Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan stormed back against first-time finalist Barry Hawkins to establish a 5-3 lead in the first session of the snooker World Championship final on Sunday.
O’Sullivan trailed for the first time in the tournament after Hawkins overcame an unsteady start to the match to move 3-2 ahead.
But the four-time champion roared back in stirring style, assembling successive breaks of 76, 113 and 100 to move two frames in front ahead of the second session later on Sunday.
Each of O’Sullivan’s centuries took less than nine minutes to construct and took him level with Stephen Hendry’s record of 127 century breaks at the Crucible Theatre in the northern English city of Sheffield.
With O’Sullivan having hinted yet again he may retire after the tournament, although on Saturday he suggested he may have to rethink that as he is heavily in debt, the 37-year-old will hope to claim the record outright as the best-of-35 frames match plays out.
O’Sullivan is making his comeback after nearly a year out of the sport and is appearing in his fifth World Championship final.
He is also aiming to be the first man to successfully defend the title since Hendry completed a run of five successive victories in 1996.
O'Sullivan takes control of world final
