Top-seed Ronnie O’Sullivan eased his way into the last 16 of the World Grand Prix after beating Robert Milkins in the first round on Monday. The Rocket wasted little time in securing his progress, as he claimed a resounding 4-0 victory over his fellow Englishman, a performance that included breaks of 119 and 72.
The 42-year-old is aiming to win his fourth ranking event title of the season, following on from his successes at the English Open, Shanghai Masters and UK Championship, although he has never previously won the World Grand Prix. O’Sullivan is priced at 13/5 to claim overall glory in Preston this week, although he faces a testing encounter against Yan Bingtao in round two after the Chinese player beat Martin Gould 4-2 in his opening match of the tournament.
Arguably the surprise result of day one came as Michael Georgiou inflicted a 4-0 drubbing on fourth seed Luca Brecel. Georgiou, who is fresh from winning his first ever ranking-event title following his triumph at the Snooker Shoot-Out earlier this month, recorded breaks of 71 and 53 to secure his place in round two. Monday’s other first-round match saw Jack Lisowski squeeze past Ryan Day 4-3, despite the latter recording three half-centuries during the contest.
The first round will continue at Preston’s Guild Hall on Tuesday, with the likes of Mark Allen, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy beginning their campaigns.