Northern Ireland Open snooker – Ronnie O'Sullivan dishes up after avoiding 'a big cake in my face'

Updated 17/11/2020 at 09:47 GMT

Ronnie O’Sullivan's snooker sojourn to Milton Keynes is not exactly the pursuit of enlightenment. He has compared performing at the Marshall Arena to "eating steak and chips every day" – but the six-times defending world champion's tasty 4-1 filleting of Jamie O'Neill in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open was a fine cut of filet mignon with a rapid average shot time under 15 seconds.

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For a man with a penchant for succulent snooker and a passion for serving up healthy tucker, Ronnie O'Sullivan gave plenty of food for thought after opening night at the Northern Ireland Open. Dishing up in style has always been the O'Sullivan mission statement at the table – and shows no signs of turning rotten anytime soon.

O'Sullivan – a sportsman with a cook book on the market advocating the health benefits of proper diet – began the night by admitting that being forced to play every tournament behind closed doors in Milton Keynes due to the health pandemic is comparable to being forced to swallow the same grub every day.

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It is fair to say he was not undercooked with this particular hors d'oeuvre. The defending world champion fairly jousted with largely put-upon world number 82 Jamie O'Neill before emerging holding a 4-1 win, his play as succulent as a fine filet mignot. As always with O'Sullivan's table manners, it was a timely helping of tasty fare with all the trimmings.

O'Sullivan's snooker standard is comparable to a Michelin chef in Milton Keynes, but he remains frustrated he can't cook up a treat for fans anytime soon with the UK Championship later this month – an event he has lifted a record seven times – set to again be staged at the Marshall Arena, the temporary tent of the sport that feels like a barren wasteland for the Rocket's taste buds.

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"I'm missing going to different venues. I love Belfast and I miss York. York is probably the best place I've been on earth," said O'Sullivan, who complained about being forced to get by on cornflakes during the Championship League in Milton Keynes in June.

It's like eating steak and chips three times a day for a year. Even though it's a nice bit of steak, you'd soon get sick of it. You'd probably want a bit of fish after a while, you know.

Was O'Sullivan a bit too well done? Never. Rare? Always. Breaks of 60, 57 and 125 were rationed with proper quality as O'Neill contributed a nifty 66 of his own to carry the third frame.

O'Sullivan could certainly sniff the danger having being toppled 5-4 by rookie Aaron Hill in the last 64 of the European Masters, 4-1 by Matthew Stevens in the last 32 of the English Open and 6-3 by Mark Allen in the Champion of Champions quarter-finals in recent months.

In such a short format, slow starts can prove fatal. After his steak analogy, O'Sullivan admitted getting a big custard pie in the face is always on the menu in professional snooker these days.

“For me, that is as good as any win," commented O'Sullivan, who will face Elliot Slessor or Li Hang in the last 64. "Any players outside of the world’s top 64 are harder than beating top players these days. They go out there, no pressure, come out swinging and invariably they get the rub of the green.

“You have to fight for everything out there as you are on a hiding to nothing. I can’t even win tonight, I just had to avoid getting a big cake sploshed in your face.

You just have to avoid the cake in the face, there are a lot of cakes in the face on this tour.

O'Sullivan's average shot time came in at an astonishing 14.8 seconds, quicker even than the world number one Judd Trump managed in his 4-1 win over Gerard Greene earlier in the day, but he is more interested in other times.

"I felt quite slow. I've got quite a quick brain I suppose and my positional play is decent so I don't have to walk that far to the next ball," said O'Sullivan.

It's very difficult to get excited about no crowd and coming to the same venue. It's better than sitting indoors. It gets you out the house I suppose.

"I don't want to set myself up for a fall, but I'd like to get back to where I was 10 years ago which is 34 minutes for 10k."

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As always with O'Sullivan, who has lost the past two Northern Ireland Open finals 9-7 to Trump, his understated train of thought never extends beyond what is on the immediate horizon, but it surely won't be long before he is clasping another trophy or two.

"I've kind of written off this year. There are not many events worth playing for other than the worlds or the UK. I'm not going to invest all my time for a couple of events," he said.

"I'm enjoying my running and other bits and pieces away from snooker so this is a bit of a time passer really."

Not a bad way to pass your time when you win frames faster than it takes to rustle up a steaming bowl of cake and custard.