No Rocket rust as Ronnie O'Sullivan canters to 23rd Crucible quarter-final
Lewis Watson 
One week into the World Snooker Championship and there has already been plenty of drama, with seeds falling left, right and centre in the opening round.
Players like Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson were early casualties in Sheffield which has left an opening for Ronnie O'Sullivan and despite a nervy start against Ali Carter, the seven-time winner is firing on all cylinders and starting to look ominous.
As we head into the quarter-finals and beyond at the Crucible, Free Bets snooker expert Lewis Watson has looked at the Rocket's performance so far.
O'Sullivan has gone from pretender to contender in the space of a week — why did we ever doubt him?
Ronnie O'Sullivan has failed to win a ranking tournament all season and, before heading to the Crucible for this year's World Championship, withdrew from eight ranking events without touching a cue ball.
But despite the facts, perhaps it was naive for the snooker public to write off the seven-time king in Sheffield...
As we head into the second week of Crucible action, the 'Rocket' is on the verge of his 23rd World Championship quarter-final, needing just one more frame against Pang Junxu to advance to face either Ben Woollaston or Si Jiahui.
O'Sullivan leads 12-4 against the Chinese player, meaning his aggregate score for the Championship so far is an astounding 22-8.
Despite this dominance, the 49-year-old GOAT still has some concerns over his equipment.
"I’m keeping this current cue until maybe John Parris can make me another one that I feel comfortable with," he explained. "I’ve tried about 20 so far. I’m a bit fussy with cues. I’m not one to get a cue and think ‘Oh, I’ll persevere a bit.’ I like to feel like I can play with it straight away. So John’s going to get busy. He’s out there chopping down trees as we speak to try and find me a nice bit of wood.”
Despite these concerns, a fire still burns inside O'Sullivan as he attempts to pick up a record breaking eighth World Championship this coming weekend.
"I’m just in a rebuilding process. I’m probably on the last leg of my career. I’ve had to probably rebuild three or four times. I’ve got one more rebuild in me to try and compete with these young guys. This is a start. I will commit to two years, whether it is good or bad, give it all to the sport. See if I can turn it around and at least finish my career on a high."
It's an ominous sign for the competing field.
A fit, firing and committed O'Sullivan will always be a threat in competitions, and there is a chance that his colleagues — like the public — underestimated the threat of the "Rocket" approaching the 2025 tournament.
He still sits as a second-favourite with online betting sites behind the world number one Judd Trump at 5/2 with bet365, and a mouthwatering clash between the two superstars of their generations could materialise in a memorable final.
