Ronnie O'Sullivan: I'd hate to play me
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN has warned his rivals he will be a nightmare first-round draw at the Crucible if he has to qualify.
Three-time world champion O’Sullivan, 36, is battling to retain his top-16 ranking which ensures automatic entry to the World Championship. If he falls short, he will face a play-off and a random draw to play a top seed.
World No16 O’Sullivan reached the quarter-finals of the German Masters with a 5-1 thrashing of Joe Perry, with breaks of 110, 74, 69 and 123.
And ahead of his last-eight tie last night, he said: “I don’t want to have to qualifyfor the World Championship.
However, my decision not to play in all tournaments makes that a real possibility and is for quality-of-life reasons.
“It puts a lot more pressure on the ones I do play. I may have to qualify for lots of tournaments in the future. If it happens, so be it – but I wouldn’t want to be a top seed having to face me in the first round. I’d be well up for it.
“Maybe coming through as a qualifier to win a title is the challenge for me. I’d relish that.”