Ronnie O’Sullivan backed to retire after World Snooker Championship with star fed up

Ronnie O’Sullivan will get the chance to win an eighth World Snooker Championship title later this year.

Ken Doherty, a snooker veteran, has advised Ronnie O’Sullivan to think about retiring should he win his eighth World Snooker Championship later this year. Despite his recent success, which included what should have been a satisfying victory against fierce rival Ali Carter in the Masters final earlier this month, the Rocket, who is in fantastic shape, claims to be taking “no enjoyment” from it.

After defeating Luca Brecel to win the Shanghai Masters back in September, O’Sullivan’s performance took off. The 48-year-old has already won two triple crown events, the Masters and the UK Championship. If he wins world championship gold at the Crucible in May, he may win all three in a single season for the first time in his career.

Although O’Sullivan has advanced to the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix in Leicester this week against Ding Junhui thanks to his strong form, he says he is not at all satisfied with his efforts.

 

He stated, “I just have struggles with the game,” following his victories over Zhou

Yuelong in the previous rounds. I just cannot put up with poor cueing. I would rather cue poorly and lose than perform

poorly and win competitions. I truly don’t get any satisfaction from it.”

Former world champion Doherty believes that the Rocket may opt to call it

a day if he wins an eighth global title later this year, which would put him

alone at the top of the all-time list in the modern era.

“Maybe he’s come to that crossroads in his life where maybe if he wins the

eighth World Championship, it might be time for him to say, ‘look, I’ve gone out on the top’,” Doherty told ITV Sport.

“He may still like performing in China and do exhibitions, but if that’s when he

believes the timing is right, it might be. He’s the finest snooker player; he claims

he doesn’t enjoy defeating others who are more deserving, yet on Sunday night

at the Masters, Ali Carter was just as deserving of that title as he was.

 

“He battled him tooth and nail, eventually succeeding in his defeat. In the end, despite his claims that he might

not, he still possesses that competitive mentality. But that man is a different

animal when he returns to that table. He has been a snooker talisman and

continues to provide a tremendous deal of pleasure.”

In two of the last four years, O’Sullivan has emerged victorious in the World Snooker Championship. In 2022, he secured his most recent Crucible victory by defeating Judd Trump in the final.

 

The most significant tournament of them all, according to the self-critical snooker veteran, is “the worst out of the lot of them,” with a fly-on-the-wall video that was published late last year illuminating the immense emotional cost of winning title number seven.

 

The Rocket said to Express Sport last year, “I know it sounds crazy, but I just don’t think [going through that] is worth it.” It is worthwhile if you haven’t taken home the World Championship. However, I’ve always maintained that four is my limit.”