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.
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.