Sporting Digest: Snooker

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN has been given a wild card into the Benson and Hedges Irish Masters in March.

EMBASSY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (Blackpool) Seventh qualifying round: M King (Eng) bt S Lanigan (Eng) 10-8; A Davies (Eng) bt N Noppachorn (Thai) 10-8; D Harrold (Eng) bt W Jones (Wal) 10-8; O'Brien bt M O'Sullivan (Eng) 10-9. Final qualifying round: S Gill (Eng) bt M Bennett (Wal) 10-7; C Thorburn (Can) bt T Drago (Malta) 10-5; M Davis (Eng) bt J Ferguson (Eng) 10-9; P Ebdon (Eng) bt S Mazrocis (Eng) 10-4; D O'Kane (NZ) bt S Lee (Eng) 10-6; B Snaddon (Sco) bt J Swail (N Irl) 10-4; F O'Brien (Irl) bt N Price (Eng) 10-4; R O'Sullivan (Eng) bt T Jones (Eng) 10-8; D Henry (Sco) bt M Hallett (Eng) 10-5; G Ponting (Eng) bt M Johnson-Allen (Eng) 10-9.