World Snooker Championship success for Ronnie O’Sullivan this year would break a tie with Stephen Hendry to become the outright modern-era record holder with eight wins
Ronnie O’Sullivan will play at the World Snooker Championship again this year and return to the sport for the first time in months at The Crucible.
O’Sullivan, 49, will begin a 33rd consecutive appearance at the tournament against long-time rival Ali Carter in the first round. That match will be his first since withdrawing from the Championship League Invitational in Leicester hours before being due to play Carter at the start of this year after snapping his cue during the competition.
He then missed the Masters at Alexandra Palace, the German Masters and World Grand Prix on medical grounds before withdrawing from the Welsh Open. O’Sullivan has now opened up on suffering from what he has said could be ‘stage fright’.
O’Sullivan’s ‘stage fright’
“Because it is the World Championship and the last tournament [of the season], I thought I need to try and break that cycle,” he has told BBC Sport.
“Call it stage fright; I just haven’t had the [will] to go and compete.
“Call it lost my bottle. You sometimes lose your nerve.
“Just to come here is an achievement for me. The kind of nerves I have [been] feeling off and on for the last two years have not been good nerves.
“I have just been not wanting to go out there – sometimes struggling to even take my eyes off the floor. The confidence has been draining away, so it has not been a great place to be.”
Life in Hong Kong
O’Sullivan took up Hong Kong residency under their Quality Migrant Admission Scheme late last year, explaining that the city is somewhere he is happy. He acknowledged during a Macau Snooker Masters press conference: “I’ve spent a lot of time in Hong Kong”.
“I’ve had many really nice trips here, got some good friends here; I enjoy my stay here. Obviously, snooker is very popular here as well.
O’Sullivan added: “I probably do about 70% of my work in China and Asia now, so I have to make a life here; I have to make a home.
“If you work a long time in a certain place, you need to make it as comfortable as possible.”
Huge net worth
O’Sullivan has earned £14.6million in prize money alone during his 33-year career, per CueTracker. John Higgins is the only other player to surpass £10million (£10.5m), with Judd Trump third best at £9.2m after surpassing Stephen Hendry (£8.8m).
During his best season, he has won over £1million, including the 2023/24 campaign when he won five major tournaments in a year for the second time. O’Sullivan reputedly has a circa £20million estimated net worth.
Away from the baize, he has several sponsors, including ROKiT. O’Sullivan also works as a pundit for TNT Sports, doing so during their World Snooker Championship over its opening weekend this year.