Ronnie O’Sullivan tipped for ‘wave of brilliance’ ahead of Masters challenge

Ronnie O’Sullivan is going through a lean spell when it comes to silverware, but there is another wave of brilliance on the way at some point, believes Neal Foulds.

At 50 years old the Rocket is still doing well, ranked number eight in the world, having reached a big final already this season at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and a Crucible semi-final last season.

He sets extremely high standards, though, and a first round exit at the UK Championship was the latest disappointment in his long wait for a trophy, which dates back to March 2024 when he won the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh.

O’Sullivan has not won a ranking title since January 2024 when he beat Judd Trump in the World Grand Prix final in Leicester.

The seven-time world champion is back on the baize at the Masters next week, starting his campaign with a brutally difficult opener against Neil Robertson.

Former world number three and three-time Masters semi-finalist Foulds is not certain it will be at Alexandra Palace, but expects the Rocket to fire to glory again some time soon, probably in a huge tournament.

‘I think he’s the greatest player of all time and I’m sure most people think that too,’ Foulds told the Talking Snooker podcast.

‘He’s been quiet for a while now. Even when he got to the World [Championship] semi-finals last year he was kind of winging it, he wasn’t playing well. He beat players who I didn’t think fancied beating him come the day, until he met up with [Zhao] Xintong, who mauled him, actually, with a session left.

‘So he’s been quiet but there’s another wave of O’Sullivan in there somewhere.

‘I know he’s 50 years of age now. But somewhere along the line there’s a big spell of O’Sullivan brilliance. I don’t know if it will be this week, I don’t know if it will be at the Worlds, I suspect he might play well at the World Championship this year, you know.

‘I can’t write him off completely. That would be ridiculous to do so. Because someone as brilliant as he is…there is another big tournament in him, but I don’t know which one it’s going to be, that’s the problem.’

Now based in Dubai, O’Sullivan is not playing in every tournament on the calendar, but is putting in the work to be ready for the challenge at Alexandra Palace.

The eight-time Masters champion has been in Ireland preparing to take on Robertson and Foulds says the Rocket has always been a hard-worker behind the scenes, no matter what he says or how much fans think his success is down to natural talent.

‘He does put the hours in, I’ve seen the pictures of him over at that Celbridge club. That’s the real ground work. You can’t do it any other way,’ said Foulds.

‘You can play hours on the practice table on your own, but you need inspiration. Aaron Hill’s a brilliant player and Jordan Brown is a ranking tournament winner. So he’s putting in the right sort of practice.

‘That’s what O’Sullivan does do. People think he’s just brilliant and there’s no more to it. That’s not in any way the case. All the hard work has been put in.’

The Masters begins on Sunday afternoon with defending champion Shaun Murphy taking on debutant Wu Yize.

O’Sullivan returns to Alexandra Palace on an eye-catching day of action on Wednesday which also features world number one Judd Trump facing Ding Junhui.

Trump is favourite with the bookmakers to win the title in north London, but it has been a wildly unpredictable season so far, with 13 different winners from 14 professional events.

Only Mark Selby has lifted two trophies, claiming the Champion of Champions and UK Championship, while Trump and O’Sullivan have not been among the winners so far this campaign.

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