Why surreal World Snooker Championship looks ripe for Ronnie O'Sullivan

Saved the best for first. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 10-1 obliteration of a tormented Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round of the World Championship was the latest awe-inspiring exhibition of his enduring class on a snooker table, but also a timely reminder of what happens when he is only forced to confront the balls rather than fans, mobile phones, a referee struggling to keep up with his breakneck speed or photographers clicking at the wrong moment. Especially those pesky snappers, who O’Sullivan seems to have waged a one-man war against in recent years in style more akin to Perry Mason than Perry Mans.

It is difficult to see how O’Sullivan can play better than this over such a sustained period, but he is one of the few players in the game's history who could yet go up a gear or three in his bid for six of the best. His filleting of snooker's number 20 Un-Nooh was completed with a fantastical average shot time of 14 seconds amounting to 108 minutes – the fastest match over the distance since the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield first staged the World Championship in 1977.

Breaks of 101, 85, 115, 74, 88, 86 and 65 had enabled him to rampage 8-1 clear overnight with a rapid 93 helping him to ease over the line with Thailand's speed merchant contributing only 31 more points on Monday morning.

The contrast was stark compared to O'Sullivan being bundled out 10-8 by amateur qualifier James Cahill in the first round 14 months ago, a match that saw him emerge with a skinhead like some sort of Travis Bickle character for the second session.

There always seems to be something O’Sullivan is disgruntled with in or around snooker at the Crucible, namely the whole duress and demands of media that saw him withdraw from the Masters in January, but there appears to be few prescribed excuses for him to trot out this time. O’Sullivan usually fears catching the common cold during springtime in South Yorkshire. Now there is the more pressing issue of Covid-19 in summer, but the pressure elsewhere has dissipated somewhat dramatically.

"I actually prefer it because I haven't got to deal with the pressure of the crowd or the expectation. Just getting in and out of the venue. So much less is put on my shoulders so I'm in a bit of a holiday mode really," said O'Sullivan.

"It's the first time I've been staying in a hotel close to the venue because normally it is full of snooker fans and it is difficult for me to get any peace and quiet."

Of course, one can never control what goes on between the ears, but at first glance there appears to be little for him to rail against at a venue which has witnessed him perform in socks rather than ill-fitting shoes and also smash up a dressing room since he last appeared in the final, losing 18-14 to Mark Selby six years ago. The artificial canned crowd noise that has suddenly emerged like the cigarette smoke of Hurricane Higgins from yesteryear might be this year’s bugbear, but you never know.

O'Sullivan does not even need to confront the media at this event apart from a few words with his broadcaster of choice and a gratuitous Zoom call with the media pack afterwards which he can refrain from if the mood takes him by pressing an off button on a laptop. He can also make it back to Essex in between matches rather than be stuck snacking on cornflakes in Milton Keynes.

When the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to pull the plug on spectators attending such events on Friday, after a smattering of snooker loopy fans made it to potting nirvana for the opening day, he did not do O’Sullivan – who had claimed players were being treated like lab rats – a disservice in the arena. A Covid-secure Crucible is also a Rocket-secure environment.

"He draws a huge amount of expectation from the crowd and the media so I think it will be a lot more relaxed for him this year than other years – that will suit him for sure," said the 2010 winner Neil Robertson.

Take punters away from snooker and it is a whole different ball game, so to speak. The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd is no longer there to interfere with the thought process. He is playing “pure snooker” as he likes to describe it.

"It's the nearest you'll get to a practice session between two really good players. Without the crowd there, the tension's not there," he said.

It is easy to gush when you witness O’Sullivan prowl around the table like he is devouring pool balls. At times, he looks like it is impossible to miss, more at one with the table than the cloth covering the slates. It is easy to forgot he is 44 when you consider six-times world champion Steve Davis was long since finished as a serial winner by then and the seven-times champion Stephen Hendry was no longer playing the game professionally.

“A few people were saying it was a tough draw against Thepchaiya, but I think this was made for Ronnie, the way he plays,” said Hendry.

Un-Nooh was the ideal fit for him, the equivalent to a chosen boxing stiff, a player who plays at a similar pace is not going to unduly bother O’Sullivan especially when he can’t reach the same pristine levels. There was barely time for any O'Sullivan soul searching after a missed shot before he was back among the balls, but then it would be churlish not to appreciate the effort that goes into such an effortless outing.

It should be noted that Un-Nooh came within one shot of ousting Judd Trump in the first round 14 months ago. The world champion and undisputed number one unearthed an audacious double in the final frame that was make-or-break for his hopes in last year’s event in a 10-9 win. He is a dangerous floater who was left resembling flotsam and jetsam after being well and truly sunk by the O’Sullivan squall.

China's leading player Ding Junhui is next up having emptied O'Sullivan out of the UK Championship last 16 in December with a 6-4 win. One suspects he will need to be sharper than his 10-9 win over Mark King to contain O'Sullivan over the best of 25 frames played over Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the second round.

Good omens perhaps for the only way is Essex as O'Sullivan embarks on his latest Busman’s holiday to Sheffield since his first sojourn there in 1993 – and the rich harvesting of titles in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2013.

A Crucible behind closed doors has suddenly presented O’Sullivan with a window of opportunity for this crop. He knows it, and he can smell the possibilities. That in itself brings pressure, but there is certainly less to aggravate his mood or momentum when mindfulness is not a pressing concern.