Ronnie O'Sullivan ensured the Scottish Open began with a bang as he recorded the second-fastest century in televised snooker history.
O'Sullivan needed just 214 seconds, narrowly falling short of the record held by Tony Drago on 211, as he went on to register a sensational 118 to the delight of the crowd in Edinburgh.
Tony Drago v Ronnie O'Sullivan: The two fastest century breaks of all time and what a race it is... pic.twitter.com/9NDDv7zwEC
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) November 28, 2022
It was at first believed that O'Sullivan had broken the record only for a review of footage to deny him, to the amusement of Judd Trump...
Reviewed by Tony Drago?
— Judd Trump (@juddtrump) November 28, 2022
Nevertheless the reigning world champion continued in a similar vein to beat Bai Langning 4-0 in well under an hour.
Watch the closing stages of his (almost) record break by clicking the play icon.
Wowzers! O'Sullivan is on 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 🔥
— Eurosport (@eurosport) November 28, 2022
Ronnie O'Sullivan sealed the victory in just over 45 minutes. Unstoppable performance 🤯#ScottishOpen | #HomeNations | @ronnieo147 pic.twitter.com/9OVdAPa6i5
Tony Drago's record
Now watch Tony Drago's break, which remains the fastest recorded on television.
Scots soar on day one
Also on a thrilling first day's play, defending champion Luca Brecel lost 4-3 to Scotland's Fraser Patrick.
It’s only the fourth match win of the season for world number 86 Patrick, who had to pull out of last week’s BetVictor German Masters qualifying though illness.
He had sat and watched Brecel take control at 3-2 before forcing a 41-minute decider which he won for a huge victory in his young career.
Patrick said: "I wasn’t expecting too much as I haven’t been playing. I’ve been under the weather and pulled out last week. I came here yesterday thinking I’d play and see what happens. I didn’t feel any pressure because of that.
"I don’t think I’ve ever won a game in Scotland, but I’ve lost to Marcus Campbell and Anthony Hamilton 4-3. To get my first win, on the main table and against the defending champion. It can’t get much better than that.
"I’ll try to get another few wins and have a wee run. I want to try and get a bit of confidence ahead of the New Year and you never know what can happen."
Glasgow’s 31-time ranking event winner John Higgins also booked his place in the last 64 with a 4-2 win over Anthony Hamilton as he seeks to capture the Stephen Hendry Trophy for the first time.
World number three Trump eased to a 4-0 whitewash win over Sanderson Lam, former Scottish Open champion Mark Allen sealed his progression with a 4-1 win over Andy Lee, while Mark Williams beat Andres Petrov 4-1.
Highlights | Scottish Open | Day 1
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) November 28, 2022
📺💻📱 @Eurosport, @DiscoveryPlus pic.twitter.com/hdRh9ACXz8