Rocket Ronnie Survives First Round Scare At World Championship

Rocket Ronnie Survives First Round Scare At World Championship
09:04, 23 Apr 2018

If any evidence was required to show that Ronnie O’Sullivan is a different beast to the one we have seen at the World Championship since he last reached the final back in 2014 – today showed it in abundance.

The five-time champion showed what he can do by using a new session as a new slate completing a 10-7 win over Stephen Maguire after trailing 6-3 overnight.

He won seven of today’s eight frames to turn the match completely on its head – he bossed it from start to finish showing that he’s more than capable mentally of putting bad sessions to the back of his mind and coming back to fight it out.

These were the kind of matches Ronnie has been losing at the Crucible in recent years where he almost looked as if he didn’t have the heart – or rather the match sharpness for the battle.

This performance was another demonstration of what we’ve seen all season; that he is a fierce competitor on the table who just won’t give in. It delivers an ominous message to his rivals who now know that even with a bad session, he has what it takes to come back and still win with a little bit to spare. It looks like it’s going to take something special to knock him down this time.

As Ronnie told us after the match, he might not be playing the best snooker of his career, but he is playing winning snooker. He is mentally as strong as he has ever been and has taken his health and fitness regime to such a level that he looks certain to be able to sustain form for the full 17 days.

With Selby gone, clamour for O’Sullivan to win a sixth world title is only growing and this win, albeit not without blemishes, was in many ways a perfect start.

He looks like he has all season. Calm, controlled and capable of stepping it up just when he needs it. There are plenty of players who can beat O’Sullivan this year. There are some fine players vying for the title alongside him, but while the Rocket looks as hungry as ever to get the job done, he also sees to be able to play without swamping himself with pressure. He has found a way to play as if it means nothing when in fact it means everything.

Next up for O’Sullivan is Ali Carter who is beaten twice before in the final in Sheffield. He can through an epic against Graeme Dott 10-8 and showed with his celebration just how much he wants it this year too.

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