SHEFFIELD, April 19: Scotland’s John Higgins opened the defence of his snooker World Championship title at The Crucible here on Saturday, taking an early lead over tough opponent Matthew Stevens.

In the first fixture of the tournament, Higgins won six frames in a row to forge a 7-2 lead going into the evening session against twice runner-up Stevens.

The Welshman had not lost a first round match in 10 visits to The Crucible and came close to scoring a maximum 147 break in the third frame.

He potted 14 reds and 14 blacks - fluking the last one - before narrowly failing to pot the final red down the rail.

On the other table, Australia’s Neil Robertson finished the day 7-2 up against 1995 finalist Nigel Bond, the left-hander knocking in breaks of 70 and 52 in an otherwise scrappy encounter which saw a re-rack in the fourth frame.

Elsewhere in the first round, China’s Ding Junhui plays Hong Kong’s Marco Fu.

Ding is joined at The Crucible this year by his compatriots - and former Sheffield housemates - Liang Wenbo and Liu Chang.

They all have tough first round assignments with 17-year-old rookie Liu up against England’s Ronnie O’Sullivan and 21-year-old left-hander Liang taking on another former world champion in Ireland’s Ken Doherty.

Sixth seed Ding appears the best-placed of the Chinese contingent to go all the way.

Ding’s talent is not in doubt but his temperament was questioned following his first round defeat last season against O’Sullivan.

Fu, who is not as spectacular, has more of an all-round game and beat Ding when they met at the Masters in January.

Stephen Maguire, beaten 17-15 in last year’s final, takes on Anthony Hamilton.

O’Sullivan remains the most talented player in the field but whether the Englishman can maintain his concentration long enough to take another world title is anyone’s guess.

Graeme Dott, the 2006 champion, has decided to play in the tournament despite suffering from depression.

The Scot has lost his last 15 matches and has experienced several personal traumas, faces Joe Perry in the first round.—AFP