Are Ronnie O'Sullivan's pro snooker days numbered after stark retirement warning?

Seven-times world champion O’Sullivan - widely regarded as the greatest snooker player of all-time - kicked off his 35th consecutive season as a professional player at last week’s Shanghai Masters.

The 50-year-old - who has won the Shanghai crown a record five times down the years - defeated teenage wildcard Liu Linhao 6-1 in the opening round before being eliminated 6-4 by then-title holder Kyren Wilson in the last 16.

During that loss, O’Sullivan produced a signature burst of magic as he compiled century breaks in three consecutive frames when going from 3-1 behind to 4-3 up.

He hasn’t won a professional title in over two-and-a-half years, and for the first time in his career, he went back-to-back seasons with lifting a top-flight trophy. However, despite that title drought, O’Sullivan has still managed to conjure up several memorable moments within the past year, most notably his two maximum 147 breaks during his Saudi Arabia Masters semi-final last August, and a world-record effort of 153 at the World Open in March.

O’Sullivan has ‘two more chances’ to win another Crucible crown

Speaking to the World Snooker Tour in Shanghai, O’Sullivan was asked about his ambition to land an unprecedented eighth world championship crown in the modern era, therefore outright overtaking Stephen Hendry’s seven-title haul from across the 1990s.

The last of O’Sullivan’s world titles came in 2022 when he defeated Judd Trump in the final. Since then, he has lost in successive quarter-finals, a semi-final, and his last outing was a deciding frame loss to John Higgins in the last 16.

From the cueist who has nearly done it all, O’Sullivan reiterated his desire for number eight, but realises he is now up against it, saying he only has two more bites of the cherry to get it done.

“I’d love to win another World Championship. I have two attempts at it” said the Englishman to WST.

“If I can find a bit of cueing or some form at Sheffield, you never know. If I don’t do it this year or the next, it will definitely never happen.”

Qualifying would mean the end of O’Sullivan’s pro career

Whilst O’Sullivan appears to have put a deadline on his future Crucible prospects, he issued a stark warning about slipping down the rankings which would see the end of his top tier journey altogether.

At present, O’Sullivan - who has spent a total of 389 weeks as the world number one during his career - is currently positioned 14th in the world snooker rankings.

Ranked a lot lower than he has been for most of his career, the 23-time Triple Crown event winner is still inside the elite top 16, with players in that bracket qualifying for big invitational tournaments and being seeded into the latter rounds of many ranking competitions.

O’Sullivan doesn’t have a huge amount of points coming off his ranking total this term. In the race for Crucible qualification, O’Sullivan is currently projected eighth, and his provisional end-of-season ranking is 11th, so he is in a good position to maintain his top 16 status throughout this season, although a lot can change with so many events on the calendar.

Falling outside the 16 would mean missing out on the Shanghai Masters and Masters invitationals, and - under current formats/rules - equates to having to qualify for a plethora of competitions to reach the main venues, such as the Crucible.

If it came to that, O’Sullivan is adamant that it would spell the end of his time in snooker’s premiership: “I’m not going to play qualifiers. You won’t be seeing me go down to Barnsley trying to win qualifying matches and all that sort of stuff.

“If that happens, then obviously that’s the end of my career. But hopefully, I can keep going for at least another two seasons.”

During his fledgling years as a professional, a young O’Sullivan threatened to retire on several occasions, and although his current retirement thoughts hold a lot more weight, they are subject to change.

“I’m happy with my career and how things have gone. I want to enjoy these next two years. I’ll reassess in 2028 and if things are really going well, you can maybe extend it.

“I have to be realistic. I’m 50 now and if I play for two hours I then have to lie down for two or three hours. It is very hard for me.”

The last of O’Sullivan’s record 41 ranking event accolades was at the World Grand Prix in January 2024, although he has an opportunity to end that barren spell at the upcoming 2026 China Open - an event he has won twice before - where he faces Jackson Page in round one.