Ronnie O’Sullivan sealed his place in the World Championship quarter-final – but is far from happy.
O’Sullivan rifled in a break of 95 to complete his victory over Pang Junxu 13-4 on Monday night, needing just 17 minutes of the evening session to win the single frame he needed to make the last eight. However, the seven-time world champ admitted he feels “horrible” at the table right now and was extremely downbeat post match.
Rating his form as “probably two out of 10”, O’Sullivan, who will face another Chinese opponent, Si Jiahui, in the last eight said: “I wasn’t bothered about getting it over quickly – I need all the table time I can get.
“I think I’ve dragged them (my opponents) down to a poorer level. I think they expected me to play better and were maybe shocked that I didn’t, but I don’t think Si will fall into that trap, and that’s what makes him dangerous.”
O’Sullivan only decided to play against bitter rival Ali Carter the day before his Crucible opener but insists he is feeling “so unconfident”.
And he insisted he’s not having problems with a new cue, and that his issues are all stemming from himself.
Speaking to the BBC The Rocket said: “The [new] cue is fine – it’s just me. I’ve given up even trying to find out what it is. You try so many things to work it out and you either have to accept it or not.
“I don’t think I could’ve accepted how I was playing for a while. So I’m just going to try and coach my way out of it, give myself two years and just give it a good go.
“I feel so unconfident. It’s like, horrible. It’s horrible even when you’re playing alright. I got messed up by a coach and I am just trying to unravel it but I just don’t think I can.
“I know I’m probably not normal and have accepted that as well. If either player I played had played well I would have got beat because I’ve played poorly. They’ve let me off the hook. It’s difficult. It’s difficult.
“I hit a safety shot there in that frame and caught it so thick. I can’t even see where I’m hitting it, it’s just guesswork.
“Then I try it again and a different shot comes off. On the balls I was alright but there are so many parts to the game. It’s hell to be honest. I just want to enjoy it. I don’t care about winning – that’s just a bonus.
“But I just want to be part of a good game.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
