Voluntary swearing and a deal with the Saudis: will favorite O’Sullivan propel himself to a record 8th world title?

Inimitable, both inside and outside the snooker hall. Ronnie O’Sullivan has kicked a lot of shins in recent months, but has one of his very best seasons from his cue. At the World Snooker Championship, “The Rocket” at the age of 48 has an appointment with history and an excellent opportunity to fill a final gap in his record. Today he starts against Jackson Page.

“The Crucible? I don’t like that stuffy room. You can have a cup of tea there or eat a lasagna, and that’s it. I think it is a good idea to organize the World Cup elsewhere. Saudi Arabia seems like an excellent alternative to me.”

Two days before the start of the Snooker World Cup, Ronnie O’Sullivan dropped another bombshell. “The Rocket” may have won 7 World Championships in the legendary – but old-fashioned – hall in Sheffield, but he did not hesitate to put the snooker temple through the wringer.

The reason is not far to seek: O’Sullivan, following Lionel Messi or Rafael Nadal, among others, just signed a lucrative contract as a sports ambassador of… Saudi Arabia.

O’Sullivan’s charge against The Crucible was therefore nothing more or less than a promotional speech. A faux pas in the rather conservative snooker world.

The swipe is yet another antics by the world’s best snooker player this season. The Englishman was again his inimitable self last year and did not shy away from controversy. The world snooker federation WST also had to believe this.

The love-hate relationship between “The Rocket” and the WST was once again tested at the end of 2023 when five snooker top players, including Luca Brecel, chose an exhibition tournament in Macau over the Northern Ireland Open, a ranking tournament of the WST.

The simple reason: there was a lot more money to be had in Macau.

The WST could not laugh at this and quickly threatened severe sanctions for the “Macau Five”. O’Sullivan then did not hesitate to stand up for his colleagues.

If the WST is going to punish me, then I will stop.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

“I now go to Asia a lot more because there is a lot of money to be made and the WST just wants a piece of the pie. But if they start punishing me, I will stop,” he threatened.

Ultimately, the situation did not escalate, much to the relief of the WST. The exhibition tournament in Macau was moved, so the top players did not have to choose between the ranking points of Northern Ireland or the Asian cents.

But the riot around Macau had not even half subsided before things broke out again at the beginning of 2024 between O’Sullivan, the world snooker federation and another top player, Ali Carter.

The Masters final had turned into a “hate game” between O’Sullivan and Carter. Both players have a long-standing feud, which erupted again after the match (won by O’Sullivan).

Carter accused O’Sullivan of “leaving his snot all over the room.” Then he completely exploded at a press conference.

Carter is a f***ing nightmare and it’s time he gets his f***ing life in order.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

“I’m not going to beat around the bush: Carter is a f***ing nightmare and it’s time he got his f***ing life in order,” O’Sullivan fumed. “He can have my middle finger and he can sit on it.”

The WST quickly threatened an investigation into O’Sullivan’s excesses, but a sanction? In the end, this was never communicated.

It shows how the problem is: the world snooker federation cannot do without its biggest but bold star and vice versa.

But what typifies O’Sullivan: amid all his ado, the Englishman managed to have one of the most successful seasons of his career.

“The Rocket” won 84 percent of his matches on tour this season, his third-highest winning percentage in the last 10 years. Moreover, he also won the UK Championship and the Masters. And with that, O’Sullivan is on course for a historic triple.

If he also wins the World Cup, he will become the 4th player ever to win the three “Triple Crown” tournaments in one season, eand of the few blind spots on O’Sullivan’s record. Only Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams ever managed that.

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Moreover, O’Sullivan is aiming for yet another record in Sheffield. When he becomes world champion for the 8th time, he will be crowned the only record holder. With 7 world titles, he currently shares the record with Stephen Hendry.

“I would really like to win the World Cup again,” O’Sullivan said in the run-up to the World Cup. Although he soon became laconic about that goal. “If I win an 8th title, there will be talk of a 9th again. When will it be enough?”

In any case, the stars are extremely favorable for a record title in Sheffield. O’Sullivan will have to get past the other favorite, Judd Trump, in the semi-finals.

Luca Brecel won’t stop him this year. Last year, O’Sullivan fell in the quarter-finals against the later world champion after a great recovery from the latter, but our compatriot was eliminated in the 1st round on Saturday.