Ronnie O'Sullivan sets strict deadline on decision to play as he reveals Crucible plans

 

Ronnie O'Sullivan, who hasn't played competitively since January, has revealed his plans for the World Championship after breaking his silence on his potential return to the table

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed when he will decide whether to play at the upcoming World Snooker Championship. The seven-time world champion has not played competitively since he withdrew midway through his Championship League group in January – snapping his cue after losing four of his five matches.

O'Sullivan, 49, subsequently pulled out of the Masters at Alexandra Palace. He also missed the German Masters, Welsh Open, World Open and World Grand Prix.

He didn’t qualify for the Players Championship or the current Tour Championship in Manchester. While he is on the official entry for the World Championship, which begins on April 19, it is up in the air whether he will actually take part.

Breaking his silence on his participation, the Rocket said he would leave it as late as possible before making a decision. He told TNT Sports: “I don’t know yet. I haven’t made my mind up, I’ll probably make a decision on maybe the 17th or 18th of April.

“I don’t know when I’m due to play my first match, so I’m going to try and leave myself as much time as possible. I’d love to be able to go there and play, I’d love to be able to have the confidence to be able to get my cue out and go and play snooker.

O'Sullivan still hasn't decided if he will play at the World Championship

“I just need to give myself as much time as possible to see where I’m at with it, and see whether it’s something I’m going to be able to do.”

O’Sullivan, who recently split from long partner Laila Rouass, admitted he hasn’t been enjoying his snooker in recent years. He added: “It’s been a real struggle. I’ve tried to play my way through. I’ve had moments and glimpses where I thought, ‘OK, this is OK’.

“But on the whole, probably three-and-a-half years out of the last four have been pretty terrible for me and that’s kind of took its toll. I kind of got a bit tired. It kind of ground me down to the point where I kind of lost the love for the game.

O'Sullivan won his seventh world title three years ago

“That’s why in January, I snapped my cue just in temper, in frustration. I don’t really want to feel like that, so I’ve taken time out. I am just gonna try and fix what I think is the problem before I come back to play serious snooker again.”

O'Sullivan is provisionally seeded fourth for the World Championship. By the time he decides whether to play or not, qualifying will have been completed, meaning his first-round opponent will likely receive a bye if he decides to pull out.