PETER EBDON may be the reigning world snooker champion but he was the first to admit Ronnie O'Sullivan is something extra special after Sunday night's clash between the two in the Embassy Snooker Classic at Gillingham.

The exhibition event at the Black Lion Leisure Centre was expected to be a close contest between Ebdon and the man ranked number one in the world.

However, it didn't work out like that as O'Sullivan took control of the match with a century in the opening frame and, with a break of at least 50 in each of the first seven frames, never let Ebdon into the match.

Ebdon said afterwards: "Ronnie is a genius."

O'Sullivan, the 2001 world champion said: "I'd love to win the world title again, but you can't bank on winning that because it's a tough competition. I enjoyed being world champion for a year. It was a real buzz because you never know if it's going to happen again."

Someone who is used to playing against members of the O'Sullivan family is Cliffe Woods' Katie Henrich as she often plays against Ronnie's cousin, Maria Catalano, on the ladies circuit.

But, after facing O'Sullivan in a special one-off frame at the start of the evening, the world number six ladies player says she had mixed emotions watching him compile a 90 break to take the game.

Henrich said: "I was glad I got a couple of pots but he played really well. He's phenomenal. It was really good to be a part of the exhibition. When I missed the red, I thought I might be ok because I only left him one red. I didn't expect him to clear up from there but it was a brilliant break. Even though I lost, it was great to watch."