Ronnie O’Sullivan shrugged off two more Crucible records after winning the solitary frame he needed to polish off a 13-4 win over Mark Allen and cruise into the quarter-finals of the World Snooker Championship for the 20th time.
As well as eclipsing the previous best he shared with Stephen Hendry for reaching the last eight, O’Sullivan’s 71st career win also took him clear for the number of matches won by a single player at The Crucible.
Most matches won at the Crucible: 7⃣1⃣
— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 23, 2022
Into his 2⃣0⃣th World Championship 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹
Ronnie O'Sullivan keeps on 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴! 😍🚀@WeAreWST | #ilovesnooker | @ronnieo147 pic.twitter.com/KdcBHRGw3Z
Typically O’Sullivan, who is now favourite to match the Scot’s record of seven Crucible crowns next week, repeated his regular assertion that he has no interest in most of the plaudits that keep coming his way.
“It doesn’t mean anything to me,” insisted O’Sullivan. “They’re not the kinds of statistics that I’m proud of. The ones that I’m proud of are the majors and that’s about it really.”
Inspiration from an unlikely source
O’Sullivan had done all the hard work in the first two sessions of his match against Allen, making their return on Saturday a formality.
But he insisted the relatively-effortless nature of his victory belied a tough battle to stay at the top of his game, invoking the example of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee.
“It comes down to quite a few years of practice and years of dedication and of trying to be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be,” added O’Sullivan.
“If you look at Bruce Lee, he trained for many hours, not just mentally but physically. We’re experts in different fields but I try to approach my sport in a way which is no different.
“It’s not easy – I really struggle with it, to be honest with you. Even when I steam-rollered everyone in 2012, it wasn’t easy. It is all about just playing to have fun, enjoy it and relish every moment even when it’s not going great.”
Ronnie O'Sullivan: "I just like proving everyone wrong"#ilovesnooker @Betfred pic.twitter.com/lFDhQQnTep
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) April 23, 2022
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- Murphy completes 'Holy Grail'
- James Cooper's World Championship form guide
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- History of snooker's number ones
- Watch all the Crucible 147 breaks
- History of 147 breaks
- Crucible memories: Ronnie's finest hour
- Crucible memories: Higgins denies Trump
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