Ronnie O’Sullivan on why the Class of 92 prosper and Neil Robertson struggles at the Crucible

Ronnie O’Sullivan believes success at the Crucible is down to guts and determination more than ability as he reaches the World Snooker Championship semi-finals for a 13th time.

The Rocket dispatched Stephen Maguire 13-5 in the quarters, which followed comfortable wins over Mark Allen and Dave Gilbert in the first two rounds.

The six-time world champion is the first man into the semis but he could be joined by his Class of 92 rivals John Higgins and Mark Williams, who are playing their quarters to a finish on Wednesday.

The three legends of the game share 13 world titles between them and that could easily grow to 14 by close of play on Monday, despite them all creeping towards 50 years old.

O’Sullivan believes it is the unique challenge of the Crucible as a venue that separates them from other players, which he believes is demonstrated by a player as good as Neil Robertson continuing to struggle in Sheffield.

‘I did say that, can you imagine if it’s me, John and Mark in the semis. It would be unbelievable,’ O’Sullivan told the BBC.

‘I think it’s more this venue, it’s hard. You look at someone like Neil Robertson, he’s a fantastic player, unbelievable and you could just see even he found it difficult out there.

‘I just think it’s how you handle the occasion and the venue.’

Robertson won the World Championship back in 2010 but has been to just one semi-final since then and fell in the second round this year against Jack Lisowski.

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