Ronnie O’Sullivan picks up cue from under bed in Ireland and storms into last 16

Ronnie O’Sullivan dusted off an old cue from under his bed in Ireland and duly rocketed into the second round of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield after wrapping up a 10-2 win over He Guoqiang.

O’Sullivan required just 35 minutes to turn a 7-2 overnight advantage into another comfortable Crucible win, then revealed he had made the switch as he looks to gain momentum in his quest for a record-breaking eighth title at the venue.

O’Sullivan said: “My cue was hopeless yesterday. It was only because I’m feeling all right that I was able to get away with it. I felt like I could play the shots that I like today. It was stuck under my bed in Ireland, basically, for most of the year until I came here.”

Two centuries confirmed O’Sullivan’s march into a last-16 showdown with fellow 50-year-old John Higgins, which starts on Saturday night, and will serve as a classic antidote to the emerging narrative of up-and-comers including first-time qualifiers Stan Moody and Liam Pullen.

While the young British duo have already fallen to defeats against Kyren Wilson and Chris Wakelin respectively, the ‘Class of ’92’ members march on although O’Sullivan, who has again missed a slew of ranking tournaments this season, insists he is unsure about his ability to go all the way.

“It’s hard, because I haven’t played enough top players regularly to know,” added O’Sullivan. “It was hard but I need to improve. I’m still a bit rusty, obviously we’ll have to wait and see. Nothing’s impossible.”

In a post-match television interview, O’Sullivan jokingly described the tournament’s practice room as a “creche”, but picked out the likes of Moody and Pullen as special talents who could challenge the increasing Chinese dominance of the sport.

“I always