‘O’Sullivan definitely a contender’

Ronnie O’Sullivan is consistently exhibiting the form that could win him a record-breaking eighth World Championship title in Sheffield, according to Stephen Hendry.

In the 1990s, Scottish great Hendry and Englishman O’Sullivan jointly won seven games at the famed venue.

O’Sullivan is chasing his eighth world title of his career, but that may change in the coming ten days.

O’Sullivan, who hasn’t played in a professional game since snapping his cue in frustration at the state of his game since January, was able to remove the cobwebs with a quick 10-4 victory over Ali Carter in round one. He has also been having issues with what he called “stage fright.”

O’Sullivan will face 25-year-old Pang Junxu, who defeated Zhang Anda in his opening match of the second-round.

The three-day contest begins at 14:30 BST and ends on Monday night.

O’Sullivan’s chances look better as long as his focus stays because he played well against Carter.

The fact that Mark Selby, Mark Wilson, and Mark Allen were all eliminated from his half of the draw improves his chances of winning.

Hendry already likes O’Sullivan’s chances.

He stated on the Snooker Club podcast that “everyone who plays against Carter should be a contender,” even though he will deflect away from his chances of winning this thing.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how he plays the remainder of the championship.

Now that the first-round stage has been navigated, Steve Davis, a six-time champion, considers the 17-day “marathon of the mind” an entirely new challenge.

Now that the matches have switched from best-of-19 to best-of-25-frame competitions, Davis said those who passed that test should be able to compete without getting too concerned.

Over the longer matches, there is more room for recovery from a form slump.

Davis said, “I don’t think you approach it differently, but you are more relaxed now that you don’t experience the panic of the first round.”

You must have an overnight sleep if you are on a lead or deficit, which can occasionally affect your mood.

“But just being more relaxed, in the same way as you’ve got a longer match, is handy because you don’t feel as anxious if you’re having a bad mini-session or session.”

The “Rocky” has been making plans for a bright future beyond his professional playing days, working on lucrative media projects and assisting with academy projects.

O’Sullivan claims that the sport’s biggest heartlands will soon host new champions.

“I work for the Saudi Arabian academy, and I’m enjoying it there.” He added, “I’m hoping to do something similar with some young children in China and the UK.”

“To help people, to help snooker players, that’s where my true love is,” she said.

I’m really enjoying it, and I don’t want to distract myself. It involves playing and practicing,

“We need to establish some academic institutions here. How can funding be obtained? I’d like to see one with Mark Williams, one with John Higgins, one with me, and one with Ken Doherty in Ireland, where the children can start as young as seven or eight, and set up nine or ten Star tables there to get the kids playing.