SNOOKER NEWS:RONNIE O'SULLIVAN had to be persuaded to pot the black to secure a 147 break at the World Open in Glasgow yesterday after learning there was no bonus prize for a maximum.

O’Sullivan shook hands with Mark King after potting the pink to take his break to 140 in the final frame of his quickfire 3-0 triumph.

But referee Jan Verhaas convinced the former world champion to finish off the 10th maximum of his career, putting him in pole position to claim the highest break prize of “only” €4,500.

“I wasn’t going to pot the black because to make 147 and not really get a nice bonus was a bit disappointing because they are magical moments and they deserve magical bonuses,” O’Sullivan said.

“But the ref played a guilt trip on me and said ‘Come on, do it for your fans’. And I thought, ‘Okay, because I haven’t got long to play anyway, so I might as well go out on a high’. But I wasn’t going to pot it because four grand, once you’ve paid the taxes . . .”

When asked whether he needed the money, O’Sullivan responded: “Twenty-five (thousand) would have been nice so I could have gone on holiday.”

The world number six, who plays Jimmy White next, claimed he would have been happy to make a break of 140.

“I got as much a kick out of doing that as I would have done making it,” he added. “It’s a great achievement to make a 140 and not pot the black. It shows that to me they are not that difficult to make. From the first red, I already thought I would make a 147.”

Meanwhile, Barry Hearn has claimed snooker would lead the way in tackling corruption in sport as he promised a “zero tolerance” approach at the launch of a new integrity unit.

The World Snooker chairman has proposed instant lifetime bans for anyone in the game caught breaching his new rule of “no betting on anything”.

Hearn has enlisted the help of former police commissioner Lord Stevens in tackling corruption in sport.