RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S bid for a sweet eighth world snooker title is being fuelled by SunSport’s home-made MARMALADE.

It was freshly made in an Essex kitchen by my mum and gifted to the Rocket ahead of this year’s Crucible showpiece.

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Just like Paddington Bear, O’Sullivan has been spreading the treat on his scones as he aims to toast his rivals to preserve his tag as the best on the planet.

Mrs Chris Maul’s special pot of marmalade, which she makes for her three children, got the seal of approval from the world No 1.

After his 10-1 first round battering of Jackson Page, O’Sullivan told me: “Nice marmalade!

“Yeah, it’s lovely. Really good. I have not had all of it but I have been eating it. Tell her thanks.”

O’Sullivan might need another jar if he progresses to the final.

He plays Welshman Ryan Day in Sunday’s best-of-25-frames second round.

And Day admits he might need to be jammy to beat him.

He said: “I have a mountain to climb. I’m under no illusion.

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“O’Sullivan’s longevity is off the charts.

“To still be doing it at 48 is mesmerising. I’m 44 — maybe I can take hope from him.”

‘I’d rather not have the snooker, just a normal family’ – Inside Ronnie O’Sullivan’s troubled childhood

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has enjoyed an incredible career as snooker’s biggest star.

But the Rocket’s turbulent past has led to struggles with mental health, addiction and yo-yo weight battles.

O’Sullivan’s parents ran a chain of sex shops in Essex and his father was jailed for 20 years for murder when he was just 16.

In the Amazon documentary The Edge of Everything, the snooker icon admitted his dad going to prison had a profound effect.

He said: “I didn’t want to blame everything on that situation with my dad, but I was thinking, ‘I’d rather not have the snooker. just a normal family’. Because… It was a dream, but looking back, it was a nightmare.”

Just a year later, Ronnie became the youngest ever UK Champion, seven days before his 18th birthday. Then at 19, in 1994, he became the youngest Masters champion.

But he has already begun to binge on drink and drugs and, when his mum was sent to prison for tax evasion, in 1996, he struggled to cope with looking after his eight–year-old sister alone.

Click here to read more about Ronnie’s incredible life…