SNOOKER'S man-of-the-moment Ronnie O'Sullivan took his place in the

final stages of the #1m Embassy World championship at Blackpool last

night.

O'Sullivan, an 18-year-old who captured the UK title two months ago,

kept alive his hopes of superseding Stephen Hendry as the youngest-ever

world champion with a 10-8 victory over Tony Jones.

Cliff Thorburn improved on his early season form as he turned back the

clock to beat Malta's Tony Drago 10-5.

And Scots Drew Henry and Billy Snaddon reached the championship proper

at Sheffield in April with wins against Mike Hallett and Joe Swail

respectively.

Irishman Alex Higgins showed he could be quite a threat when he

defeated Tony Knowles by 10-9.

Bournemouth based Surinder Gill earned the right to meet defending

champion Stephen Hendry in the first round. Results (English unless

stated):

S Gill beat M Bennett (Wales) 10-7; C Thorburn (Canada) beat T Drago

(Malta) 10-5; M Davis beat J Ferguson 10-9; P Ebdon beat S Mazrocis

10-4; D O'Kane (New Zealand) beat S Lee 10-6; B Snaddon (Scotland) beat

J Swail (N Ireland) 10-4; F O'Brien (Ireland) beat N Price 10-4; R

O'Sullivan beat T Jones 10-8; D Henry (Scotland) beat M Hallett 10-5; G

Ponting beat M Johnson-Allen 10-9; A Davies (Wales) beat J Johnson 10-9;

M King beat G Wilkinson 10-9; A Higgins (N Ire) beat T Knowles 10-9; L

Dodd beat D Mountjoy (Wales) 10-9; D Harold beat A Robidoux (Canada)

10-8.