Ronnie O’Sullivan revealed a new ‘golden rule’ he abides by following his Players Championship victory over Zhou Yuelong.

The seven times world champion said he refuses to analyse his own performances after he extended his unbeaten run to 16 matches

This was O’Sullivan’s first competitive outing since he defeated Alfie Burden on January 23 in a World Open qualifier.

The 48-year-old decided to put his health and welfare first by withdrawing from the Welsh Open and German Masters.

O’Sullivan wasn’t at all at his best in the beginning, but he got better in Telford after the break.

After the break, O’Sullivan was in much better form and won the next four games to win 6-2.

But he was in no mood to divulge any insight into his performance.

O’Sullivan told ITV4: “I don’t assess my performances really, I make that a golden rule.

“Bit of match practice, take what I can from the tour and move on.

“I’m just trying to get away with playing as least as I can, I feel happier doing that.

He will now play in the quarterfinal on Thursday against either Barry Hawkins or Mark Selby, whose first-round match took place on Wednesday afternoon.

When it came to the early opportunities Zhou missed in the game, O’Sullivan was asked if he would regret any of them.

However, the Rocket, who has a history of publicly criticizing his rivals, chose to keep quiet.

Indeed, he declared, “I will no longer be making comments about other players. I’m simply happy to be done with it, then.”