O'Sullivan misses maximum chance

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After recovering from 3-2 down to lead 5-3, O'Sullivan was on target for a maximum 147 break in the ninth frame, the last of the session. He potted 10 reds and nine blacks, but the 10th black squirmed out via the jaws of the top left pocket, to gasps of disappointment from the packed crowd at the Crucible.

Bingham could not force his way back into the frame, and O'Sullivan clinched the three-frame advantage which he will take into tonight's concluding session.

Although he failed in a bid for the fourth Crucible maximum of his career, O'Sullivan did manage two century breaks.

He took the first frame with a break of 61, but better was to come in the next. In barely seven minutes the 33-year-old constructed a smooth total clearance of 140.

However, Bingham, who had barely been out of his seat in the opening two frames, made runs of 67 and 36 to cut O'Sullivan's lead, and he then won a scrappy fourth to move on to level terms in the best-of-19-frames match at the mid-session interval.

A 58 break in the fifth frame handed Bingham a 3-2 lead, but four frames in a row won by O'Sullivan changed the complexion of the match.

He made it 3-3 after a tight sixth frame before a 72 break edged him 4-3 ahead. Then came O'Sullivan's second century, a terrific break of 104 which earned him a 5-3 lead.

The crowd were gripped as it became apparent a 147 was on the cards in the final frame of the session, but O'Sullivan's luck was out.