Ronnie O'Sullivan has addressed his rediscovered passion for snooker after being spotted practising hard on live TV. Following another season of sporadic appearances, the Rocket has impressed at the World Championship so far.
O'Sullivan's Strong Start at the Crucible
After dispatching He Guoqiang in the first round, the seven-time Crucible king surged into a 6-2 lead in the first session of his heavyweight second round clash against fellow great John Higgins. O'Sullivan has regularly fallen in and out of love with snooker over the years, but his bond with the sport looks strong at the moment.
Late-Night Practice Session
After his victory over He, the Essex potter was spotted on the practice table, which is situated behind the BBC presenting area at the Crucible, at 10.30pm. Presenter Seema Jaswal observed: "It's quite strange that we're talking about him and he's right there, but we have been talking to him about it." Meanwhile, fans were buoyed by the sight of the Rocket honing his game.
Rediscovering the Missing Ingredient
After the He match, O'Sullivan gave an enlightening interview, explaining how he discovered a missing ingredient in his game at March's Yushan Open, where he made a world record 153 break and reached the final. He said: "I was getting nowhere. At one point, I was practising for six or seven hours a day. Then I rested for two days. I was in Yushan and lying in bed, thinking about technique and decided to try something."
"I went back to the practice room and it worked. My timing was coming back. If that's good, then the rest of it might come. In that tournament, I had some better performances. Now I'm excited about playing and that's a victory for me."
Reinvigorated Mentality
Asked if he felt reinvigorated, he replied: "Oh yeah, I certainly feel like I want to play now, whereas before I was just scared of playing. I'd just had enough of hitting poor shot after poor shot. Now, I get excited about playing because I think I'm going to hit some nice shots, and that's all I want to do. My game's still not anywhere near where it needs to be but that's not important at this stage of my career. I've just got to take enjoying the game."
Form Against Higgins
The Rocket took that form into the first session of his 73rd meeting with old rival Higgins. The Rocket looked more assured, making breaks of 86, 82, 137, 95 and 76. The best-of-25 match resumes at 7pm on Sunday and is due to conclude on Monday afternoon. The other 'Class of 92' member, Mark Williams, is out of the tournament after losing 13-9 to Barry Hawkins.
