Crucible inexperience handcuffs youngster Yan

SHEFFIELD, England - Yan Bingtao became the first player born in this century to play in the World Snooker Championship, but the Chinese teenager's Crucible debut didn't go as he would have hoped on Sunday.

Yan, born in February 2000, arrived in Sheffield hailed as one of the brightest young stars in a growing band of Chinese players making an impact on the sport.

The 17-year-old showed glimpses of the talent that many expect will bring him a host of trophies over the course of his career, making a fine 109 break in the second frame of his first-round tie against Shaun Murphy.

But Yan still ended up trailing 6-3 at the end of the first session as Murphy's experience on the big stage proved crucial.

The 2005 world champion lost to Yan twice in three previous meetings but their first Crucible encounter presented a different challenge to the teenager.

Although based in Sheffield, Yan had never before played at the venue, while Murphy is intimately acquainted with the famous theatre.

Murphy rattled in 112 and 118 to surge 4-1 ahead, before shaking off the setback of losing the next two frames by taking control at the end.

They were set to play to a finish in the best-of-19-frame match on Monday.

'Bullied' O'Sullivan

Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan insisted he was done with being "bullied" and "intimidated" by officials as he hit out at snooker's hierarchy after winning his first-round match on Sunday.

The five-time world champion singled out World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn for special criticism as he made clear his anger at receiving a letter from disciplinary chiefs after he criticized a referee and photographer during January's Masters.

The 41-year-old O'Sullivan, one of the most talented cuemen the game has known, is now snooker's biggest drawing card while Hearn, who made his name in sports promotion as the manager of six-time world champion Steve Davis, has been credited with lifting the game out of the doldrums since taking charge of World Snooker.

But the relationship between the English compatriots took a turn for the worse when Hearn said last week that some of O'Sullivan's recent behavior had been "embarrassing".

Post-match interviews have seen O'Sullivan deliberately and repeatedly respond with one-word answers, and he gave an interview to British television channel ITV at the World Grand Prix in February in what was described as a "robotic" voice.

But O'Sullivan feels he has been harshly treated, with 'The Rocket' launching an attack on Hearn on Sunday that was almost as blistering as one of the lightning century breaks that led to his nickname.

"I phoned Barry up four weeks ago and I said, 'Barry, I'm done with you and your board of people'," O'Sullivan said.

"And I've got a very good friend of mine who said, 'Just let my lawyers deal with it'. I won't get involved with it because I'm not being bullied, I'm not having people doing that to me ever again.

"I'm just fortunate I've got a very good friend who's got very good lawyers and they've got my back.

"I just want to play and have fun."

Agence France-Presse