Ronnie booked his place in the quarter-finals at the Crucible this afternoon with a 13-7 win over Ryan Day.

Here are the scores of that match:

This is the report by WST. Ronnie explains why he felt the need to change his technic and turned to Nic Barrow for help.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, at ease with his technique and competing with enthusiasm, reached a record-extending 22nd Crucible quarter-final by rounding off a 13-7 success against Ryan Day in the second round of the Cazoo World Championship.

Looking relaxed and confident, O’Sullivan even engaged in a friendly exchange with a woman in the crowd who was clapping eagerly during the 17th frame. “She got a bit excited, maybe she had never been to a snooker match before!” he later joked. “I said she should calm down a bit. But then I felt a bit bad, I didn’t want her to think I was telling her off.”

O’Sullivan has dropped just eight frames in the tournament so far and will meet Stuart Bingham or Jack Lisowski on Tuesday and Wednesday. He needs three more wins to land an eighth world title, which would put him one ahead of Stephen Hendry. The world’s number one has already won five trophies this season and his prize money tally for 2023/24 is now £1,265,500.

MOST CRUCIBLE QUARTER-FINALS

ROCKET EXTENDS RECORD

Ronnie O’Sullivan 22
Stephen Hendry 19
John Higgins 17
Steve Davis 15
Jimmy White 15

Working with coach Nic Barrow, O’Sullivan is, for once, content with his game in matches and practice. “It feels like I want to play,” he told BBC. “It feels like I want to get my cue out of the case. I’m not scared of the table, not scared of the balls. I’m scared of some other things but not that, which is the most important thing. When you’re confident in your ability to do something when you get the chance, then you feel alright.

“It’s early days for me, trying this new way of playing, a different style of cueing. It’s been hard work for two years. I decided I couldn’t continue playing like that. I had to make some changes and it’s the body and the mind trying to catch up with each other. I’ve got some of it right, I’m just trying to work out the puzzle at the moment. I’ve had a bit of excitement for the last couple of weeks, getting through the ball better. There were some good bits there today. When I find this game hard my life gets harder.  When I find it easy, life becomes a pleasant place again.” 

O’Sullivan led 10-6 after two sessions, having made breaks of 123, 84, 83, 51, 92, 82, 65, 89, 56 and 96. The opening frame of today’s concluding session came down to a battle on the yellow and Day, leading 57-35, got an unwanted double kiss attempting safety, handing his opponent an opening to make a fine clearance to extend his lead.

A run of 85 brought him to the brink of victory, and though Day pulled one back, O’Sullivan finished the job in frame 20 with 67 and 53.

Day said: “I created lots of chances, but I struggled to settle all game. I missed too many balls and you can’t do that no matter who you play. If I’d managed to settle I could have given him more of a game and put him under pressure. I wasn’t able to do that.“

Here are some images shared by WST

There is also an interesting article by Phil Haigh about Ronnie’s struggles with anxiety over the last two years, despite all his successes

Ronnie O’Sullivan speaks out on anxiety struggles: ‘For two years I’ve held it down’

Phil Haigh

Ronnie O’Sullivan says his issues with his own game have led to him taking medication for anxiety, but is finally feeling better after two years ‘in the doldrums.’

The Rocket is into the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship after seeing off Jackson Page and Ryan Day in the opening two rounds.

He is looking to end an already brilliant season in style by adding the world title to five other big events he has picked up over the campaign.

The 48-year-old has cut a frustrated figure over the season, despite his immense success, but is looking and sounding generally more positive in Sheffield.

After beating Page in round one the Rocket suggested he is going to push on into his 50s and see how many more world titles he can win, sounding a lot more buoyant than recent months.

O’Sullivan spoke about working with a new coach ahead of the Crucible this year and he certainly has a bit more pep in his step after two years of not feeling at his best and struggling with anxiety over his game to the point he had to take medication for it.

‘I’ve had such a long time in the doldrums,’ O’Sullivan told the BBC after beating Day 13-7. ‘For two years I’ve held it down, I’ve not really mentioned anything but it’s been really challenging.

I’ve had to take medication for the anxiety and all that sort of stuff, even in small tournaments, even when I’m not playing. That’s how bad the game can make me feel at times.

‘I didn’t want to do that anymore. I’ve just had a bit of excitement for the last couple of weeks, getting through the ball a little bit better. Then you come down crashing to earth. I was out there last night and it started to wander a bit. It was like, can we fix it? Can we get it back on track? There were some good bits there today.’

‘I’m just getting a bit more optimism a bit more belief that I can sustain it. It’s no good being able to do it for one match or one tournament you’ve got to try and sustain it for a few months, even a year. I played great for three years once, never had a bad day, so it can happen, you just have to get everything right.’

O’Sullivan has often tried to play down how much he is affected by the sport he sits atop of, but admits it is almost impossible to separate his emotions from how his game feels.

‘When I find this game hard my life gets harder. When I find this game easy it comes good to me, life becomes a pleasant place again,’ he said. 

‘I’ve tried to disassociate from it, it’s not easy, I’ve tried to not let the sport identify me, but it’s hard. I’ve probably accepted it’s never going to happen. 

‘I’ve just tried to minimise the bad performances or what I consider bad feelings out there when I’m playing. If I’m cueing well and lose I’m in a great place because I’m looking forward to the next one. When you’re winning and not looking forward to playing, it’s like, where do I go from here? It’s not a good place to be.’

Here are some videos shared by Eurosport on their YouTube Channel