World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Ryan Day to move into last eight

Having demolished Jackson Page 10-1 in the first round, O’Sullivan continued his serene progress in snooker’s blue riband event against Day.

“If I’d not been as tight or as clinical in some situations, he would probably have got on more of a roll at times,” O’Sullivan told BBC Sport.

“I was pleased to be able to stem that at points and try to have an impact when I got a chance.”

After establishing a commanding lead in the first two sessions of their best-of-25 contest, against an opponent who has not beaten him for 13 years, O’Sullivan appeared in relaxed mood once play got back under way.

And that was underlined as he laughed along with an enthusiastic fan while taking on a shot with the rest in frame 17.

While he did present Wales’ Day with opportunities to reduce his arrears beyond the frame he did manage to claim, O’Sullivan – who has enlisted the help of coach Nic Barrow – was still relatively untroubled.

Breaks of 85 and a 67 in the 20th of the match ensured an early conclusion for the Englishman, who is aiming to win all three of the sport’s Triple Crown events in the same season for the first time in his career.

“Early days for me, trying this new way of playing, different style of cueing, just to get away from the ‘yips’ as I call it, the easiest way of explaining it,” he added.

“It’s been hard work for two years and I decided I couldn’t continue playing like that, so I had to make some changes, so it’s the body and mind trying to catch up with each other. I’ve got some of it right, it’s just the other pieces need to fall in – I’m trying to work out the puzzle.”