WORLD snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby have praised the impact of the PartyPoker.com Premier League on the sport.

O’Sullivan and Selby both recorded 6-0 whitewashes of Ding Junhui and Steve Davis respectively in front of a packed house at Malvern Theatres.

The Rocket compiled breaks of 134 and 126, as well as three further half-century efforts, in a scintillating display against Chinese ace Ding, while league leader Selby made it three wins from three with breaks of 101, 95 and 80 against six-time world champion Davis.

The competition, which includes a 25-second shot clock and carries a £1,000-per-frame and century break bonus, takes the world’s top players to different venues around the country.

It was the second time the event has visited Malvern and the final round of matches are due to take place at Kidderminster’s Glades Arena on November 27.

Selby said: “In the last couple of seasons, snooker has not been as high-profile as it should be and I think it’s great to have the Premier League in different cities.

“You have got some top-class players in the league and, for some of the juniors watching, it’s going to be their heroes with the likes of O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry, people they have looked up to in the past. It’s a prime chance for them to come and see them.

“It’s good for the juniors more than seniors because the seniors have been playing for years and we need to try and progress a lot more juniors. Hopefully, we will get a lot more juniors coming through from Worcestershire.”

World number one O’Sullivan said: “It’s great for one night with packed audiences.

“Hopefully, people will see it and kids will get a buzz from it and go down the snooker hall and start playing. It’s a good thing.

“This is quite a good area for snooker. There are some good amateur players around here and good leagues so I think it’s good to come here and play.”