‘I’m a former snooker world champion – my rival will go down as the greatest of all time’

Judd Trump has said that Ronnie O’Sullivan will go down as the greatest snooker player of all time, despite The Rocket’s future in the sport hanging in the balance. It’s been a perculiar year for O’Sullivan, who has pulled out of a wealth of tournaments since his last competitive outing at January’s Championship League – and he isn’t expected to return to the baize until April’s World Snooker Championship. Speaking about his most-recent withdrawal at the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, O’Sullivan said: “I am very disappointed not to be competing. I had been eager to make my comeback in Hong Kong and have put in my utmost effort but unfortunately must consider my health. I wish to sincerely thank the organisers and all the Hong Kong fans for their support.”Despite an array of last-minute no-shows as of recent, current World No.1 Trump has previously opined that his long-time rival will go down as the GOAT (greatest of all time) of the sport through his past achievements. Speaking after 2022’s World Championship final, in which O’Sullivan bested Trump 18-3 at The Crucible, the 35-year-old said: “Massive congratulations to Ronnie. “He’s been a pleasure to share the table with. He’s always been so good to me throughout my career, letting me practise with him when I was young, and try to learn things off him. It’s an amazing achievement and he will go down as the best player of all time. “He keeps getting better and better. I think his determination, dedication… you can see it out there, he barely missed a ball over the 31 frames.”The win marked O’Sullivan’s seventh World Championship in total, a record that the 49-year-old currently shares with Scottish sensation Stephen Hendry. While he will hope to boost that tally to eight come April, some fellow snooker stars have expressed their concerns over O’Sullivan’s match sharpness as he prepares for The Crucible. Speaking on Hendry’s Cue Tips YouTube channel in February, Jimmy White explained: “He’d like to get to eight to beat your (Hendry’s) record, but you’ve got to get your act together.”I think he will get it together for the Crucible for this year. Whether he’ll win it or not I don’t know.” He added: “I think he will prepare, but the problem I’ve got with him – he’s got no match (sharpness). He’s not sharp because he hasn’t played any matches.” The 2025 World Snooker Championships take place at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre between April 19 and May 5, 2025 – with a wealth of talent including O’Sullivan, Trump, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen and Mark Selby all expected to take part. “You can’t keep not playing in competitions and then expect… okay, he did have that year out and then come back and win it. But he still practices, he’s still playing all the time. I’m sitting on Eurosport sometimes and he says he hasn’t played, and the cameramen have just got the balls out for him for four hours.