Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan made an ominous start to his quest for an eighth Masters title, thrashing Luca Brecel 6-1 at Alexandra Palace.

"Hossein is a great lad and a very good friend of mine. He’s a future top 16 player and he’ll stay there for many years to come. It’s the best crowd anywhere in the world. To beat someone as good as John is a dream. Whoever you are in any sport, when you play the top players they will sniff it out. The break in the last frame, that was such a good feeling and it’s why we play snooker.

Snooker is a game of skill, temperament… and a bit of luck. Ronnie O'Sullivan knows that all too well.

It’s a monster kick. “It’s a kick. What happened there?” exclaimed Neal Foulds on Eurosport commentary.

World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan swept Luca Brecel aside to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters with a 6-1 win at Alexandra Palace.

It's very easy to sit here and criticise but sometimes you need to put yourself in somebody else's shoes before you criticise. "Maybe World Snooker could help support them rather than being hard and maybe look at their own structure to maybe not put these players in that situation. A stunning long red to the bottom left corner and some exemplary cue-ball control put Higgins in control of the seventh frame. It is an amazing feeling with 2,000 people here expecting you to play well. I'm not going anywhere yet." "I'm enjoying every moment.

The 47-year-old beat Luca Brecel 6-1 to reach the last eight at Alexandra Palace.

“Whoever you are in any sport, when you play the top players they will sniff it out. A missed red to the middle in the next let in O’Sullivan for a 104 before he completed a win which will have sent a clear message to his title rivals. O’Sullivan swept up to go 3-0 in front and although Brecel responded with a century before the midsession interval, a lack of concentration cost him in the fifth frame when a poor break-off shot let in O’Sullivan for a clearance to black of 134.

Ronnie O'Sullivan punished a stream of mistakes from Luca Brecel to race into the 2023 Masters quarter-finals with a 6-1 win at Alexandra Palace.

Brecel has won just once in four matches at the event and has much work to do if he is to fulfil O’Sullivan’s prophecy as a future world champion. Brecel was back on the scoreboard in the next, albeit only after a monster fluke, before he soon broke down again. The 27-year-old was afforded just one shot, the break-off, in the fifth frame as O’Sullivan danced around the table en route to a 134 total clearance to move two from victory. That left Brecel with a golden chance to halve the deficit. 1 who looked a cut above as he delivered a statement display on the green baize. From that point on, the result rarely looked in doubt as O’Sullivan cruised into a meeting with either Mark Williams or David Gilbert.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is into the quarter finals of the Masters, but has had his say on the crisis that has seen two players removed from the Triple Crown ...

Snooker’s governing bodies were quick to hit back at O’Sullivan’s claims and said in a statement: “WST and WPBSA provide support both in guaranteed income and the opportunity to earn significant sums of prize money, available on the World Snooker Tour. Away from the crisis, O’Sullivan – who made breaks of 134 and 104 – admitted he often lays it on too thick about ‘not caring’. And he also cited other sports as a reason why snooker can recover: "I’m sure it’s happened in tennis and it hasn’t done tennis any harm. I’m sure it’s happened in football and it hasn’t harmed football." O’Sullivan urged caution about jumping to conclusions but believes that the game can survive even if the worst happens with multiple convictions and bans. Maybe they are forced into desperation and that’s not a good situation either.

Ronnie O'Sullivan believes other sports haven't been “harmed” by match-fixing investigations, as the WBPSA inquire alleged manipulations of matches.

“The key thing about these suspensions and going through this case and bringing it to a close is to make sure that no stone is unturned. “Mawer is ruthlessly just going through this case on a day-to-day basis. He is a very experienced person – and we are probably only a week or two away from kind of understanding whether charges will be pressed or not. “There is a lot of stuff going on in the world like famine, starvation, malnourishment. Sport is just a game.” The Masters

An investigation into match-fixing involving several players including Zhao Xintong is under way.

Try and get to the bottom of it and try and support these people to hopefully put them in a position where they might not feel the need to have to do what they’ve had to do. “WST and WPBSA provide support both in guaranteed income and the opportunity to earn significant sums of prize money, available on the World Snooker Tour,” it said. “I’m sure it’s happened in tennis and it hasn’t done tennis any harm. “Our structure includes a Players’ Board, and providing welfare and support to our players is extremely important to us.” “I’m sure it’s happened in football and it hasn’t harmed football,” he said. It can only be one of two things, they either have an addiction and if that’s a case then they need help, or they are struggling to make ends meet.

