O'Sullivan breaks Crucible century record, takes day one lead in final

All predictions of a one-sided final between the decorated champion and the unfancied first-time finalist were blown away by a tremendous opening session on Sunday afternoon crammed with compelling counter-snooker and heavy break building, and though the evening's play began with a much nervier tone, the two soon settled in and provided another roller-coaster ride to the season-closing encounter.

Both men were far from pleased with the new cloth laid on the table especially during session one, but despite lodging complaints were forced to grin and bear it for the remainder of the day.

Hawkins was the first to make hay, pulling back to 5-4 with three small visits of 27, 22 and 24, but was left kicking himself in frame 10 as he forced one of two required snookers after O'Sullivan went clear with a 49 break, only to mis-calculate the second attempt and allow his opponent straight in to regain the two-frame advantage.

The difficult nature of the table had an affect on both men ahead of the evening's mid-session interval, as each man was happy to concede a frame apiece rather than push for snookers on difficult layouts, opting to instead gather their thoughts for 15 minutes and attack the contest post-intermission after two scrappy frames made the score 7-5.

The break initially benefited Hawkins most as the world number 14 put away an impressive 83 followed by an even more spectacular 133 total clearance, the highest tally between the two all day and the tournament's 50th three-figure break, to tie the final at seven apiece.

But while 'The Hawk' secured the best century on Sunday, 'The Rocket' fired in four - and his third following two afternoon tons in succession came with a special distinction, as well as putting O'Sullivan back in front.

His trademark, lightning-fast and majestically-calm 103 was O'Sullivan's 128th century at the Crucible, besting seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry's previous record of 127.

Not content with beating it by one, O'Sullivan followed up with 106 as once again, the defending champion produced his finest work at the tail-end of the session.

Nonetheless, Hawkins had numerous chances to finish the day a respectable 9-8 down in the 17th and concluding Sunday duel. In the longest frame of a excitingly-brisk day, it ended up coming down to the final black with the scores at 62-62.

Hawkins, however, just could not get onto the crucial seven-pointer after the two traded astonishing - and sometimes fortunate - set pieces on the previous colours, and O'Sullivan's long diagonal to sink the black in itself was worthy of the frame and a reasonable lead of three.

The two resume their race to 18 on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, and whether O'Sullivan makes it five world titles or Hawkins produces one of the all-time great upsets, both Englishmen have set a supremely-high standard in the sport's most important - and lucrative - match.

Back-to-back century breaks put defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-3 up against a game Barry Hawkins in the 2013 World Championship final in Sheffield.

O'Sullivan has never lost a World Championship final and was widely expected to make a fifth title his easiest yet against Hawkins, an 80-1 shot before the tournament, performing on the Crucible's one-table format for the very first time.

But after breaks of 74 and 92 put 'The Rocket' 2-0 up in no time at all, those predictions required somewhat of a re-write once the underdog got his own feel for the woefully-loose baize, replaced especially for the final match of the tournament.

Forcing two fouls in frame three with some excellent safety play, 'The Hawk' pounced with an 88 break before impressively pulling level with a run to 81, almost entirely using the blue ball, with the higher-scoring pink and black out of commission, to pull level at the mid-session interval.

Runs of 45 and 50 secured frame six for Hawkins and made him the first person all tournament to pull ahead of the reigning titlist, but O'Sullivan's response was equally impressive and just as emphatic in what turned out to be a breathless opening session from both competitors.

O'Sullivan went level once more with 76, but really turned on the style with the final's first century breaks: his 113 followed by an even 100 put him level with the great Stephen Hendry, who retired from snooker at this very venue last year, on 127 tons at the Crucible.

With three more sessions left to play, it is all but certain that the legendary Scot's tally will be topped by the incomparable O'Sullivan, but Hawkins's superior defensive play and ability to go toe-to-toe with the champion whilst in the balls suggests that there may yet be a few twists and turns in the match.

At the very least, if the English duo are able to maintain the brisk pace (the average frame time was less than 14 minutes) and heavy scoring (there was a break of 50 or higher in every frame) of session one throughout the final, then snooker fans will win regardless of who lifts the trophy.