Ronnie O’Sullivan was a busy man on Wednesday at the 2025 World Snooker Championship as he joined TNT Sports for their ‘alternative commentary’ show just hours after booking his place in the last 16 of the blue riband event.
Seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan made it through to the second round of the Crucible for the 29th time in his illustrious career following a 10-4 victory over world number 18 Ali Carter.
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After a sketchy first session performance on Tuesday which ended with him just a frame up, O’Sullivan returned the next afternoon and put on a power-scoring clinic, winning five consecutive frames along with breaks of 50, 59, 117, 74, 123 and 131.
Having been away from professional competition for over three months, and using a new cue, O’Sullivan’s impressive display caught the attention of many, including multiple-time major event winners Mark Allen and John Parrott who both applauded what they saw.
In the evening, O’Sullivan joined famous football commentary duo Ally McCoist and Darren Fletcher during an alternative commentary watch-a-long special for the concluding session of Judd Trump’s 10-4 round one victory over Zhou Yuelong that had the world number one making a record-equalling five century breaks.
Fletcher asked O’Sullivan what was different about his scintillating second session performance against Carter, comparing it to an inconsistent display 24 hours earlier in the opening session.
The record 41-time ranking event champion said: “Yeah, I don’t know, I just felt like my rhythm was there, the shots were coming a bit easier.
It’s been a bit of a struggle the last few years, but I’ve been told that that’s snooker and that’s sport, and if you sign up to play sport, you’ve got to accept the good with the bad. I find that really difficult to get my head around because I just want it to be good all the time.
Today was the first time I think in a long time I thought I actually felt like the the balls were going half where I wanted them to go. I’m still not getting carried away but I’m kind of optimistic if that makes sense.”
Last season, O’Sullivan – even by his own high standards – enjoyed a special term on the professional circuit, winning five tournaments, including Triple Crown events the UK Championship and Masters each for the eighth time.
But before his hiatus from the tour, this 2024/25 campaign had been a frustrating one for O’Sullivan, having not reached a single final in the first half of the season.
Ups-and-downs have been a regular feature throughout O’Sullivan’s decorated career, and he explained to McCoist and Fletcher that he is trying to rectify issues with his game as he approaches possibly the final few years of his time on the sport’s top tier.
“I think I’m just in a rebuilding process. I’m probably on the last leg of my career and I’ve had to probably rebuild three or four times in your career.
“You have a point where you kind of go, ‘I’ve got to change things’. New players coming through – look at players like Judd Trump and all these young Chinese players, they play a different game.
“So if you want to compete with them, you sometimes have to rebuild, and that’s what I’ve to do. So I think, I’ve one more rebuild just to try and compete with these guys.
“I’m not saying I can win as much as they do because probably not, but I’d love to have a good four or five years, just enjoy it and compete and have a good finish to my career.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan says Judd Trump is the one to beat at the Crucible
McCoist, Fletcher, and O’Sullivan were all watching pre-tournament favourite Trump put the finishing touches to his comfortable first round victory over qualifier Zhou.
O’Sullivan was asked whether Trump was the player to beat at the Crucible over the next fortnight to which ‘The Rocket’ replied: “A million percent. For me, his only danger was Kyren Wilson, because Kyren matches up well with Judd. He enjoys that matchplay.
“Snooker’s a bit like golf matchplay, you’re not playing the course, you are playing the opponent sometimes. I think Kyren is probably one of the only top players that relishes playing Judd, and I think that makes it a really good game.
“There’s still loads of other good players in this tournament that can give Judd a game, but he’s definitely the favourite by right.”
Asked about how impressive that feat is, O’Sullivan responded: “Yeah, phenomenal really.
“He’s done it once before and Neil’s (Robertson) done it once, but he’s just been on fire this season, especially at the start of the season, but he just scores so heavily. Phenomenal play, really is.”
