Snooker news - Ronnie O'Sullivan produces 42-minute blitzkrieg - despite promising to play slower!

Updated 12/12/2019 at 08:34 GMT

Ronnie O'Sullivan needed just over half an hour to see off James Cahill but revealed afterwards that he entered the arena with the intention of playing a slower, more deliberate style of game.

Ronnie

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O'Sullivan earned his nickname "The Rocket" with his characteristic speed around the table and his second-round clash with Cahill was no different.

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Within eight minutes of the first break-off, the five-time world champion was a frame to the good after a break of 93 and the heavy scoring did not relent.

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He produced a century break to win the second frame, and it was not until the third that Cahill was even able to score his first point.

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But even that was in vain and the match was won as the match clock ticked past 40 minutes, one of the fastest best-of-seven victories in memory.

O'Sullivan produced an average of just 12.8 seconds per shot, a full 10 seconds per shot quicker than his opponent, but claimed he was trying to slow things down.

"It didn't feel like 12 seconds, it felt like 21 seconds!" O'Sullivan said.

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"I felt like I was playing slower. I came out and tried to play a little bit more conservative because I have been a bit too attacking so I did try to rein it in a little bit.

"It meant I had to take a bit more time on my shots and I was thinking about things.

"So it's weird - I'm baffled by [how quick it was]."