The world of snooker could be set for a story for the ages if Ronnie O’Sullivan’s latest training footage is anything to go by.
The Rocket has been at his academy in Saudi Arabia and racked up a rapid 147 maximum break just over a week before the World Snooker Championship gets underway.
O’Sullivan is a doubt for the tournament having barely played this year, but the training footage suggests those with a ticket to the Crucible could be in for a treat.
The 49-year-old has pulled out of five ranking events this year, citing exhaustion and medical reasons, while his only appearance in the Championship League saw him lose four of five matches and retire after snapping his cue.
Such a poor year would suggest that any appearance at the Crucible would be an uneventful one, but a smattering of lucky bystanders got to see O’Sullivan at his best in the Middle East.
His training 147 was done in under seven minutes – showing the kind of talent that makes him one of the most entertaining and greatest snooker players of all time.
Not only do the circumstances around his form and condition make the maximum break so eyebrow-raising, but also what’s at stake at the World Snooker Championship.
O’Sullivan is a seven-time winner of snooker’s Blue Riband event and one more victory would lift him above Stephen Hendry as the greatest of the modern era.
Yet despite the latest signs regarding his participation being positive, he has given expectant fans reasons for doubt.
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the event, he revealed the physical difficulties the tournament poses, saying: “I’ve never found any World Championship that I’ve won hard work because I’ve probably won every match by five, six frames.
“Never had a close game, never had a decider. So, in many ways, when I look back they were quite comfortable tournaments to win.
“When I won it in 2020, I woke up on Monday morning and felt alright. But then for ten days, I just couldn’t even think straight. I was drained. I couldn’t quite work it out.
“I won it again in 2022 and the same happened again. It’s just an age thing. It had a weird effect on my body. I was shocked to be honest with you. I can only put it down to an age thing because 2020 I was like, ‘okay, maybe it was a one off’.
“But then when I won it in 2022, and it felt quite easy winning it that year as well, I still felt like my body had been battered.”
O’Sullivan has been participating in the World Snooker Championship since 1993 without missing an event.
However, he’s decided he’ll give himself all the time he needs before deciding if 2025 will be the first year without him.
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t made my mind up,” he said of his participation. “I’ll probably make a decision on maybe April 17 or 18.
“I don’t know when I’m due to play my first match so I’m going to try to leave myself as much time as possible.
“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.
“It’s been a real struggle. I’ve tried to play my way through. I’ve had moments and glimpses where I thought: “Okay, this is okay”. But on the whole, probably three and a half years out of the last four have been pretty terrible for me and that’s taken its toll.
“I got a bit tired. It ground me down to the point where I lost the love for the game. That’s why in January, I snapped my cue just in temper, in frustration.
“I don’t really want to feel like that, so I’ve taken time out. I am just going to try to fix what I think is the problem before I come back to play serious snooker again.”
The cue incident has also been another problem, with O’Sullivan telling The Sun he still hasn’t found the right equipment.
“I literally don’t have a cue,” he explained. “I still haven’t found one that I’m comfortable with.
“Still just trying out different ones. Trying to find one that I like. I have probably changed my cue four, five times.
“On two or three occasions, I found one straightaway. On the other two occasions, it has taken me sometimes a year to find one.”
