Has Ronnie O'Sullivan lost his 'fear factor'? Stephen Hendry assesses The Rocket's form ahead of China Open
By Leon Imber
Published 06/08/2026 at 21:08 GMT+1
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Stephen Hendry feels fellow seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is stuck in a cycle of "inconsistent form", while Steven Hallworth suggested he may have lost his "fear factor", despite still forging some of the greatest snooker moments in the sport's history.
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O'Sullivan's Shanghai Masters bid ended with a last-16 defeat to Kyren Wilson - a match which saw The Rocket make three centuries, before the reigning Masters champion rattled off three successive frames to close out the match.
It was the continuation of a recent theme for O'Sullivan. This year alone, he has showcased his share of snooker magic - the record 153 break at the World Open in March, for example. Last August, he made two maximum breaks in the same match during the Saudi Arabia Masters semi-finals.
But he has struggled to get over the line. At the World Championship in April, he held a five-frame lead over fellow Class of '92 alumni John Higgins, before surrendering his advantage and falling in the second round.
Tournaments have been fewer and further between for O'Sullivan in recent years, but he is scheduled to return to action at the China Open with a first-round match against Jackson Page on Sunday - and will be hoping to accompany his typical flare with a clinical edge.
Speaking on the World Snooker Tour's 'Snooker Club' podcast, Hendry assessed where O'Sullivan's game currently sits.
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"It’s basically what Ronnie’s game has been the last year or two, goes from the sublime to the ridiculous," Hendry said.
"From 3-1 down, he suddenly looks absolutely flawless, and then goes back to really struggling again and losing the match.
"It was like the World Championship. The first session against Higgins I thought, 'Wow, Ronnie looks bang on this', and then the next two sessions he weakened.
"It’s kind of like what the story of Ronnie’s game has been - flashes of brilliance, the two 147s in one match [in Saudi Arabia last year], the 153, but coupled with inconsistent form."
Steven Hallworth, meanwhile, feels O'Sullivan's opponents have changed their attitude when coming up against the Essex great.
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"He’s lacking that edge," Hallworth said. "That fear factor is gone for Ronnie.
"Also, you look at that spell against Kyren and three centuries in a row, gone are the years of Ronnie doing that against somebody and the player just completely collapsing and falling aside.
"The players are used to seeing that, it’s not uncommon now, so the response comes eventually from the other guys."
The semi-finals in Shanghai were without any of the Class of '92. Higgins was defeated 6-0 by eventual champion Judd Trump in the quarter-finals, while Mark Williams was beaten 6-5 by Wilson.
With O'Sullivan having spoken openly about being "bored" of the practice table, Hendry feels that Higgins and Williams will also be feeling similarly.
"I think John Higgins is in a situation where he doesn’t want to be practicing a lot, Mark Williams too," Hendry said.
"These guys, the age they are at, they don’t want to be playing four or five hours a day.
"They turn up for the tournaments, and when they are at the tournaments they will put a lot of work in because they are there anyway, so they may as well put the work in, but away from the tournaments I don’t think they are doing perhaps what they used to."
The 2026 China Open gets underway on Saturday - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max - with the final scheduled for August 16.
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