Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin his tilt to win an eighth World Snooker Championship crown on Wednesday in Sheffield.
The Rocket will make his 32nd consecutive appearance at the Crucible Theatre when he takes on Jackson Page in round one in 2024.
O’Sullivan has experienced several ups and downs at the 17-day tournament famously dubbed by Clive Everton as the “Marathon of the Mind”.
There have been years when he has blown the opposition away, notably in 2013 when he defied a year’s sabbatical from the sport to triumph for a fifth time.
Glories prior to that materialised in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2012 as he established himself as the game’s formidable force.
O’Sullivan then added more success in 2020 and 2022, the latter representing a record-equalling seventh world title of the modern era that put him level with Stephen Hendry.
Despite turning 48 last December, the Englishman remains the player to beat whenever any new event commences.
That was underlined at both the UK Championship and the Masters during this campaign, the two other BBC majors that O’Sullivan duly conquered again.
Still ranked as the world number one, he is the outright betting favourite to emerge with the World Championship trophy again in 2024.
But O’Sullivan hasn’t had it all his own way in Sheffield in the past.
There have been several crushing defeats, particularly in times when he has struggled to deal with the mental fortitude that is required to endure the full 17 days at the Crucible.
O’Sullivan was beaten in the first round on his debut in 1993, an early demise that has been inflicted on him a further three times since.
The quarter-final mark has arguably been his most difficult hurdle to overcome, losing eight times at that stage including in last year’s event.
Who, then, have been the players to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan at a World Snooker Championship over the course of the last three decades?
Note: Surnames are accepted in this quiz on Ronnie O’Sullivan Crucible defeats.
Click here if you can’t see the quiz (Sporcle website)
Featured photo credit: WST
2024 World Snooker Championship Draw
Round 1 (bo19)
Luca Brecel (1) 9-10 David Gilbert
Robert Milkins (16) 10-9 Pang Junxu
Ali Carter (9) 7-10 Stephen Maguire
Shaun Murphy (8) 10-5 Lyu Haotian
Mark Selby (5) 6-10 Joe O’Connor
Kyren Wilson (12) 10-1 Dominic Dale
John Higgins (13) 10-6 Jamie Jones
Mark Allen (4) 10-6 Robbie Williams
Judd Trump (3) 10-5 Hossein Vafaei
Tom Ford (14) 10-6 Ricky Walden
Zhang Anda (11) 4-10 Jak Jones
Mark Williams (6) 9-10 Si Jiahui
Ding Junhui (7) 9-10 Jack Lisowski
Gary Wilson (10) 5-10 Stuart Bingham
Barry Hawkins (15) 8-10 Ryan Day
Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) 10-1 Jackson Page
Round 2 (bo25)
David Gilbert 13-4 Robert Milkins (16)
Stephen Maguire 13-9 Shaun Murphy (8)
Joe O’Connor 6-13 Kyren Wilson (12)
John Higgins (13) 13-12 Mark Allen (4)
Judd Trump (3) 13-7 Tom Ford (14)
Jak Jones 13-9 Si Jiahui
Jack Lisowski 11-13 Stuart Bingham
Ryan Day 7-13 Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
Quarter-Finals (bo25)
David Gilbert 13-8 Stephen Maguire
Kyren Wilson (12) 13-8 John Higgins (13)
Judd Trump (3) 9-13 Jak Jones
Stuart Bingham 13-10 Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
Semi-Finals (bo33)
David Gilbert 11-17 Kyren Wilson (12)
Jak Jones 17-12 Stuart Bingham
Final (bo35)
Kyren Wilson (12) 18-14 Jak Jones
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