Ronnie O'Sullivan reveals snooker star he'd like to coach despite being 'scared'

 As questions persist over his participation in the 2025 World Championship, Ronnie O'Sullivan has identified the fellow top professional he would most like to coach

Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed his interest in coaching ahead of the World Championship

Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed Luca Brecel is the snooker player he'd most like to coach, even if he would be "scared" to alter any aspect of his game. The Rocket has disclosed that he almost withdrew from the forthcoming World Championship to guide a young player, while his participation at the Crucible remains uncertain.

The seven-time world champion will make a decision in the days leading up to the opening day on April 19. O'Sullivan hasn't played professionally since January, having pulled out of several high-profile tournaments due to medical issues.

However, with one eye potentially on his future post-retirement, O'Sullivan is open to a coaching role. He considered mentoring a young player at the Crucible alongside punditry duties for TNT Sports had he decided to skip the event.

He singled out Brecel, the 2023 world champion, as the player he'd most like to work with. But O'Sullivan is hesitant to "touch him" for fear of jeopardising the natural talent that the Belgian Bullet possesses.

"I think Luca Brecel's an interesting case," O'Sullivan told TNT Sport. "But I'm not sure he's somebody that you could coach, really, in many ways. I think he's pretty much got all the game, but with someone like Luca, you'd be scared to touch him because he's such a natural talent."

"But I think there are some little areas where he could maybe improve his consistency levels. Instead of playing lights-out snooker for 20 per cent of the year, he could play lights-out snooker for 10 per cent of the year, but then his middle game becomes a lot stronger."

O'Sullivan would be open to working with Luca Brecel

"I believe someone like him is so talented that he doesn't need to play brilliantly to win. So he'd be an interesting case. It would be someone that I think has the talent and the game but maybe is just underperforming. I don't know who I would like to work with, but it would certainly be interesting to look at who's about and see if I could work with someone."

Brecel's form has been baffling since his stunning Crucible triumph two years ago, which saw him beat four-time world champion Mark Selby in the final. His form dropped off a cliff, and there have been question marks about their relaxed attitude toward practice while he took up triathlon training.

At one stage, there was a danger that Brecel would even drop off the tour at the end of this season when his prize money for winning the world title was due to come off his ranking. However, improved form in recent months has staved off that embarrassing prospect.

Addressing the 30-year-old's lifestyle, O'Sullivan said: "I think with Luca, it's very difficult for him to just focus on living the life of a snooker player. And I totally get it, he lives in Belgium and it's a tough ask to keep leaving, going home, leaving."

O'Sullivan says he would need just a few months a year to work with Brecel

"I'd just say to him: 'Look, give me four or five months of the year where you totally devote yourself to snooker. You do your three or four hours practice every day, you do your gym, you do whatever, you do your tournaments. But just give me that'.

"And then for the rest of it, if you want to play, play, if you don't, you don't - no problem. But I think as long as he could just focus for that intense period of time - he's okay to take time out, he doesn't need to play every day.

"But you have to have spells where you're on it. With someone like Luca, he doesn't have to be on it all the time, he just needs one good training camp a year, where he's practising and playing a lot of events, and that could be September, October, November, December.

"And I'd say come January, just pick and choose what you want to do, you don't have to play every tournament, but for that first part of the season, really go at it hard and give it everything, and I think that would be a wise way for him to approach it in many ways."