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Seven-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan says he will overcome “stage fright” to take on Ali Carter in the first round of the World Snooker Championship. <\/p>\n
O’Sullivan, 49, who only confirmed his participation on Thursday, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.<\/p>\n
“Because it is the World Championship and the last tournament [of the season] I thought I need to try and break that cycle,” he told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
“Call it stage fright, I just haven’t had the [will] to go and compete. Call it lost my bottle. You sometimes lose your nerve. Just to come here is an achievement for me.<\/p>\n
“The kind of nerves I have [been] feeling off and on for the last two years have not been good nerves. I have just been not wanting to go out there – sometimes struggling to even take my eyes off the floor. The confidence has been draining away, so it has not been a great place to be.”<\/p>\n
Next Tuesday’s meeting with Carter, who at 18th in the world is the highest ranked qualifier, is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 Crucible finals, which were both won by ‘The Rocket’.<\/p>\n
The pair also contested a Masters final in 2024, which O’Sullivan triumphed in, but there were genuine fears that he would not go for a record eighth world title in the modern era this year having been an ever-present at the sport’s showpiece event since turning professional in 1992. <\/p>\n
He pulled out of the Masters at Alexandra Palace on medical grounds, missed the German Masters in Berlin and apologised to fans after electing not to play at the Welsh Open.<\/p>\n
He also withdrew from the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong in March and has not played in anything over a best-of-seven match since his first-round loss to Barry Hawkins at the UK Championship in November.<\/p>\n
“Ali is a really good match player and I will have to play better than I have been just to give him a game,” added O’Sullivan. <\/p>\n
“I really have nothing to lose. I have done well to just get here to be honest. If it was any other tournament I probably wouldn’t have come.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know how excited I am because the reason I stopped was because my game was suffering and I wasn’t getting anything from it. Not much has changed but I thought at some point I have to try and play.<\/p>\n
“I am always mentally ready, that has not been a problem. I always find a way to get through any situation but with my game technically I am at a loss with it and I have never been in this situation before in my life. I have never experienced this and it is hard especially at this stage in my career, you sometimes think ‘is it worth trying to rebuild?'” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n