Ronnie O'Sullivan has been a talisman but game is bigger than one person says snooker legend

Irishman Doherty - who conquered the Crucible Theatre in 1997 when he stopped Stephen Hendry's winning streak in the final of the sport's blue riband event - was a pundit for BBC Sport during its eight-day coverage of the 2026 Masters at the Alexandra Palace.

Record eight-time winner of the most prestigious invitational event in snooker, O'Sullivan withdrew from this year's event a couple of days before it began due to medical reasons.

It was the second consecutive year that O'Sullivan had withdrawn from the 'Ally Pally' extravaganza, meaning his last action there was when he won his eighth crown in 2024.

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan’s competitive schedule has become lighter in recent years and fans have gotten use to arguably the greatest player of all-time not being around as much on the World Snooker Tour.

This season, ‘The Rocket’ has only appeared once on British soil - that came at the UK Championship where he lost in the opening round - with his other Tour engagements having come in either China or Saudi Arabia.

Off the table, 2025 was a year of big change for O’Sullivan as he relocated to Dubai, got married to long-term partner Laila Rouass, and turned 50 years of age.

Doherty on post-O’Sullivan era: “the game will always survive”

Through highs and lows, spells of absence, and controversies, record 41-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan has been snooker’s chief flagbearer for around three decades, moving the needle like no other player.

Something still feels missing when he is not at a big event, but 56-year-old Doherty believes that other talented cueists have been, and are, stepping up in his absence, and that the sport will survive when O’Sullivan calls it a day.

Speaking to Midnite during the Masters, Doherty reiterated O’Sullivan’s impact and influence within the sport, but was adamant that other exciting superstars are emerging: “The game is bigger than any one person. It survived when (Alex) Higgins was finished. And the game will always survive. Because it’s the appeal of the game as opposed to the individuals, do you know what I mean? The fascination with it” said Doherty.

“Ronnie has been a talisman for years and years, he’s carried that mantle for like 30 years. He’s been a wonderful servant to the game. He’s drawn loads of people to it. But somebody will take over the mantle when he does finish. The game is bigger than anybody.”

Earlier this season, during a radio interview, O’Sullivan laid out his plans for competing in the UK, saying he intended playing at the UK, Tour and World Championships. It has recently been announced that he is also set to feature in the first Global Pluto Snooker 900 Championship in Reading, in May.

It is believed that due to now living in Dubai, O’Sullivan has visa restrictions on how many days he can spend in the UK.

Last year was largely a frustrating time for O’Sullivan on the baize that began with him deliberately snapping his cue at the Championship League Invitational, leading him to withdraw from several subsequent tournaments.

He wrote headlines at the Saudi Arabia Masters in August where he made two maximum 147 breaks during his semi-final match with Chris Wakelin before being ousted 10-9 by Neil Robertson in a thrilling final where he recovered from 7-2 down.

Ultimately, he ended the year trophyless, the first time that had happened since 2015.

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