O'Sullivan Chasing Eighth Crucible Title Aged 50
Ronnie O'Sullivan reached the semi-finals of the 2025 World Championship, where he was defeated by the eventual winner Zhao Xintong.
In 2001, Ronnie O'Sullivan secured his first World Snooker Championship title. Now, 25 years later, he is aiming to claim a record-breaking eighth title.
The 50-year-old has won the championship seven times, a record matched only by Stephen Hendry in the 1990s, with no other player in the modern era achieving greater success.
O'Sullivan holds numerous snooker records, including being the oldest Crucible final winner following his latest triumph in 2022 at the age of 46.
Despite reaching his half-century, the player known as "the Rocket" continues to reach new heights in his career.
Last month, at the World Open in China, he made a break of 153, the highest ever recorded in professional snooker. This was made possible by an early snooker that granted him a free ball, effectively acting as a 16th red.
O'Sullivan advanced to the final of that tournament. Shaun Murphy, who lost 5-3 to O'Sullivan in the last 16, praised his performance.
"When I played him in Yushan he seemed pretty sharp and it was a very high-quality match," said 2005 world champion Murphy. "He has not been at his brilliant best this season, but when he gets in and in flow he is still as good as ever. "It would be great for snooker if he did get to eight and great for him - it's a story everyone wants to write and it would be an incredible achievement. "But he is running out of time so he needs to do it sooner or later, but it's Ronnie O'Sullivan so you wouldn't put anything past him."
Ronnie O'Sullivan beat John Higgins in the 2001 final for his first world title, then won it in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, and 2022.
Reigning Champion Zhao a Man in Form
The 17-day World Championship starts on Saturday, with the final scheduled to begin on Sunday, 3 May, concluding the following day.
O'Sullivan, who along with world number one Judd Trump were the only two of the 16 seeded players absent from a media day at the Crucible on Friday, will face Chinese debutant He Guoqiang on Tuesday and Wednesday in the first round.
However, bookmakers and several players consider China's first world champion and reigning titleholder Zhao Xintong the favourite, having won four events this season, including three of the past five ranking tournaments.
At the Tour Championship in Manchester this month, Zhao issued a strong statement with an emphatic 10-3 victory over Trump in the final.
"On form you would make Xintong favourite to retain his title," added Murphy. "He is just an incredible player to watch and someone the other players enjoy watching. "It's the first time in a long time when Ronnie is not number one favourite for the tournament. "Xintong is wonderfully talented and seems a genuinely nice kid who is super talented at snooker, and at the minute he is the best player on the planet."
Fourteen of the 16 players lined up for a photo at the media day at the Crucible before the 2026 World Snooker Championship.
However, the 29-year-old Zhao does not view.
"I can still be better. Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, everyone in the top 16 is better [than me]," said Zhao, who defeated Mark Williams 18-12 in the 2025 final. "There's a big pressure and I'm just trying to get better - I'm still learning. Now I'm nervous as I'm back at the Crucible, but I will try to control myself."
Zhao faces added pressure as he attempts to overcome the so-called Crucible Curse, which has prevented any of the 20 first-time winners from retaining their title the following year.
"I know a little bit about it and everyone is talking about this," added Zhao, fourth in the world rankings. "I'm not thinking about it. I have pressure, but the pressure is not from this, it's just from myself. "I feel like everyone is looking at me. I have felt pressure all season but have handled it well."
O'Sullivan is set to play China's He Guoqiang in the Crucible first round.
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'12-1?' - Will O'Sullivan Prove Bookmakers Wrong?
O'Sullivan is the third-oldest player in the tournament, behind fellow 'Class of 92' members John Higgins, 50, and 51-year-old Mark Williams.
"Ronnie looks in good nick and is hitting the ball well and seems confident so he could have a big say in this tournament," said four-time champion Higgins.
Meanwhile, three-time winner Williams told BBC Radio 5 Live:
"In years gone by you'd have O'Sullivan as 7-4 favourite, and Zhao Xintong is favourite, but at 4-1 - so that shows how difficult it is. "A few weeks ago Ronnie was 12-1 to win, which has not been heard of. He has never been 12-1 to win a World Championship since he was 15. "The older you get, the more unlikely you're going to win this competition because the stamina towards the end is where it really catches you out, but who knows? "For the likes of me, John and Ronnie it's getting a lot harder. But I wouldn't be surprised if John or Ronnie did win it."
Robertson Inspired by McIlroy's Masters Wins
Rory McIlroy has won six golf majors but experienced a 10-year gap between his fourth and fifth victories.
Australian Neil Robertson, the 2010 world champion and currently third in the rankings, is drawing inspiration from McIlroy's career after the Northern Irish golfer's back-to-back Masters wins.
"I thought once I won the first one, others would follow," said 44-year-old Robertson. "One of the things I look at is when Rory won the Masters and there was such a long time between majors. "I'm drawing a bit of inspiration from him, just seeing how he dealt with those moments because I can never avoid those questions - 'how come you've never won another one?' "A World Championship is pretty hard to win. It's amazing to have won one but I'm doing my best to win another."
England's Kyren Wilson, the world number two, secured the most recent of snooker's Triple Crown titles with victory at the Masters in January.
Wilson described this year's World Championship as one of the most open in recent memory, stating:
"How exciting that you could name 10 to 16 players that could win. "It makes it more watchable. There's more appeal and all of a sudden a new champion can arise so it's going to be really exciting and competitive. "I'm right in the mix. Xintong the way he has been playing, Ronnie is going to be gunning for it and he was practising very, very hard in China, looked good and made that 153 break. "Judd Trump has been very consistent, but also with 11 Chinese players you would not put it past a Chinese player winning again this year."
