Ronnie O'Sullivan admitted that to win an eighth World Championship would be a "dream" after thrashing Yuan Sijun 5-1 to reach the last 16 of the Xi'an Grand Prix.
Snooker's greatest ever player, O'Sullivan remains highly motivated, always looking for new methods. He won five titles last season and, just 16 months short of his 50th birthday, can still dominate tournaments when his game clicks.
"The key for me is to enjoy the game, so I'm always looking for ways to make that happen," said O'Sullivan, who scored top breaks of 95 and 109 today as he set up a meeting with Hossein Vafaei in round four on Thursday. "I have started to play left-handed more because I really enjoy it and hopefully within that process I'll be able to find some form playing right-handed.
"Over the last two years I have won a lot of tournaments, but not really enjoyed it. I don't have to win any more, I have had an amazing career. If there is one thing I would love to do, it's to win another World Championship. That would be eight, and then I would have every record there is.
"I'm tied on seven with Stephen Hendry which is still a great achievement, but it would be nice to have them all, that would be a dream story, to be able to look back on my career when it's over."
Dominic Dale plans to retire at the end of this season despite an upturn in form over in recent months. The 52-year-old has climbed to 40th in the world and a superb 5-2 win over Shaun Murphy could help him continue his rise.
"This is definitely my last season, I get a lot of aches and pains in my shoulder, and inflammation in my fingers," said the Spaceman, who top scored with 96 as he earned a match with Daniel Wells. "It's time to retire. It's very difficult after 30 years to keep preparing for tournaments and playing matches, and having an opponent who is trying to take money out of your pocket. I'll enjoy this season as much as I can.
"I was supposed to fly home tomorrow and I had even packed my bags, so I'll need to change my flight and unpack now!"
Mark Selby survived a final frame decider to beat Pang Junxu 5-4, while World Champion Kyren Wilson was a 5-3 victor against Ricky Walden.
Matthew Selt pulled away from 2-2 to beat Hammad Miah 5-2 with a top break of 75.
