His absence from Llandudno has failed to take the gloss of a dominant season, with the 48-year-old winning both the UK Championship and Masters to put him on the brink of winning all three Triple Crown events in the same season. He’ll get his shot at an historic treble at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, that starts at April 20.
O’Sullivan has also won the World Grand Prix and Shanghai Masters titles in the 2023/24 season, but last month Neil Robertson said the World No.1 was defying erratic form to produce results: “Ronnie recently, let’s have it right he’s played pretty awful, but he’s been able to keep winning because people are missing blacks off the spot, pinks off the spot,” he Australian told WST.
“He’s gained that reputation of being unbeatable this season even though he’s played awful. He’s even talked about it himself, he’s almost laughing about it, people just can’t put him away.”
Robertson hasn’t qualified for the Players Championship but one man who has is Mark Selby, who will take on Barry Hawkins first-up on Wednesday. And he’s now endorsed Robertson’s comments, arguing the aura of O’Sullivan is causing opponents to collapse.
“If you draw Ronnie in a comp you know he’s won the last three tournaments so straight away you know he’s playing well,” Selby told Metro. “Although I agree with Neil, I don’t think he’s played at the top of his game in a lot of the tournaments. But he’s created that aura himself with what he’s achieved in his career.
“Similar to Phil Taylor at the darts. He was the same. A lot of players had already lost before they’d stepped on the stage, I think that’s the same with Ronnie, apart from some of the top boys who play him don’t really fear him and believe they can win.”
O’Sullivan himself has been comically candid on his form at times, but has also complained about his intense tournament schedule. After his Welsh Open withdrawal, he said “I don’t want to be on treadmill every week,” implying he needed a break from tournament play.
But he will still be perceived as the man to beat in Telford, having previously won the Players Championship in 2018 and 2019. He was also a runner-up two years later, losing out to John Higgins in the final.
