Richard Mann asks Neal Foulds the big question – will snooker fans see seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan at next month's World Championship at the Crucible?
Even when he isn’t playing, Ronnie O’Sullivan is never far away from the headlines.
Having missed a host of tournaments this season, including his beloved Masters, snooker fans are starting to get used to life without O’Sullivan. But that doesn’t mean we don’t miss him.
ITV pundit Neal Foulds knows O’Sullivan well, and the pair worked together in the Eurosport studio for many years, but even he isn’t certain what the future holds for snooker’s brightest star.
Could we have really come to the end of the road with O’Sullivan?
“The truth is, nobody knows for sure, not even those closest to Ronnie, but I just can’t see him retiring yet,” says Foulds. “He was far and away the best player last season, winning the UK Championship and the Masters, and to my mind, he still has lots of snooker left in him.
“More immediately, I’m less certain. We were sure he’d be playing in Hong Kong recently, Ronnie himself seemed sure he’d be there, but he pulled out again.
“He hasn’t qualified for the Players Series, meaning the only thing left for him this season is the World Championship. It’s almost unthinkable to consider Ronnie might not be in Sheffield.”
2001. 2004. 2008. 2012. 2013. 2020. 2022. Ronnie O'Sullivan is a seven-time champion of the world!
— WST (@WeAreWST) May 2, 2022
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We’ve been here before, too. In 2013, O’Sullivan took the season off, only playing once before eventually opting to return for the World Championship, which he duly won with a performance that almost defied belief.
He couldn’t do it again, could he?
“Never say never with Ronnie,” argues Foulds. “That was his greatest ever achievement in my opinion, but I think this would be harder. He’s 49 now, and the likes of Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson have really stepped up to the mantle in the last few years.
“But, in a funny way, that lack of preparation might help in Sheffield. He’d be fresh and hungry, and when you hear whispers about his form on the practice table, it’s that Ronnie is flying. He’s been working hard with Lee Walker, his new coach, so that has to be encouraging.
“The hope is that Ronnie is gearing up for one big push at the Crucible. He’s got himself a new cue, which was needed to after he smashed the last one to pieces, so fingers crossed he’ll play.
“Make no mistake, it would be a huge blow to the event, and the sport in general, if he didn’t. Every snooker fan is desperate to see Ronnie in Sheffield.”
It was only a year ago that O’Sullivan returned to Sheffield as one of the shortest-priced World Championship favourites since the days of Stephen Hendry, bidding to complete the full set of Triple Crown wins in the same season. How quickly things can change in sport.
But there are other things to consider, too, as Foulds points out: “If Ronnie isn’t going to play, he needs to be pulling out in good time, so that World Snooker Tour can have a look at the seeding system.
“Ronnie will go there as a seeded player, but should he drop out at the eleventh hour, we simply cannot have a situation where one of the qualifiers gets a bye into the last 16. That can’t be allowed at the World Championship.
“There are qualifiers before then, so I’m sure those behind the scenes are keen to find out where Ronnie is at before those matches begin.”
Drama and intrigue, the great unknown, that all seems to be part of the Ronnie O’Sullivan show.
“Of course it is,” Foulds concludes. “The day Ronnie packs in will be a sad day for the sport, be in no doubt about that.
“But that Class of 92 are still at the top of the game, and I’ve never believed Ronnie would be the first to go. Whatever he has left in the tank, I intend on enjoying every moment of it.”
