One of the greatest – and in the eyes of many the greatest – snooker player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan is far from his best days on the green cloth. Since the start of the season, The Rocket has only reached one semi-final and one quarter-final. The semi-final was at the Xian Grand Prix in August, where he lost to eventual champion Kyren Wilson, and the quarter-final was at the Saudi Snooker Masters, where he was defeated by China’s Si Jiahui. This is not Ronnie’s season so far, but the seven-time world champion is too big a name in the sport to be written off lightly for another major title. And in January, one of his favourite tournaments is coming up – the Masters.
O'Sullivan holds the record for most titles in the competition with eight, and he reached the top spot in the trophy count in 2017 when he defeated Joe Perry in the final by 10-7 frames. In doing so, he single-handedly displaced Scottish legend Stephen Hendry from the top, who remains with six in his collection. The Rocket won title number 8 in early 2024, when he defeated Ali Carter by 10-7. He is now targeting a ninth Masters trophy of his career, but given his form since the start of the campaign and his upcoming opponent in the first round, who would be willing to guarantee that Ronnie will lift the cup again?
Speaking of his upcoming opponent, The Rocket will face a well-known opponent, one of his greatest rivals over the years - John Higgins. The draw was definitely not in favor of either of the two giants of snooker - Higgins himself is a two-time Masters champion, although he has not won the title since 2006 - then the "Wizard of Wishaw" defeated O'Sullivan 10-9 in a real spectacle. The winner of Ronnie - Higgins will play in the next phase of the upcoming Masters between January 12-19 with Shaun Murphy or Gary Wilson, and in Ronnie's half there are also players like Mark Allen and Mark Selby.
But let's get back to the seven-time world champion's season so far. After the semi-finals and quarter-finals in August and early September, Ronnie did not participate in four tournaments, and in three others he was eliminated early. He withdrew from the Leicester (British Open), Wuhan (Wuhan Open), Belfast (Northern Ireland Open) and Edinburgh (Scottish Open). Ronnie suffered a painful first-round defeat to Barry Hawkins at the first Triple Crown event of the season, the UK Championship. He also suffered an opening-round exit at the English Open, a surprise defeat to He Guoqiang of China. Perhaps most unpleasant for the Rocket and his fans was the loss to another Chinese, Xiao Guodong, at the Champion of Champions, when O'Sullivan was cruising to a comfortable victory at the start after a 3-0 lead, only to lose by 3-4 frames.
There is no doubt that the great talent's mind is not entirely focused on snooker. Ronnie has achieved absolutely everything in the game and it is hard for anyone to be angry with him if he has seasons like the current one, considering that next year he will turn 50. Even as a priority, at certain moments snooker gives way at least to the personal life of a player. The problems for the Rocket from the start of the campaign are obvious to everyone, but there is a tournament coming up where he has experienced some of the greatest moments in his career - eight-time champion and six-time finalist in the competition, the Masters is one of O'Sullivan's tournaments. A victory at the start over Higgins could unlock the self-confidence of the Rocket and he will not be stopped until the end of the tournament, although traditionally the scheme includes the names of very classy and strong players such as Judd Trump, Allen, Selby and the current world champion Wilson.
The last of Ronnie's 41 ranking titles dates back almost a year – mid-January 2024, when he won the World Grand Prix, winning the title by defeating Trump. The two may also meet in the final of the upcoming Masters, but until then there is a lot of water to drain. Trump himself started with a treacherous duel against Hawkins in a repeat of the final of the UK Championship. However, the topic is O'Sullivan and whether the Masters and a title there will heal the seemingly incurable wounds of the great player of the last few months. At first glance, the ninth seems rather difficult to achieve, but does anyone dare to bet against The Rocket at one of his favorite tournaments and that he will rise again with a new major title? I am certainly not one of those people. | BGNES
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Stefan Ignatov, Editor in the Sports Department of BGNES
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