Ronnie O’Sullivan said he prefers Crawley to the Crucible despite sweeping into the last eight of the world championship in Sheffield with an imperious 13-10 victory over Ding Junhui.
Resuming at 8-8, O’Sullivan pulled away in a quickfire and high-quality final session that included breaks of 50-plus in each of the evening’s seven frames.
The five-times winner, who next faces fellow veteran Mark Williams, said he still struggles to enjoy the event and would rather be playing at the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, which he described as a “hellhole” during last year’s English Open.
O’Sullivan said: “To be honest I prefer the format of Crawley because it’s the best of seven, so it’s a quick in-and-out. Here it’s a great venue but it’s a bit hectic and a bit stressful. I’d rather take the Crawley option to be honest with you.”
Asked if would have believed he and Williams would still be performing at the top over two decades later, the 44-year-old told BBC Two: “Probably not if you asked me then but when you look at the standard of play, I would say yes.
“People like me, John Higgins and Mark Williams, if you look at the younger players coming through, they are not that good really. Most of them would do well as half-decent amateurs, not even amateurs. They are so bad.
“A lot of them you see now, you look at them and think, ‘I would have to lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50’. That is why we are still hovering around, because of how poor it is down that end. I am just glad I found a way to try to compete with my mind out there. I spoke to [sports psychiatrist] Steve Peters and worked on a few things so when I went out there my mind was clear.
“It is better with the fans, of course it is. It is like playing in a morgue out there. It feels like a village at the moment, the players are much more relaxed, for the top players it can be a nightmare.”
O’Sullivan’s slick performance saw him move two frames clear with breaks of 87 and 73 before Ding seized advantage of a rare missed black to reduce the deficit with a break of 88. O’Sullivan nudged 11-9 in front with a break of 60 and, after Ding cleared to brown in the next with a break of 81, O’Sullivan struck a superb 117 to move within a frame of victory. He narrowly missed back-to-back centuries but a 93 break in the next frame sealed the win.
O’Sullivan said: “When you’re younger you have all the hunger and desire but at some point you have to try to get yourself motivated, whether that’s taking the pressure off or getting another hobby or job.
“I was glad I was able to focus but I’m just more passionate and motivated about other things I’m doing off the table. But while I’m still playing snooker I want to enjoy it. Whether I win or lose is kind of irrelevant at this stage of my career.”
Kyren Wilson claimed Judd Trump already deserves his status as one of the greats as the pair moved to thaw their previously frosty rivalry before the start of their quarter-final clash on Monday.
Wilson, who was handed a first-round bye following the withdrawal of Anthony Hamilton, withstood a stirring fightback from 11-5 down by Martin Gould to triumph 13-9 and reach the last eight for the fifth time.
The pair’s relationship soured after Wilson won a final-frame decider to clinch the 2015 Shanghai Masters title and blew up again at the 2018 Champion of Champions when Trump responded to Wilson apparently questioning his commitment by snapping, “He [Wilson] probably needs more practice than me.”
But after seeing off Gould, Wilson said: “Judd is world No 1 and he’s won the triple crown now. I think once you’ve got a triple crown under your belt you can go down in the greatest list, and that’s obviously my aim.”
Neil Robertson beat Barry Hawkins 13-9 to keep alive his hopes of winning a second world crown.