The world number two was twice fortunate to see his opponent miss routine blacks, one to level at 2-2 and another to extend a break of 55 which could have seen the score move to 5-3.

Instead, world number 81 Steadman found himself 6-2 down and contributions of 54 and 75 extended O'Sullivan's lead to five frames.

Elsewhere, two-time finalist Ali Carter progressed to a second-round meeting with Neil Robertson with a 10-5 win over Scotland's Alan McManus .

Carter, who got the all-clear from cancer for a second time in December, said: "I've been working hard on my fitness and the practice table.

"Peter Ebdon is here to help me on the practice table. All things considered, today will bring me on leaps and bounds and I'm here to win this tournament."

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