Ronnie O'Sullivan makes speedy 147 with new cue in World Snooker Championship preparation

Seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan has entered this year’s blue riband spectacular and is the number five seed, although his actual baize participation is doubtful.

The 49-year-old last featured on the professional circuit at the start of January for the behind-closed-doors Championship League Snooker Invitational.

Partly being used as match practice for the Masters that was breaking off just a few days later, it was a largely miserable stay for O’Sullivan who lost four of his five group matches before deliberately snapping his cue and withdrawing despite having one more fixture to play.

Soon after that frustration, defending champion O’Sullivan withdrew from the Masters on medical grounds, and subsequently withdrew from several tournaments since, including the recent World Open and World Grand Prix which were both held in the Far East.

Even before this hiatus from the circuit, it was proving to be an unfulfilling season for the record 41-time ranking event winner, who won five titles last season.

In the first half of this campaign he didn’t reach a final, and had consecutive first round exits in November at the Champion of Champions and UK Championship - albeit losing to inspired opponents.

O’Sullivan recently said that he won’t decide until either April 17 or 18 on whether he will play at the Crucible this year. Should the Englishman decide to withdraw, it will be the first time in his professional career that he would not play at a World Championship; he has featured every year at the Crucible since 1993 in his rookie season on snooker’s top tier.

O’Sullivan makes maximum 147 break in less than six-and-a-half minutes

Footage has been spreading on social media of a maximum 147 break that O’Sullivan recently made whilst on a visit to the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Using his new cue - that his agent Jason Francis has said on X is a Ton Praram - O’Sullivan potted 15 reds, 15 blacks and all the colours in less than six-and-a-half minutes when he played a frame against a player and in front of a small and excited audience at the Academy.

O'Sullivan was in the Middle East for a three-day visit to the Academy where he had previously promoted on social media he was doing a Q&A, and that former British Open Champion Nigel Bond - the Academy's head coach - was doing coaching sessions there too.

The Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy officially opened last October, and the unprecedented 23-time Triple Crown event winner is apparently delighted by the venue’s progress writing on X on Wednesday evening: “It’s great to be back at @RSA_RIYADH and see how much the academy has grown since I came last. The work being done is amazing and I’m proud we’re developing talent and growing the game! I’m looking forward to the next couple of days here!”

Time will tell whether O’Sullivan’s visit is an indicator of his imminent competitive return - a poster he shared about the trip said it was ‘preparation for the World Snooker Tour’ - but the 147 will be an encouragement for his fans.

Starring alongside fellow icon Jimmy White in a ‘snooker special’ episode of ‘The Breakdown’ on TNT Sports, O’Sullivan described what it was like playing at the Crucible: “It’s a love, hate relationship. You can have a great time, but if you’re on the receiving end of your own struggle or your opponent’s playing well, it’s not where you want to be. It’s one of those sort of places.”

‘The Rocket’ - who won the seventh and most recent of his world titles in 2022 following a 18-13 defeat of Judd Trump in the final - also talked about his title victories on snooker’s grandest stage: “When I won it in 2012, 2013 I got up the next morning and thought I could do it again. That was easy. I’ve never found a World Championship that I’ve won that hard work, because I won most matches by 5/6 frames – never had a close frame never had a decider. So when I look back, they’re quite comfortable tournaments to win.

“But when I won it in 2020, for ten days after I couldn’t think straight, I was drained and I couldn’t quite work it out.

“And when I won it again in 2022 the same thing happened again, and it’s an age thing, it had a weird effect on my body, I was shocked to be honest and I can only put it down to an age thing. Because in 2020, I thought maybe it’s just a one-off but then when I won it in 2022, and it felt quite easy winning it that year, I still felt my body had just been battered.”

Should O’Sullivan play at the 2025 World Snooker Championship, he will face a randomly drawn qualifier in round one.

A potential round two meeting with fellow seed Zhang Anda awaits, and there could be a mouth-watering quarter-final encounter with Mark Selby if both players progress that far.