 O'Sullivan is the first player to make it into the last 16 |
Ronnie O'Sullivan became the first player to book his place in the last 16 of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix in Aberdeen on Monday. "The Rocket" beat Hong Kong's Marco Fu, notching up a fourth straight win.
Ex-world champ Ken Doherty, defending champion John Higgins, Ian McCulloch and Neil Robertson also made it into the knockout stages.
Jamie Cope made a maximum 147 break in his 3-1 win over Michael Holt, which should earn him �24,000 in prize money.
"It's such a special feeling," said the Stoke-born player.
"It's got to be the best moment of my career. I was so glad to see the (final) black going in."
Current world champion Graeme Dott's hopes were dealt a blow when he lost 3-1 to Stephen Maguire.
World champion Dott must now win his last group match to stand any chance of qualifying.
Thailand's Issara Kachaiwong's break of 142 during his 3-0 victory over James Wattana was briefly the tournament's highest break until Cope came up with his 147 clearance.
Also registering wins on Monday afternoon were Joe Perry, Mark King, Robert Milkins and Ali Carter.
But seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry is threatened with an early exit after losing 3-0 to Matthew Stevens - his second defeat in three matches.
The Scot said: "They're the worst tables I've ever played on. It's verging on unplayable out there. It's very difficult to play snooker on.
"It's verging on a farce. I've got to stop myself going into a rant because I'll probably get disciplined (by World Snooker) for this."
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Highlights: Grand Prix round-robin stage