Snooker World Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan faces 'shoe' ban
Last Updated: 25/04/15 3:05pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan could pay the price for playing with no shoes in his World Championship opener against qualifier Craig Steadman.
In terms of the scoreline, the five-time champion enjoyed a relatively comfortable time at the Crucible on Tuesday, emerging from the first session of the encounter with a 7-2 lead.
It had all begun so easily for 'the Rocket' who went close to a maximum break in the opening frame, potting 13 reds and blacks, but then suffered discomfort four frames later.
The world No 2, who suffered a broken ankle towards the end of last year, appeared in pain due to his footwear and opted to remove his shoes, briefly playing in his socks.
He subsequently borrowed a pair of shoes from tournament director Mike Ganley and put them on, but the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association may well probe his conduct and consider whether it constitutes a breach of its rules about members' dress code, which could see them dishing out a fine.
Concerning matters on the baize, O'Sullivan was lucky twice to see his opponent miss easy blacks off the spot, one to level at 2-2 and another to extend a break of 55 which could have seen the score at 5-3.
All things considered, today will bring me on leaps and bounds and I'm here to win this tournament
Ali Carter
The world No 81 Steadman still had chances but breaks of 54 and 75 extended O'Sullivan's lead to five frames.
Ali Carter set up a second-round clash with 2010 champion Neil Robertson after overcoming a sluggish start to beat Scotland's Alan McManus 10-5.
Carter, who recently got the all-clear from cancer for a second time in December, said: "I've been working hard on my fitness and the practice table.
"Peter Ebdon is here to help me on the practice table. All things considered, today will bring me on leaps and bounds and I'm here to win this tournament."
The evening session saw Northern Ireland's Mark Allen secure his second-round place by wrapping up a 10-3 win over Wales' Ryan Day.
Allen had built up a 6-3 lead from the first session earlier in the day and swiftly finished the job later on to progress to an encounter with world number five and 2013 finalist Barry Hawkins.
