Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Rocket reveals recent doubts over 2026 World Snooker Championship bid ahead of World Open Snooker News

Ronnie O’Sullivan has opened up about his form this season after reaching the World Open final. Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Noh defeated O’Sullivan, who shot 147 in the final. For O’Sullivan next month is the World Snooker Championship.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he will “probably” not be at this year’s World Snooker Championship ahead of his stunning run to Sunday’s final at the World Open.

O’Sullivan has played just one tournament in Britain this season, preferring events in Asia and has largely struggled when he has competed – dropping to 10th in the World Snooker Tour rankings.

He made the final of August’s Saudi Arabia Masters but suffered back-to-back early exits, including a first-round loss at the UK Championships in November, then withdrew from the Masters in London in January.

The 50-year-old German failed to win more than one match at the Masters and World Grand Prix, so he was not expected to be competitive at last week’s World Open.

However, he produced some of his best snooker, including a historic break of 153 against Ryan Day in the quarter-finals, and was beaten in the final by Thailand’s Thepchaiya In-Noah in an incredible performance.

“I can only focus on one day and one week at a time,” O’Sullivan stated.

I’m not playing because my game isn’t good enough to compete. So I’m trying to find it on the practice table and hopefully bring it to the match table.

Ronnie O’Sullivan was beaten by Thepchaya in Noh in a high-quality World Open final

“I’ve had a fantastic year, really. I thought I played really well at the start of the season, which was better than my usual performance, but then I had a dip for a couple of months. January and February weren’t outstanding and I thought, ‘Here we go,’ but I’ve managed to pull it back a bit.

“We’ll just see how it goes. I was not even participating in the World Championships ten days ago due to my fear of underperforming. I thought I’d embarrass myself. But now I’m going, because I can pot some balls. It’s not great; I’m not in a great, great place with it, but I was better than two weeks ago.”

O’Sullivan last won the world championship in 2022 and is still chasing a record-breaking eighth Crucible title, surpassing Stephen Hendry.

The last significant record is Stephen Hendry’s seven world titles in snooker, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan.

‘The Rocket’ will not play another televised tournament before the World Championships in Sheffield from April 18 to May 4 but is maintaining a balanced perspective on his performance in China.

“Everybody played well against me this week, so my game is good enough to beat players who are playing well,” O’Sullivan said.

“I just can’t get the putting angle of some shots. I can play maybe 60-70 per cent of the shots comfortably, but there are other shots that are not in my locker. When someone plays like that, I’m just one-dimensional, really. It limits what I can do and how much pressure I can put on my opponent. It’s just how much pressure I can put on my opponent.”

Overall, I am in a much better place now than I was two weeks ago and during the last three years. However, it can easily break again and soon be in a bad place. I’m just taking each day and week as it comes.”