Snooker results: Ronnie O'Sullivan gets his Six Reds World Championship campaign up and running with a 5-3 win

The Rocket has never previously appeared in this invitational round-robin event, which was first held back in 2008 but not since 2019, and is hoping to find some form in Pathum Thani after a largely disappointing campaign.

O'Sullivan finds himself in Group H alongside Jimmy Robertson, James Wattana and Stan Moody and this commanding performance puts him in a commanding position to finish in the top two and the place in the last 16.

The different format was unsurprisingly not bother to O'Sullivan during the early exchanges and a break of 64 in the second frame helped him open up a commanding 4-0 lead in the race to five before his opponent finally slowed him down.

Even in defeat, frames could prove crucial if players finish level on points at the end of the group stage so Robertson will have been relieved to pick up three of them before O'Sullivan finally picked up his point-winning fifth.

O'Sullivan will return to action on Wednesday for his final two group games against Wattana and Moody. The action is being screened on Eurosport.

Judd Trump put himself on the brink of qualification after beating Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn 5-4, which came after Monday’s 5-0 whitewash of Ricky Walden.

Trump had trailed 4-1 to the Thai but rallied to take victory in a final-set decider.

Walden recovered from that defeat to keep his hopes of qualification alive by beating Hai Long Ma 5-1.

Two-time runner-up Stuart Bingham is safely into the last 16 with a 5-2 win over Jordan Brown.

He told World Snooker Tour: “The short format, anyone can pot five reds, five blacks and they are 40 points up. It is tough, you have to be on your game and play sensibly. You don’t need the big breaks, you need to win the frames.”

Mark Williams was beaten 5-2 by Joe Perry in his opening match to leave him with it all to do on Wednesday.

Six Reds Tournament Format & Results So Far

• The first round consists of eight groups of four players, and runs from March 6-8.
• Each group match is best of 11 frames, with the winner receiving one point and the loser none.
• The top two players in each group will advance to the knockout stage. If players are level on points, frame difference comes into play.
• The last 16 and quarter-finals are both best of 11 frames and take place on March 9.
• The semi-final will be the best of 13 frames and take place on Friday March 10. The final will be the best of 15 frames on Saturday March 11.

Six Reds Group A

• Ding Junhui 5–2 Stephen Maguire
• Zhang Anda 5–2 Mink Nutcharut
• Zhang Anda 5–2 Stephen Maguire
• Ding Junhui 5–2 Mink Nutcharut
• Zhang Anda 5–0 Ding Junhui
• Stephen Maguire 5–0 Mink Nutcharut

Zhang Anda (1st) and Ding Junhui (2nd) progress

Six Reds Group B

• Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5–0 Jimmy White
• Tom Ford 5–1 Zhou Yuelong
• Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-3 Tom Ford
• Zhou Yuelong 5-1 Jimmy White

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (1st) and Tom Ford (2nd) currently in qualification spots

Six Reds Group C

• John Higgins 5–2 Ken Doherty
• Hossein Vafaei 5–2 Poramin Danjirakul
• Hossein Vafaei 5–1 John Higgins
• Pormin Danjirakul 5–3 Ken Doherty
• John Higgins 5–0 Poramin Danjirakul
• Hossein Vafaei 5–1 Ken Doherty

Hossein Vafaei (1st) and John Higgins (2nd) progress

Six Reds Group D

• Judd Trump 5–0 Ricky Walden
• Ma Hai Long 5–3 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
• Judd Trump 5–4 Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn
• Ricky Walden 5-1 Ma Hai Long

Judd Trump (1st) and Ricky Walden (2nd) currently in qualification spots

Six Reds Group E

• Robert Milkins 5–2 Matthew Selt
• Chris Wakelin 5–4 Dechawat Poomjaeng
• Chris Wakelin 5–4 Matthew Selt
• Dechawat Poomjaeng 5–0 Robert Milkins

Chris Wakelin (1st) and Dechawat Poomjaeng (2nd) currently in qualification spots

Six Reds Group F

• Joe Perry 5-1 Mark Williams
• Andres Petrov 5–3 Sunny Akani

Joe Perry (1st) and Andres Petrov (2nd) currently in qualification spots

Six Reds Group G

• Noppon Saengkham 5–4 Jordan Brown
• Stuart Bingham 5–1 Mahoud El Hareedy
• Stuart Bingham 5–2 Jordan Brown
• Noppon Saengkham 5–1 Mahoud El Hareedy

Stuart Bingham (1st) and Noppon Saengkham (2nd) currently in qualification spots

Six Reds Group H

• Ronnie O'Sullivan 5-3 Jimmy Robertson
• James Wattana 5–1 Stan Moody

James Wattana (1st) and Ronnie O'Sullivan (2nd) currently in qualification spots