UK Championship 2023: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins but Neil Robertson makes early exit

Ronnie O'Sullivan is looking to win a record-extending 22nd Triple Crown event in York

Seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed a comfortable 6-2 first-round victory over Anthony McGill in the UK Championship in York.

A 116 clearance and a half-century had given McGill an early 2-0 lead.

However, world number one O'Sullivan then took charge - compiling five half-centuries as he reeled off the next six frames to seal his victory.

Three-time UK champion John Higgins beat Joe O'Connor 6-3 in Tuesday afternoon's other match.

Scotland's Higgins will meet Zhou Yuelong next, with the 25-year-old from China defeating an out-of-sorts Neil Robertson 6-2.

O'Sullivan will face a fellow Englishman in the last 16 after Robert Milkins came back from 5-3 down to win a thrilling encounter 6-5 against Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

Beating McGill from the early deficit showed O'Sullivan fancies this week's challenge, and he told BBC Sport: "Against Anthony, it was not about playing well, it's about digging deep and out-battling.

"These tournaments create more of a buzz and pressure. You can feel it and you generally get up for it a bit more."

'The Rocket' has lift-off

O'Sullivan arrived in York in a blaze of publicity, having said he could quit the sport, and he spent part of last week on the red carpet - or more accurately, the green carpet - for the release of his documentary.

He received a rapturous reception as he stepped into the auditorium for his match against McGill, with O'Sullivan competing in only his second tournament in Britain this season - 30 years to the day since he became the youngest winner of a ranking event with the first of his seven UK titles, aged 17.

While McGill was able to establish a two-frame advantage, any questions around 'The Rocket' being undercooked were soon dismissed and he was able to go through the gears as McGill began to falter.

The Scot, who won their epic 2021 World Championship last-16 meeting 13-12, was playing with a carbon fibre cue and a glove to aid his cueing but repeatedly struggled with pots from distance.

That only acted as encouragement to O'Sullivan, who rattled in two breaks of 89 and enjoyed runs of 66 and 61 before taking the final frame with a 92.

Classy Higgins holds off O'Connor

Over on the adjacent table, Higgins showed his enduring class to race into a 4-1 lead against O'Connor with breaks of 66, 76 and 58.

The 48-year-old was then forced to sit in his chair and watch as the Englishman reduced the deficit to 4-3 with runs of 67 and 83.

A pivotal eighth frame went to the four-time world champion, who constructed a magnificent 122 break after an O'Connor foul allowed him back to the table.

Higgins, whose last ranking event title came early in 2021 at the Players Championship, has since suffered some notable losses from winning positions, but he rounded off this performance with a composed 66.

"I was happy with the way it finished because I have lost a few matches after being well in front this season and things obviously start to go through your mind," Higgins said.

"All I was doing was just trying to keep my shoulders straight. It is difficult to get out of your mind sometimes so you just try to think positive and give off a good vibe."

Robertson's miserable run continues & the Milkman delivers

Robertson defeated Zhou 6-2 in the semi-finals of the 2020 tournament, when he collected the last of his three UK crowns, and also thrashed him 9-0 in the European Masters final that same year.

However, this was a markedly different affair, with Zhou scoring heavily at every opportunity against a player who has failed to progress beyond the first round of any ranking event this season.

World number 26 Zhou made breaks of 80, 50 and 134 in the opening three frames, with Robertson pinching the second along the way and levelling matters at 2-2 with an exquisite 135 of his own.

Symptomatic of Robertson's miserable season so far, he was severely punished for a glaring miss on a red to the left middle in a pivotal fifth frame which would have turned the contest in his favour.

Zhou edged back ahead with a run of 67 and finished off a sparkling display with further breaks of 99, 136 and 74.

Meanwhile, Milkins and Un-Nooh played out the final first-round match and arguably the most exciting. Breaks of 93, 127 and 85, saw Un-Nooh make a blistering start to lead 3-1.

Milkins, who has tasted success at the Gibraltar Open and Welsh Open over the last two years, clawed his way back into the contest with two centuries and a run of 99 before taking nervy 10th and 11th frames.