Other
Ronnie O’Sullivan was ‘scared’ to play World Championship before battering Ali Carter
Ronnie O’Sullivan announced himself on this year’s World Championship despite fears he could “implode” in the Crucible cauldron. The Rocket, 49, admitted he was “scared” of playing on the game’s grandest stage. Tentative O’Sullivan was understandably rusty in the first session of his grudge clash with nemesis Ali Carter on Tuesday after a three-month hiatus from the baize.
But the sport’s greatest ever player showed the old magic is well and truly alive as he won all five frames yesterday, in just 67 minutes, to blow away Carter 10-4. It was O’Sullivan’s first competitive match since he “lost the plot” and snapped his cue in anger back in January. The fifth seed has been plagued by his pursuit of perfection over the years and bouts of “stage fright” left him feeling unable to pick up his cue in recent months.
