Ronnie O'Sullivan overcomes Stevens at UK Championship

Pukka Pies UK Snooker Championship
Venue: Telford International Centre Dates: Sat 5 Dec to Sun 13 Dec Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC Sport website.

Fluffed red derails O'Sullivan 147 chance

Ronnie O'Sullivan overcame a rusty start to comfortably progress to the second round of the UK Championship with a 9-3 win over Matthew Stevens.

The Welshman led 2-0 and his 101 break levelled it at 3-3 but runs of 74 and 78 put the four-time champion 5-3 up.

O'Sullivan was not at his fluent best but breaks of 75 and 60 made it 7-3 before he won an absorbing 11th frame on the pink to end Stevens' resistance.

"The Rocket" was eyeing a possible 147 in the last frame but broke down on 64.

O'Sullivan, who reeled off six frames in a row either side of the interval, will play old foe Peter Ebdon in the second round.

Peter Lines, ranked 64 in the world, caused a major shock by surging past world number eight Marco Fu 9-3.

The Yorkshireman, a professional for 18 years whose best ranking performance was a quarter-final at the China Open 10 years ago, opened up a 6-2 lead after the opening session and proceeded to close out the match against the Hong Kong cueman.

Lines will play Mark Williams in the next round.

Ding Junhui, the 2005 UK champion, looked set for an early exit when he trailed Englishman Mike Dunn - voted off the board of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association last week as the players' representative - 5-3 after their opening session.

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But the Chinese star recovered his form to reel off six frames on the resumption for a 9-5 win that earned him a second-round meeting with defending champion Shaun Murphy.

Elsewhere Ali Carter made it through after securing victory over fellow Englishman Rory McLeod.

Former world championship finalist Carter won the last two frames of the afternoon session to level at 4-4 and sealed his place in the second round, where he will face Stephen Lee, after beating McLeod 9-7.

In the four second-round matches under way, Mark Selby fired in three century breaks, including a 141 to equal Stephen Lee's highest break of the tournament, to open up a 5-3 lead over Stephen Hendry.

The Scot had a good chance to get out of the session level at 4-4 but Selby compiled a break of 69 for a two-frame cushion.

World champion John Higgins edged a tight session with Australian Neil Robertson 5-3, Stephen Maguire claimed a 6-2 lead over Stuart Bingham and China's Liang Wenbo continued his impressive form to open up a 7-1 lead over Mark King.