Ronnie O'Sullivan on 'easy street' due to 'really disappointing' opposition at World Snooker Championship 2025 - Alan McManus

TNT Sports snooker expert Alan McManus feels Ronnie O'Sullivan has yet to get "out of second gear" due to a "disappointing" standard of opposition in his quest for a record eighth World Championship crown in Sheffield. O'Sullivan pounced on multiple mistakes by Si Jiahui to forge into a 6-2 advantage in the opening session of their quarter-final at The Crucible on Tuesday.

'He's on easy street' - O'Sullivan 'not out of second gear' due to 'disappointing' opposition

Video credit: TNT Sports

Ronnie O'Sullivan is on "easy street" and has yet to get out of "second gear" in his World Championship campaign due to "disappointing" opposition, claimed Alan McManus.

O'Sullivan, hunting a record eighth Crucible crown, cruised to the quarter-final in Sheffield after sizeable victories over Ali Carter and Pang Junxu - though he bemoaned the quality of his performances, particularly in the latter match, in which he said he was "let off the hook".

That appeared to be the case against Si Jiahui in the opening session of their quarter-final on Tuesday, as multiple mistakes from the Chinese potter had O'Sullivan profiting from fortunate positions, as he went on to take a 6-2 lead.

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McManus said that while O'Sullivan being in "second gear" still represents a strong standard of snooker, he had been left disappointed by the standard 'The Rocket' has come up against so far.

"He’s still not impressing me the way he has over the decades, but he’s not out of second gear yet," McManus said. "Though he’s still going along in this session - he had 92% pot success - so his second gear is most people’s decent, or better than decent.

"His opponent has been disappointing, that's fair to say, really disappointing actually. He’s [Si] played at 83% pot success today, that’s not going to beat Ronnie in any match ever. Ronnie looks, for the moment, like he’s on easy street."

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Snooker legend Jimmy White, meanwhile, said: "Sometimes you play someone and you know you can’t lose. Ronnie has not performed yet. The last two frames of the session he did."

O'Sullivan's return to The Crucible marked his return to ranking-event snooker for the first time since November, and his appearance in the quarter-final stands as a record-extending 23rd.

He has showcased some exceptional moments in his tournament run so far, and capped off the opening session of his clash against Si with an excellent century break, during which TNT Sports commentator Dave Hendon said 'The Rocket' looked "like his old self".

His quarter-final clash with Si resumes on Wednesday morning, with the decisive session set to take place later in the evening - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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