Ronnie O’Sullivan refused to allow Ali Carter, the pressure of overwhelming expectation or his niggling personal demon, frustration, to block his path to a commanding overnight lead in the 888.com World Championship final in Sheffield last night.

At the midway point of the first all-English climax to the sport’s premier event since John Parrott beat Jimmy White in 1991, O’Sullivan leads 11-5, on course to become only the third player, after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, to triumph more than twice at the Crucible.

The player universally regarded as the most naturally talented ever to wield a cue requires only seven of the remaining 19 frames to collect the £250,000 first prize and there is an outside chance that O’Sullivan could wrap up proceedings with a session to spare.

It would be inappropriate to suggest that O’Sullivan’s performance was mediocre, but with the balls often conspiring against fluency, his position of early supremacy was largely down to discipline and tactical awareness.

After Carter wasted two opportunities in the opening frame, O’Sullivan cleared from last red to pink before smoothly compiling breaks of 88, 99 and 74 to establish a 4-1 lead.

However, the sixth frame did not fit that pattern. It lasted 29 minutes, an eternity for O’Sullivan, who snook-ered himself on the yellow when fast approaching 5-1. When Carter eventually potted brown to pink for 4-2, you wondered whether O’Sullivan’s rhythm would dissipate.

It did, but the 2001 and 2004 world champion, who has often placed greater store on style than success, kept patient. He battled through a disjointed seventh frame before adding the eighth with a hard-working run of 47, initiated by a fluked red, to lead 6-2.

On the resumption, O’Sullivan moved 8-3 ahead but still nowhere near his sharpest, missed a yellow and a long red in losing the twelfth frame to provide Carter with a glimmer of hope, which burnt a tad brighter after the underdog’s 80 clearance from 45 points adrift in the thirteenth.

O’Sullivan, furious that a thumping kick had deprived him of position when sprinting towards 9-4, was briefly rattled. His body language screamed angst and, given his lengthy history of unravelling in a fog of self-destruction, Carter must have sensed an opportunity.

However, O’Sullivan restored a measure of equilibrium with an 86 break in the fourteenth, added the next on the black and, his mid-session wobble over, finished the day in splendid fashion with a run of 106.

That was his twelfth century of the championship and his 50th of the season. It is only the second time that landmark has been reached. Hendry compiled a record 53 centuries in 1994-95 from 15 tournaments, O’Sullivan has appeared in only nine events this season.

“I’ve got to take it frame by frame, keep punching and if I’m close going into the last session, who knows,” Carter said, without any great conviction. Who could blame him.

The final

R O’Sullivan leads A Carter 11-5 (frame scores; O’Sullivan first): 81-56, 127-0, 99-4, 0-104, 86-4, 62-76, 65-18, 73-0, 78-0, 36-60, 86-8, 28-93, 45-80, 126-0, 77-32, 110-5)

Today’s session times: 2.30pm and 8pm

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