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Snooker icon Ronnie O'Sullivan joked the World Snooker Championship's practice room was like a "creche" following the emergence of several young stars. The 50-year-old is through to the second round of the tournament and will be hoping to eclipse Stephen Hendry and become an eight-time Crucible winner.

O'Sullivan is undoubtedly one of the sports greatest ever players, but picked out debutants Stan Moody and Liam Pullen as ones to watch in the future. The two youngsters have already been knocked out of the competition after defeats against Kyren Wilson and Chris Wakelin respectively.

In a post-match television interview, O'Sullivan picked out Moody and Pullen as two special talents who could challenge the increasing Chinese dominance of the sport.

"I always say hello to the boys," added O'Sullivan. "Stan gave me a little nod the other day. He's a lovely boy and a great player. He's got a lovely cue action and the way he gets through the ball, I think he's going to be a world champion for sure.

"Liam Pullen is a lovely guy. I like seeing all the youngsters coming through. It does make you feel a little bit out of place, thinking, 'why am I still here?'"

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Despite his incredible standing in the game, O'Sullivan is not one of the favourites to win the competition, but he's acceptant of the situation.

"I'm quite happy being in this situation," he added. "If you told me I'd be here, not favourite to win but maybe sixth or seventh favourite and enjoying the game, I'd say, 'yeah, great'.

"It's harder to go in with both feet and put your whole life into it, because you're not sure if you're going to get the wins. That's why I do little stints now. I just want to enjoy myself and not be a slave to the game."

O'Sullivan retrieved an old cue from beneath his bed in Ireland and promptly surged into the second round of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield after sealing a 10-2 victory over He Guoqiang. He needed just 35 minutes to convert a 7-2 overnight lead into another straightforward Crucible triumph, then disclosed he had made the change as he seeks to build momentum in his pursuit of a record-breaking eighth title at the venue.

O'Sullivan said: "My cue was hopeless yesterday. It was only because I'm feeling all right that I was able to get away with it. I felt like I could play the shots that I like today. It was stuck under my bed in Ireland, basically, for most of the year until I came here."

Two centuries sealed O'Sullivan's progress into a last-16 clash with fellow 50-year-old John Higgins, which begins on Saturday night.