Ronnie O’Sullivan has confirmed he wants to continue playing professional snooker for at least another decade. ‘The Rocket’ has been in superb form in recent weeks, following up his victory at the English Open with a 10-3 demolition of world number three Judd Trump in the final of last week’s Shanghai Masters. The victory in Shanghai secured O’Sullivan the 30th rankings title of his career and he is now just six behind Stephen Hendry’s all-time record.
The 41-year-old is certainly planning on playing long enough to beat Hendry’s tally, as he wants to continue on the professional circuit for another 10 to 15 years, although he insists enjoying his game is far more important than breaking records. “People talk about beating Hendry’s records, but it doesn’t really enter my thought process,” said O’Sullivan. “The main thing for me is to enjoy playing and to keep it going as long as I can.
I’m not one for setting myself targets, but there’s nothing that can’t be done. “If you said to me I would have another 10 or 15 years playing snooker and be happy, but not get (Hendry’s) record, I would take that. I’d prefer that to playing for two or three more years and getting to 38 titles.” O’Sullivan won’t have to wait long to challenge for another rankings title, as he is back in action this week at the Dafabet Northern Ireland Open. The five-time world champion will face German youngster Lukas Kleckers in the first round on Tuesday and he is priced at 1/25 to win that match, while his inexperienced opponent is available at 9/1.
Dafabet Northern Ireland Open odds available at Dafabet.