Ronnie O’Sullivan plays Ali Carter in round one of the 2025 World Snooker Championship, sparking memories of one of his famous grudge matches at the Crucible.
The Rocket has often had a love-hate relationship with the iconic venue in Sheffield and the sport’s blue-riband tournament.
O’Sullivan has won the world title a record-equalling seven times during the modern era, but there have been a few meltdowns thrown in along that journey as well.
A lot of his wins and losses down through the years have simply come and gone, but there are a few that stand out as ones that had a little bit of extra spice to them.
Indeed, O’Sullivan has been involved in so many World Championship grudge matches at the Crucible since his debut in 1993 that they can’t all fit into this list.
But let’s recall some of his most bitter battles in Sheffield.
5. O’Sullivan vs Vafaei – 2023 World Championship
Two years ago, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Hossein Vafaei shared an explosive war of words ahead of their second round encounter.
Vafaei, upset over O’Sullivan’s perceived lack of effort in a German Masters qualifier the previous season, said that the Englishman was only “a nice person when he sleeps” and that “he should retire”.
“Don’t rattle my cage,” O’Sullivan retorted. “I love it when they call me out, I love it when they give me stick. I just love it.”
There was an icy fist-bump ahead of their last-16 tie, and Vafaei used his first opportunity at a break-off shot to smash the reds open.
It was supposed to send a retaliatory message for what O’Sullivan had done to him when they had previously faced each other at the end of 2021.
If anything, though, Vafaei’s act only served to distract himself instead of go in any way to intimidating his esteemed opponent.
O’Sullivan duly thrashed the Iranian 13-2 with a session to spare, after which they shared a hug to let bygones be bygones.
4. O’Sullivan vs Ebdon – 2005 World Championship
Ronnie O’Sullivan once said of Peter Ebdon: “He looks like a psycho, plays like an amateur, and has no class around the table.”
It’s fair to say that the pair were polar opposites, and any match between them inevitably represented a clash in styles.
The Englishmen had already encountered each other twice in the World Snooker Championship before their infamous 2005 quarter-final grudge match.
Ebdon denied O’Sullivan in a close last-four battle in 1996 – incidentally, the same year that O’Sullivan upset Canadian Alain Robidoux for playing left-handed – before the Rocket gained his revenge en route to securing his maiden world title in 2001.
Four years later, O’Sullivan was the reigning champion again and a big favourite to defend his crown.
When he led Ebdon 8-2 all seemed well, only for his countryman to launch a sterling comeback with the aid of a few classic mind games.
The 2002 champion utilised his powers of patience to frustrate the then world number one, and at one point he compiled a break of 12 that took more than five minutes to complete.
O’Sullivan, bemused and bewildered, succumbed to a monumental meltdown that had him periodically staring at his nemesis in a state of delirious confusion.
While he didn’t comment much on the incident after eventually losing 13-11, O’Sullivan later said, “World Snooker should create an award for him titled, ‘The best worst slow break in the history of the game’. Ebbo would be proud of that.”
O’Sullivan did gain his revenge in Sheffield seven years later by hammering Ebdon in the first round en route to a fourth World Championship success.
3. O’Sullivan vs Selby – 2020 World Championship
Ronnie O’Sullivan has had a lot of rivals over the course of his glittering career, but Mark Selby arguably ranks as his greatest.
Selby won his first-ever tie against O’Sullivan – then the world champion – at the 2002 China Open, and he was able to get underneath the Rocket’s skin on multiple occasions again thereafter.
Their first big final was at the 2008 Welsh Open when the Jester retrieved an 8-5 deficit and won the last four frames to claim a maiden ranking crown.
The pair subsequently contested title-deciding showdowns in five Triple Crown events between 2009 and 2016.
That included the 2014 World Championship final that Selby – who O’Sullivan had already labelled “the torturer” – won to end his fellow Englishman’s 14-match unbeaten streak in Sheffield.
Six years later, they produced another iconic match in the semi-finals of the 2020 World Championship.
Trailing 16-14, O’Sullivan took the last three frames to advance to the final where he ultimately won a sixth world crown.
But an unhappy Selby took umbrage with some of O’Sullivan’s loose hit-and-hope tactics when snookered during the latter stages, calling his opponent “disrespectful” in his post-match interview.
2. O’Sullivan vs Carter – 2018 World Championship
All eyes will be on this week’s match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ali Carter for a reason – they’ve already had plenty of grudge matches in the past.
The pair, who contested the 2008 and 2012 Crucible finals that O’Sullivan both won, had never really been the best of friends.
But tensions escalated several notches during their second-round fixture at the 2018 World Snooker Championship.
Trailing 8-10 in a race to 13, O’Sullivan appeared to shoulder barge Carter when the players crossed paths amid the cosy confines of the Crucible Theatre.
“That’s for being Mr. Angry,” O’Sullivan chimed as a war of words escalated, leading referee Paul Collier to intervene.
Carter proceeded to have the last laugh, beating O’Sullivan for the first and only time in a ranking event with a 13-9 victory.
They have since clashed on more occasions – notably at the 2024 Masters final – to ensure that their latest box-office bout in Sheffield is not to be missed.
1. O’Sullivan vs Hendry – 2002 World Championship
For O’Sullivan’s biggest World Snooker Championship grudge match, we have to go all the way back to 2002.
The then 26 year-old was bidding to become the first player to break the Curse of the Crucible – the hoodoo that no first-time champion had returned the following year to successfully complete the double.
In the semi-finals that year he faced Stephen Hendry, but he somewhat foolishly jibed that he didn’t have a lot of respect for the seven-time Crucible king.
Seemingly inspired by his friendship with boxer Naseem Hamed, he opined that he wanted to send Hendry back to “his sad little life” in Scotland.
The bravado didn’t quite work, and Hendry recorded a 17-13 victory before responding to the controversy a year later by saying, “Ronnie has been in the Priory being treated for depression. Why would I want his life?”
Realising his lack of judgement, O’Sullivan eventually apologised, and two years later he thumped Hendry 17-4 at the same stage – albeit under much friendlier circumstances.
Ronnie O’Sullivan plays Ali Carter in the last 32 of the 2025 World Snooker Championship on Tuesday at 2:30pm and Wednesday at 2:30pm UTC+1.
Featured photo credit: WST
I’d have put Robidoux match in there. It wasn’t a grudge match beforehand but the antics that went on at the end and in the press conference were spicier than some of the top 5. I agree with the top two, though.