O’Sullivan won his last world title in 2020 – 19 years after his first place: Crucible Theater, Sheffield Dates: April 16-May 2 Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV and Red Button with continuous coverage of BBC iPlayer, the website BBC Sport and the BBC Sport app
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan says the “gladiatorial” mentality helped him come from behind to beat David Gilbert 10-5 at the World Cup.
The Rocket is aiming for Crucible’s record-breaking seventh crown and turned the game 3-0 down with high breaks of 122, 109 and 104.
O’Sullivan, 46, will face Mark Allen or Scott Donaldson in the second round.
Mark Williams of Wales leads 7-2 with amateur compatriot Michael White in his quest for a fourth world title.
Williams was in brilliant form, making three centuries and extra breaks of 90 and 71 and played until the final on Monday afternoon.
UK champion Zhao Xintong set the mark, ending the 10-2 defeat of Welsh Jamie Clark. The Chinese player celebrated his first World Cup victory in an impressive way, striking in two centuries and five more breakthroughs of 70 or more.
Scot Anthony McGill, a semi-finalist two years ago, led England’s Liam Highfield 6-3 in the final on Monday morning.
Another Welshman, 20-year-old Jackson Page, and Scotsman Stephen Maguire lead 6-3 against English players Barry Hawkins and Sean Murphy, respectively. These matches end at 19:00 BST.
O’Sullivan is looking for more records
Along with famous names including Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, O’Sullivan is widely considered one of the greatest snooker players of all time.
Now the Englishman is bidding to cancel important moments that would bring him alone.
He appeared at the Crucible Theater for the 30th time, beating Davis’ record, and his triumph over Gilbert led him to 70 wins on the spot, a draw with Hendry.
The calm O’Sullivan was in a cheerful mood on the day of the media on the eve of the tournament, saying that he “will not refuse” the chance to win the seventh world title to equalize with his old opponent Hendry.
To go hand in hand with his undoubted talent, O’Sullivan’s calmer approach makes him an even more dangerous proposition, as he could have previously faded when he fell behind.
Gilbert’s quick start put him 3-0 ahead, but O’Sullivan kept his composure, winning six consecutive frames to take control.
Gilbert took the first two frames of the second session, but the wrong yellow changed the momentum in the direction of O’Sullivan when he won three straight victories.
O’Sullivan said: “I play outside, I enjoy it and I just try to compete. It’s like Gladiator, Russell Crowe has a hole in his hand and he knows he’s going to die, but you just have to find a way. This is what winners and gladiators do.
“I was probably not born to play snooker, but I was born to do something with a ball. I wish this was another sport in which my temperament would be right for him. I find snooker a challenge.
It takes grafts, time and effort to be the best at something, sometimes you wonder, “Why am I doing this?”
“I was never born a winner, but I had to beat him. A bit like Serena Williams and Tiger Woods, I had this type of father figure who told me “you’re going to succeed.” It didn’t bother me, but I was mentally hardened, I was mentored that way. “
Gilbert added: “He scores so well that it looks like his head is fucked up and he has a huge chance.”
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