Will Ronnie O'Sullivan play at the World Snooker Championship?
The seven-time winner has not played a competitive match since January.
The World Snooker Championship is fast approaching, but the biggest tournament in the game could be without one of its great champions.
No one has more titles at The Crucible in the modern era than Ronnie O'Sullivan, who is level with Stephen Hendry on seven wins and could look to add at least one more before calling time on his illustrious career.
A record eighth World Snooker Championship triumph looks unlikely to come this year as there are serious doubts over whether the Rocket will play at the event, which starts on 19th April.
The 49-year-old has not played at a ranking event since November, when he was beaten by Barry Hawkins, and smashed up his cue out of frustration before dropping out of the Championship League in January, while he has missed a string of tournaments this year on "medical grounds".
As a result, he could miss the World Snooker Championship for the first time since his tournament debut in 1993.
RadioTimes.com brings you all the details on whether Ronnie O'Sullivan will play at the World Snooker Championship 2025.
Will Ronnie O'Sullivan play at the World Snooker Championship?
Ronnie O'Sullivan has not yet confirmed whether he will play at the World Snooker Championship 2025, and has told TNT that he intends to wait until the last minute before making his decision.
The tournament draw is done on Thursday morning at 8:45am, so we should have a clearer idea then whether or not the seven-time champion will be taking part.
O'Sullivan did not qualify for the Players Championship or Tour Championship, which are based on one-year rankings.
However, he is still fifth in the world rankings, which are measured over two years, and is eligible to qualify and be seeded at the World Snooker Championship
Speaking to The Sun earlier this month, he made it clear he felt he was a long way from mounting a serious challenge at the 49th edition of the tournament.
"At the moment, I would be happy to win a match. If I turn up at Sheffield and I win a match, I would go, 'That’s a huge victory for me.' It really would be.
"I know I’ve got the talent and I know that it’s there but it’s just finding it. I haven’t found it for three or four years."
O'Sullivan did offer fans some hope that he still had the hunger to get back to his best.
"I know it’s not going to be a quick fix," he said. "At the moment, it’s like I’ll take a step forward, I get excited, and then bang, I take two back.
"Then I take a couple forward and then I take one back. You think that’s why I said I want to give myself some time.
"Give myself some proper time. I still know I can play, I still know I have got the mind and energy and hunger for it.
"I’ve got to try find the old way of playing snooker. I have literally forgotten what I used to do.
"I am pulling everything apart at the minute, trying to build something that is half reliable."
If he is there, you wouldn't bet against him going deep in the tournament – despite what he might be saying in the build-up about the current state of his game.
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