Ronnie O'Sullivan addressed snooker's crisis after his Masters win over Luca Brecel.

In a released statement, they said: “WST and WPBSA provide support both in guaranteed income and the opportunity to earn significant sums of prize money, available on the World Snooker Tour. I’m sure it’s happened in [football](/sport/football) and it hasn’t harmed football. [Ronnie O’Sullivan](/latest/ronnie-osullivan) has broken his silence on the ongoing match-fixing investigation after winning through to the quarter finals of the Masters.

Ronnie O'Sullivan revealed his hunger for a record eighth Masters title after sweeping aside Luca Brecel 6-1 to reach the last eight at Alexandra Palace.

“Whoever you are in any sport, when you play the top players they will sniff it out. A missed red to the middle in the next let in O’Sullivan for a 104 before he completed a win which will have sent a clear message to his title rivals. O’Sullivan swept up to go 3-0 in front and although Brecel responded with a century before the mid-session interval, a lack of concentration cost him in the fifth frame when a poor break-off shot let in O’Sullivan for a clearance to black of 134.

Ronnie O'Sullivan trounced Belgian star Luca Brecel 6-1 in the first round of the Maters at the Alexandra Palace and provided a typical response in his ...

“And I don’t want to be defined by snooker or disappointed if I don’t do well at snooker. “Snooker is not the be-all and end-all. “I might say I don’t care but actually there’s a very good competitor there.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is into the quarter finals of the Masters, but has had his say on the crisis that has seen two players removed from the Triple Crown ...

Away from the crisis, O’Sullivan – who made breaks of 134 and 104 – admitted he often lays it on too thick about ‘not caring’. And he also cited other sports as a reason why snooker can recover: "I’m sure it’s happened in tennis and it hasn’t done tennis any harm. Snooker’s governing bodies were quick to hit back at O’Sullivan’s claims and said in a statement: “WST and WPBSA provide support both in guaranteed income and the opportunity to earn significant sums of prize money, available on the World Snooker Tour. I’m sure it’s happened in football and it hasn’t harmed football." O’Sullivan urged caution about jumping to conclusions but believes that the game can survive even if the worst happens with multiple convictions and bans. Maybe they are forced into desperation and that’s not a good situation either.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is favourite to win his eighth Masters title at the Alexandra Palace this week and the world no.1 has also been backed to claim another ...

“I don’t want to be defined by snooker or disappointed if I don’t do well at snooker. “Snooker is not the be-all and end-all. The 47-year-old remains the man to beat in snooker and was in ominous form against Brecel as he targets an incredible 22nd Triple Crown trophy this weekend. "I'm enjoying every moment," he said after thrashing Brecel. I'm not going anywhere yet." [Ronnie O'Sullivan](https://www.irishmirror.ie/all-about/ronnie-osullivan) to win 10 world titles after he warned his [snooker](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/snooker/) rivals that he is "not going anywhere yet."

Ronnie O'Sullivan trounced Belgian star Luca Brecel 6-1 in the first round of the Maters at the Alexandra Palace and provided a typical response in his ...

“And I don’t want to be defined by snooker or disappointed if I don’t do well at snooker. “Snooker is not the be-all and end-all. “I might say I don’t care but actually there’s a very good competitor there. [The Rocket](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/ronnie-osullivan), targeting his eighth Masters title this week, got off to a flying start by blitzing Belgian star Luca Brecel in a 6-1 first round rout on Monday. It's nerve-wracking." "Obviously it's an amazing feeling.

Masters champion Jimmy White told Eurosport's Nigel Chiu that Ronnie O'Sullivan “can win 10 World Championships, easy”. O'Sullivan won his seventh world title ...

It became much more competitive and about doing the right things to win.” That makes a difference now so everyone is more professional. That scene has now finished. “There's a lot more dedication. If we will see someone better than Ronnie O’Sullivan, I don’t know, but he is the greatest ever for me.” The Masters