Ronnie O’Sullivan whitewashes Barry Hawkins in sublime display at World Grand Prix in Cheltenham

Ronnie O’Sullivan dispatched Barry Hawkins in quick time on Tuesday night at the World Grand Prix.

A sublime clearance of 108 saw him take the first, and from then on it was plain sailing as the snooker GOAT unfurled his A-game on the Cheltenham baize.

The second saw O’Sullivan dominate proceedings again, knocking in breaks of 52 and 64 as he doubled his advantage.

Everything was spiralling quickly for Hawkins, and when he finally got his chance after O’Sullivan made a rare miss in frame three, he could not cash in, erring with a red to the middle as O’Sullivan came back to the table and secured a 3-0 lead.

The fourth – finally – saw a dip in O’Sullivan’s level, as he ran out of position and then saw a green hit the jaws of the middle pocket to give Hawkins some much-needed table time.

Hawkins established a 47-23 lead before a safety battle ensued in which he blinked first, giving O’Sullivan the chance to clear up.

But O’Sullivan then missed himself on the stretch, allowing Hawkins back in. But Hawkins let his opponent off the hook again, and this time O’Sullivan did not pass up the invitation to take a 4-0 whitewash.

Meanwhile on the arena’s adjoining table, Joe O’Connor made a similarly strong start to his encounter with Lyu Haotian, taking a 2-0 lead.

That match was still ongoing as O’Sullivan and Hawkins departed, with the evening’s second matches set to see Judd Trump take on Hossein Vafaei and Kyren Wilson play Robbie Williams.

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