O'Sullivan's 'rolling the dice' cue gamble pays off

For some snooker players, changing their cue would be a traumatic experience – not for Ronnie O'Sulivan.

The 50-year-old, a seven-time world champion, used a different cue on Wednesday to the one he played with on Tuesday, and both had the same dominant effect.

His 10-2 victory over Chinese debutant He Guoqiang was the joint biggest so far at the 2026 World Championship and kept O'Sullivan on course for a record-breaking eighth Crucible title.

He led 7-2 after Tuesday's first session and breaks of 62, 113, 100 on Wednesday, all inside an hour and all with his back-up cue, set up a mouth-watering last-16 tie against four-time winner John Higgins.

"The tip is more important than the cue - that's why I brought two cues," said O'Sullivan, who admitted it had been a risky tactic.

"I've been saving this all year because it had a bit of life in it and I thought 'if I come here and my main cue is no good...'.

"The tip wasn't good yesterday. I did a good job, considering. I thought 'a bit of a roll of the dice,' it was a gamble. You have to back yourself. I make some crazy decisions in everybody else's eyes, but they make complete sense to me.

"I was a bit nervous because I thought you could look a bit silly."

Instead of looking silly, O'Sullivan make two century breaks in three rapid-fire entertaining frames before an enthralled Crucible crowd, which included former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes.

It nearly got better too.

In the penultimate frame of the match, O'Sullivan looked on course for a maximum 147 break, potting nine reds and eight blacks, before opting to go for a blue in a break of 113.

'Under the bed' cue helps 'Rusty Ron' to victory

Image caption,

Ronnie O'Sullivan now has a choice of which cue to use throughout the World Championship

Last month at the World Open in China, he made a break of 153 at the World Open, the highest break in the history of the professional game, after a snooker left a free ball, which acted like a 16th red.

However, in his interviews around this match, he tried to claim he should be known as 'Rusty Ron'.

He reached the World Open final in China in March, but that was only his third tournament of 2026 - losing in the last 16 of the World Grand Prix and last 32 at the German Masters in January.

The match against 25-year-old He was the start of O'Sullivan's 34th Crucible campaign.

It was his first match in Britain since losing 6-4 to China's Zhou Yuelong in the UK Championship opening round in December.

That defeat at the York Barbican was the factor in the choice of cues.

"In the UK Championship, my tip was so bad," said O'Sullivan. "I felt good and I just couldn't play the shots I wanted to play and I thought 'I don't ever want to be in that situation again'.

"So, I thought 'right, I need two cues, so at least I've got a choice'. I'm in that situation now where my cue was hopeless yesterday.

"It [the second cue] was stuck under my bed in Ireland, basically, for most of the year until I came here. It was only because I'm feeling all right that I was able to get away with it."

'Ronnie is a genius - he could play with a broomstick'

The only time O'Sullivan was thrown out of his stride was on seeing Scholes sitting in the Crucible front row.

"I went 'that's Paul Scholes here'," he said. "He looks really well, fit, healthy, so good to see him come to the snooker - it was good to see him."

Six-time world champion Steve Davis, who made the World Championship quarter-finals in 2010 aged 52, felt it would not matter what cue O'Sullivan used if he maintained the form shown on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Ronnie is a genius. He could play with a broomstick and play pretty well," said Davis.

"He still has the best positional brain out there. He quickly identifies the right shot and gives himself the chance to clear the table every time he comes to it.

"That's why he still has a chance to win the world title at the age of 50."

Image caption,

Former England footballer Paul Scholes was in the front row at the Crucible watching Ronnie O'Sullivan

Two of snooker's 'Class of 92' go head-to-head in last 16

Next up for O'Sullivan is another member of snooker's fabled 'Class of 92' with 50-year-old Higgins standing in his way.

"It's a couple of oldies - he's probably favourite," said O'Sullivan. "The pressure is off me and probably more on John in this match. But it should be a good game. Hopefully I can give him a decent game.

"John loves playing me - he really enjoys it. He plays better against me than I do against him."

While 51-year-old three-time champion Mark Williams, the third member of the 'Class of 92' – marking the year the trio turned professional - is also still going in the competition, so too is 22-year-old Wu Yize, while Stan Moody, 19, Liam Pullen, 20, and Antoni Kowalski, 22, lost in round one.

"Just going in the practice room and hanging around this venue, I feel kind of old now because everyone's 22, 23 - it's like walking into a creche," added O'Sullivan. "But we're still hanging around, having a go.

"I like seeing all the youngsters coming through. It does make you feel a little bit out of place, thinking: Why am I still here?"

Image caption,

Ronnie O'Sullivan was unhappy with the tip of his cue during Tuesday's play.

O'Sullivan is already snooker's oldest world champion, having won four years ago at 46 - and an eighth title would give him the outright record in the modern era. moving him clear of Stephen Hendry's total of seven.

Now armed with two choices, O'Sullivan said he could use different cues in the same match again depending on how he felt.

But he promised he would continue to gamble, looking for the perfect fit.

"Rusty Ron comes here and rolls a bit of the dice and some of the time they're sixes, but most of the time they're ones in the last three years," said O'Sullivan.

"Hopefully I can throw a couple of fives or sixes against John."