RONNIE O'Sullivan hailed Welsh schoolboy Jackson Page as "by far the best British junior I have seen" after defeating the young gun at the Betway UK Championship.

Five-time UK champ O'Sullivan is in second-round action at the Barbican tomorrow, facing Cypriot Michael Georgiou in the afternoon session.

But he had to overcome a tough challenge from 16-year-old Page to get there – the 'Rocket' eventually winning Thursday's encounter 6-3.

"He's a fantastic talent and a raw talent with a great temperament," O'Sullivan said of his opponent. "The kid has something about him.

"He is by far the best British junior I have seen. He has things to work on but once he does he will be very dangerous. I played okay, but it was nothing special."

It looked like being a routine victory for O'Sullivan when he compiled breaks of 80 and 117 to storm into a 2-0 lead in front of a packed crowd.

However, Page showed his talent by drawing level and could have taken the fifth and sixth frames, with both eventually going the way of his experienced opponent.

O'Sullivan added the next before a break of 65 pulled Page back within two frames of his idol. That was before a superb 105 run finally confirmed the Englishman's spot in the last 64.

Page said: "Playing Ronnie was great. He ran away with it in the end, but I suppose I will take 6-3. A lot of people thought I would get battered but I competed. I didn't want to get hammered."