Ronnie O'Sullivan unsure on World Championship participation as he opens up on losing 'the love for the game'
Updated 03/04/2025 at 16:16 GMT+1
Ronnie O'Sullivan is set to make a late decision regarding whether he will be present for this year's World Championship at the Crucible Theatre, live on TNT Sports and discovery+. 'The Rocket' has not appeared at a ranking event since November, and said the decision over his participation will hinge on whether he feels "confident" enough to play his best snooker.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed he has yet to decide whether he will play at this year's World Championship.
A seven-time winner at the Crucible, O'Sullivan has never withdrawn from the competition, making 32 consecutive appearances at the tournament since his emergence on the professional tour in 1992.
But he has missed several high-profile events this season, including his Masters title defence, the World Grand Prix, Scottish Open, German Masters and Welsh Open - with "medical reasons" cited for his absence.
O'Sullivan said he would make a late decision on whether to participate at this year's season-ending event in Sheffield, a verdict which he said will be decided by his confidence levels.
"I don't know yet," the 41-time ranking event winner said. "I haven't made my mind up, I'll probably make a decision on maybe the 17th or 18th of April.
"I don't know when I'm due to play my first match, so I'm going to try and leave myself as much time as possible.
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"I'd love to be able to go there and play, I'd love to be able to have the confidence to be able to get my cue out and go and play snooker.
"I just need to give myself as much time as possible to see where I'm at with it, and see whether it's something I'm going to be able to do."
O'Sullivan's latest ranking title came at the 2024 World Grand Prix, as he defeated world No. 1 Judd Trump 10-7 in the final.
But 'The Rocket' - named WST Player of the Year for the 2023/24 campaign - has endured a tough season, last appearing at a ranking event in November, while struggling for form when he has appeared.
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His last competitive outing came at the Championship League in January, an event in which he snapped his cue and withdrew from his final group-stage match against Ali Carter.
O'Sullivan said that recent years have been "terrible" for him, and his cue-snapping incident came as a result of losing his "love for the game".
"It's been a real struggle," O'Sullivan said. "I've tried to play my way through. I've had moments and glimpses where I thought, 'OK, this is OK'.
"But on the whole, probably three and a half years out of the last four have been pretty terrible for me, and that's kind of took its toll.
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"I kind of got a bit tired. It kind of ground, ground me down to the point where I kind of lost the love for the game, and that's why, you know, in January, I snapped my cue just in, in temper, in frustration. I don't really want to feel like that, you know, so I've taken time out.
"I'm just gonna try and fix what I think is the problem before I come back to play serious snooker again."
The World Championship - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - take place between April 19 and May 5.
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
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