FIVE-TIME world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is within touching distance of the quarter-finals after winning seven of eight frames against Matthew Stevens yesterday in an imperious display.

Ill-fitting shoes of O'Sullivan, who now leads Stevens 12-4, earned most of the attention following his first-round win over Craig Steadman.

While on Saturday night his cue visibly bent as he crashed it against the table in frustration at a missed pot at the start of his second-round encounter with Stevens.

And he was in hot water again when referee Olivier Marteel warned O'Sullivan after he made a hand gesture when frustrated at missing a red in the final frame of the afternoon session.

But Essex's finest needs just one more frame to reach the quarter-finals.

O'Sullivan held a 5-3 overnight lead and made a storming start yesterday with a 63 break.

Frame 11 was a scrappy affair that took O'Sullivan 25 minutes to claim, but plucky Stevens was not prepared to give up without a fight and cleared the table with a break of 55.

But reigning UK champion O'Sullivan took an 8-4 lead into the mid-session interval, rattling in a century inside nine minutes, then won the final four frames after the break to move into a commanding lead.

And 2010 winner Neil Robertson looks set to join the Rocket in the last eight, after opening up an 11-5 lead on Ali Carter.

Resuming with a 6-2 overnight, Robertson recovered from dropping the first frame to rattle off five in a row - a majestic 119 break the highlight.

And despite letting the final two frames of the session slip, the Australian needs just two more to book a quarter-final with world No.5 Barry Hawkins.

A break of 61 saw Carter clinch the opening frame, but Robertson was back to his best in frame 10, piecing together a 72 break to regain a four-frame lead.

Frame 11 was a test of concentration, nerve and geometry, in which Robertson cleared the table to win by two points, punching the air after rolling the black in along the bottom rail.

With a fresh spring in his step, Robertson took a six-frame lead into the mid-session interval with an impressive 119 break and continued to be ruthless in frame 13 to move 10-3 ahead.

A break of 71 in the next, left Carter facing the possibility of going home from Sheffield with a session to spare. But the former world No2 hit back to reduce the overnight deficit.

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