand Prix, with extensive live coverage each day on ITV4, sees the top 32 players on a one-year ranking list compete for a top prize of £100,000 with the final this Sunday, February 12.
The event, which had been held for the past two years in North Wales, also features defending champion Shaun Murphy as well as a host of other stars including World Number One Mark Selby, Judd Trump and Neil Robertson.
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The Guild Hall is synonymous with snooker, going back to 1978 when the UK Championship was staged at the venue for the first time.
Despite a number of exhibition matches and qualifiers over the past year, this week’s tournament is a major coup for the venue after undergoing a multi-million pound renovation over the last few years.
Tickets are still on-sale for both afternoon and evening sessions and start from £9 – for more information call 01772 80 4444 or visit the Guild Hall Box Office.