A year on from arguably his greatest triumph, Ronnie O’Sullivan returns to The Crucible this weekend to start his bid for a third successive World Championship.
After winning the title for a fourth time in 2012, O’Sullivan effectively decided to take a year out, and announced he wouldn’t be defending the world crown.
A late change of heart saw him making his return at Sheffield and remarkably, after not playing all season, O’Sullivan became the first player in 17 years to retain the world title, beating Barry Hawkins 18-12 in the final.
A sixth world title over the next fortnight would take O’Sullivan into joint second place with Steve Davis on the all time list of Crucible wins, and just one behind the record held by Stephen Hendry.
Despite playing only a half schedule this season, it has still been a productive campaign for O’Sullivan, winning The Masters, Champion of Champions, and Welsh Open, where he closed out with a 147 maximum in the last frame.
He appears more mentally stable than he has done for many years, and if he can maintain that stability throughout the championship, it is hard to see him being beaten.
The biggest threat looks like coming from Ding Junhui, who has won five ranking events already this season, equalling the record set by Hendry 23 years ago.
However the Chinese star still appears to have an issue about playing O’Sullivan on the big occasions, so Ding’s best chance of finally lifting snooker’s biggest prize may rest with someone else knocking out the defending champion before the semi finals, where they would be due to play each other.
The projected semi final in the other half of the draw is between Neil Robertson, who four years ago became the first Australian ever to win the World Championship, and Mark Selby, whose only appearance in the final was seven years ago.
Robertson has had a good season, winning two major tournaments and reaching the final of two others, while Selby hasn’t won any major titles in the current campaign, but has also been consistent, reaching three finals.
The Irish challenge comes from the 1997 champion Ken Doherty, and Antrim’s Mark Allen. At 44, Doherty is the oldest player in the draw, and faces a tough first round match against the number six seed Stuart Bingham. Allen, a world semi finalist five years ago, has had a disappointing season, although there have been signs of improvement in the build-up to the big one.
The World Championship begins on Saturday April 19th at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, its home since 1977. The winner will be crowned on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5th.
