World champion O’Sullivan wins as fans return to Crucible

Wednesday, 21 April 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ronnie O’Sullivan won his sixth world title this year (Picture: PA)

Reuters: Ronnie O’Sullivan started his World Championship defence with a 10-4 win over Mark Joyce last week as fans were allowed back into sporting events in England for the first time this year.

More than 600 tickets were sold for the three sessions at the Crucible as part of the government’s pilot scheme to help sport out of lockdown after an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Six-time world champion O’Sullivan, 45, was playing on the first day of the tournament and despite a sloppy start he never looked threatened by Joyce as he entertained the reduced crowd.

“It was really nice to have the crowd in because if there was no crowd I could have sunk even lower into my chair,” O’Sullivan told the BBC. “You always like to keep them happy because they pay their money to have a good night out.

“I was pleased I played all right at the end. It was disastrous up until... when I started to play all right...”

Organisers are hoping that a capacity crowd of 980 will be able to see the final on 2 May.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.