Snooker’s top star Ronnie O’Sullivan has adopted a lighter schedule this season, participating in just eight tournaments while skipping several others. The 50-year-old’s form has struggled, leading to early exits at events like the UK Championship, International Championship, and World Grand Prix.
His standout performance came at the Saudi Arabia Masters in August, where he reached the final but fell to Neil Robertson in the decider. Even more notable was his semi-final victory over Chris Wakelin, featuring two maximum 147 breaks. However, O’Sullivan sat out the recent Players Championship and the ongoing Welsh Open.
Judd Trump’s Perspective
World number one Judd Trump indicates players have grown accustomed to O’Sullivan’s absences and advises against rushing back given recent results.
“No, I don’t even think about it,” Trump stated. “It’s not until you mention it that I realise that he’s not here. I just think he’s an amazing player, but the way he’s played recently, he’s been quite poor. So I think it’s better for him to take that time out and when he’s willing to put the work in and whatever it is…I think he’s still struggling with his cue as well.”
Trump highlighted cue issues and the challenges of age and reduced play: “I don’t think he’s found the right cue from what I’ve seen him play, he’s nowhere near. The mistakes he makes he never made with his old cue, never. And I think obviously the more you get older and the less he plays, the less sharp he’s going to be and it’s just going to get harder and harder.”
He added, “Ronnie can turn it on at any point, but I think he’s a little bit more vulnerable. He used to be invincible against some players and he’d just have to turn up and they’d kind of crumble, wouldn’t they? Now it just doesn’t seem that that happens as much. People are a lot more comfortable playing him. But I’m sure there’s going to be one tournament in the next year or two where he’s going to be unbelievable and he’s still capable of amazing things.”
John Higgins Weighs In
John Higgins views O’Sullivan’s limited appearances as the new normal but urges fans to cherish them.
“To be brutally honest, he’s not playing really a lot now,” Higgins said. “So I think all the guys just enjoy him now, when he does appear, you know what I mean? But he’s obviously got different things going on in his life, and he can’t be around forever. So just enjoy him while he’s still playing some events.”
Mark Allen Calls for New Stars
Mark Allen acknowledges the excitement O’Sullivan brings but stresses the need to promote emerging talents as the seven-time world champion scales back.
“It is what it is. Ronnie’s just at that stage of his career,” Allen noted. “He’s always going to do what he wants to do. I think the good thing for the game in general is that it’s becoming more common, so it’s giving the events a chance to be popular without Ronnie.”
He continued, “I think there’s no doubt there’s a better buzz when he’s involved. I absolutely love playing him. The crowd and stuff, that’s basically what we started playing snooker for, to play in those types of matches. But it’s up to WST and the media guys to really push the rest of the tour now because Ronnie probably doesn’t have a lot of years left and we have to try and create the next superstar.”
Allen warned, “I think it’s still too reliant on Ronnie. It’s mind-boggling at times, I understand he’s the big name in the sport, I completely get that, but you’re not going to create the next Ronnie O’Sullivan in the media if you don’t give them a chance. There’s a lot of people that have been doing really well in recent years that haven’t got the coverage they deserve.”
O’Sullivan is set to return at the World Open next month.
