Ronnie O’Sullivan has again stressed that he may only have two more chances to win a record-breaking eighth world championship and vowed to quit if he has to enter qualifying.
The 50-year-old, who won the last of his seven titles in 2022, is level with Stephen Hendry as the most successful player in the World Championship’s modern era.
“I’d love to win another World Championship,” O’Sullivan told World Snooker Tour after opening his 2026-27 season with a 6-1 win over Liu Linhao at the Shanghai Masters. “I have two attempts at it.
“If I can find a bit of cueing or some form at Sheffield, you never know. If I don’t do it this year or the next, it will definitely never happen.”
O’Sullivan has slipped to 12th in the world rankings as a result of playing fewer tournaments and only the top 16 qualify for some of the biggest events.
That raises the prospect of the game’s biggest name potentially having to go through qualifying to reach the Crucible – but O’Sullivan says that will not be happening.
“I’m not going to play qualifiers. You won’t be seeing me go down to Barnsley trying to win qualifying matches and all that sort of stuff,” he said.
“If that happens, then obviously that’s the end of my career. But hopefully, I can keep going for at least another two seasons.
“I’m happy with my career and how things have gone. I want to enjoy these next two years. I’ll reassess in 2028 and if things are really going well, you can maybe extend it.”
https://x.com/WeAreWST/status/2081741812150985029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
O’Sullivan believes he has to achieve the feat in the next two years because of the mental demands of the game.
He added: “I have to be realistic. I’m 50 now and if I play for two hours I then have to lie down for two or three hours. It is very hard for me.
“OK, you don’t have to run around a football pitch but mentally you have to concentrate. When you are younger you can do that for hour upon hour.”
O’Sullivan proved too strong for 18-year-old Chinese wild card Liu, finishing off the match with breaks of 73, 71, 75 and 55 after initially being pegged back to 1-1 following a fine run of 88 from his opponent.
Zhou Yuelong came from behind to beat four-time world champion Mark Selby 6-5, Barry Hawkins overcame Lei Peifan 6-4 and Ding Junhui saw off Dongcheng Yao 6-2.
