In a Channel 4 cookery show aired before a cueball was struck in Barnsley this week TV presenter Tim Lovejoy asked Ronnie O’Sullivan if he was going to win the English Open. O’Sullivan cheekily replied “probably”. It turned out he was spot on.

Ronnie O’Sullivan stands just three frames away from winning his 29th career ranking title following a fabulous and dominant display of snooker in the first session of the English Open final.