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The greatest snooker player of all time, Ronnie O’Sullivan, returns to action this afternoon as he competes in the first round of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield against long-time foe Ali Carter.
The seven-time world champion hasn’t played in a tournament since snapping his cue in anger and walking out of the Championship League in January. He has pulled out of several events at short notice over the past 12 months, including the Masters at Alexandra Palace, to prioritise his mental health and wellbeing and admits he has been scared to go near a snooker table during his absence, while fearing he has “lost his bottle”.
O’Sullivan has been open about his struggles, and there was real doubt about whether the 49-year-old would play at Sheffield or be absent for the first time in 33 years but he is indeed taking to the baize and will try to find form as the tournament progresses.
He is currently level with Stephen Hendry for the most world titles won at the Crucible, with seven, and although he has played down expectations of securing a record-breaking eight this year, he does have form – having opted to miss the whole of the 2013 season before rocking up in Sheffield and winning the world title that year.
‘The Rocket’ could have received an easier first-round draw, with Carter the highest-ranked player to come through the qualifiers and a former two-time world finalist himself – losing to O’Sullivan on both occasions, in 2008 and 2012. The pair have a messy history that includes mid-match shoulder barges and wars of words over on-table behaviour, so expect an explosive contest.
Follow all the action from the first-round encounter between O’Sullivan and Carter from the Crucible with our blog below:
Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘I was scared to go near a snooker table and I’ve lost my bottle’
Ronnie O’Sullivan has admitted he was scared to approach a snooker table during his break from the game and fears he has lost his bottle, while also acknowledging that he could still pull out of the upcoming World Snooker Championship at short notice.
The World Championship began in Sheffield on Saturday morning, although O’Sullivan’s first-round grudge match against Ali Carter doesn’t start until Tuesday afternoon.
The seven-time world champion hasn’t played in a tournament since snapping his cue in anger and walking out of the Championship League in January. He has pulled out of several events at short notice over the past 12 months, including the Masters at Alexandra Palace, to prioritise his mental health and wellbeing.
Read the full, candid interview with O’Sullivan:
Luke Baker22 April 2025 12:31
World Snooker Championship schedule
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ali Carter headlines the afternoon session at the Crucible but the morning session began a couple of hours ago, which includes 2005 champion Shaun Murphy in action.
World No 1 Judd Trump is one of the players in action this evening and here’s today’s full schedule. All of these are first-round matches.
10:00
Zhang Anda (12) v Pang Junxu
Shaun Murphy (15) v Daniel Wells
14:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) v Ali Carter
Ding Junhui (10) 6-3 Zak Surety - to a finish
19:00
Judd Trump (2) v Zhou Yuelong
Si Jiahui (13) 6-3 David Gilbert - to a finish
Luke Baker22 April 2025 12:30
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ali Carter
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s snooker return at the World Championship, where he will take on old foe Ali Carter.
The first session of their best-of-19 encounter will begin at 2.30pm BST so stick with us for all the action.
Luke Baker22 April 2025 12:29
English (US) ·