Rocket power

It's difficult not to jump aboard the Ronnie O'Sullivan bandwagon.

Picture by Monique Limbos

It's moving at 100 miles per hour and with an ungodly amount of class. As he strolled to a 7-1 lead in the first session of his quarter-final match against Stuart Bingham, it was difficult to do anything but sit back and enjoy the show.

As the cue ball glided effortlessly around the table and was kept in pinpoint precision by its master with the cue, we were watching the snooker of a genius to a level difficult to match.

The Rocket finished off Ali Carter in great style last night snatching his required four frames in just five to win 13-8 and then on his return today he just picked up exactly where he left off, putting on a show for a mesmerised Crucible crowd.

This dominant haul against poor and powerless Bingham was an absolute masterclass. He made big breaks, switched hands and picked off frames like a steam train.

The performance was so good he is now odds on to win the World Championship with many bookmakers and, without doubt, the man for everyone else to beat.

He has improved his level of performance with every single session here and is both quickly and terrifyingly finding his top gear after an 11-month sabbatical from the sport since winning the world title a year ago.

We've had such a fantastic season on the baize overall. It even felt at times like we might not be missing the four-time world champion Ronnie, but think again.

Michael Holt made an excellent point on Twitter this afternoon (perhaps in jest) that the game has definitely missed him, but not the players.

While Ronnie has been away, the ranking titles have been largely shared around. No-one has grabbed hold of things and dominated the trophies. We're back at the biggest event of them all right now and O'Sullivan looks like he's raised the bar and taken standard up a notch.

Ronnie performed close to his best this afternoon, showing why he is so widely adored. He showed off his swagger, was completely dominant and was absolutely unstoppable.

The way he rattles off frames when he's on form is scary. He can kill a match in a session. To be beaten at this year's World Championship, someone is going to have to perform out of their skin.

O'Sullivan is back.