Snooker champ O'Sullivan sets record in whitewashing Walden

Five-time snooker world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan took only 59 minutes to whitewash Ricky Walden 6-0 at the Masters quarterfinals here. The 38-year-old scored 556 unanswered points for any professional tournament, topping Ding Junhui's record of 495 against Stephen Hendry in the 2007 Premier league.

He will next take on Scot Stephen Maguire, who beat Australian Neil Robertson 6-2 in the day's another quarterfinal Friday.

Walden, the 11th seed, actually had the first chance in the opening frame but broke down on 38. He never got a chance again to score after that.

"I've been putting a few hours in before the tournament and you just hope on a few occasions it comes out, and today it did," O'Sullivan was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"I didn't feel that I was unplayable but I certainly felt like I was in control of the cue ball and my long potting was good. My safety was ok and my scoring was good so it's tough to play when someone is doing all four things so well.

"Form is temporary from one match to another so there is no point getting too excited about things just yet. It was a win, it was a good win and I'm pleased to be through to the next round but then we start from level in the next match and it's going to be a tough one."