Ronnie O’Sullivan has said it would be “pretty pointless” for him to continue playing snooker unless he can get his head around why he is not performing consistently.

The seven-times champion was thrashed 17-7 by Xintong Zhao in their Crucible semi-final with the Chinese star producing an eight-frame whitewash in the second session of their match.

O’Sullivan had issues with his cue during the tournament but having taken four months off before Sheffield he has cast fresh doubt over his will to continue.

“I wasn’t that bothered to be fair to you,” he told . “I wasn’t surprised, I’ve been playing like that a lot in practise. It’s just hard to get my head around it. I can’t even fix it, that’s the problem. I know I said I’d like to give it two years, but if I’m gonna play like it, it’s pretty pointless. It’s not good.”

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

And O’Sullivan is now backing Zhao, whom he has previously helped to mentor, to go all the way - even though he is convinced that Judd Trump and Mark Williams will put up a much bigger test. World No1 Trump and Welsh veteran Williams were locked in a 8-8 battle overnight.

“We’ve got a really nice relationship; I’m always trying to help him if I can,” O’Sullivan said of Zhao. “He wanted the crowd to give me a clap, but it’s his moment. I tried to get off as quick as I could cause it’s his moment, you know.

“It’d be amazing if he did it. He’d be a mega star, he’s still very big in China as it is. But if he becomes world champion, he’ll be unbelievable. It will just be amazing for snooker, and his life as well.

“He can definitely get over the line. But he’ll have more of test against the other two guys in the semis. I think that’ll be a proper test for him.”

Zhao, the 2021 UK champion, has recently returned from a 20-month ban for betting breaches as part of the match-fixing scandal involving 10 Chinese potters which rocked the sport last year.

And after beating O'Sullivan he said: “I am so happy. Ronnie is my idol. I want to thank Ronnie for helping me over the years.”

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our