Ronnie O’Sullivan has played down his chances of winning an eighth World Championship title this year but has admitted that it remains his primary goal in snooker.
The Rocket made his first competitive appearance of 2026 on Tuesday with a 5-1 defeat of Long Zehuang at the German Masters in Berlin.
It’s the first time O’Sullivan has visited the Tempodrom since 2017, and he produced a solid performance against his Chinese opponent to reach the last 32.
A German Masters champion in 2012, O’Sullivan is looking to add this event as a springboard to greater challenges on the schedule ahead.
Specifically, the 50 year-old has eyed up the inevitable season-ending visit to Sheffield as he mounts his latest bid to capture a record-breaking eighth world title of the modern era.
Winning at the Crucible would simultaneously take his incredible haul of Triple Crown titles to 24, having already won eight Masters and UK Championship crowns.
Yet the world number eight believes that he might have left it a bit late to get himself properly prepared for the 2026 edition of the World Championship, which is coming up in three short months.
“I think I might have left it a little bit late,” O’Sullivan, who is playing in his first ranking event since the UK Championship, told the World Snooker Tour.
“I’ve got this tournament and Hong Kong [World Grand Prix] and then maybe Yushan [World Open], and that’s probably it for me until Sheffield.”
“I’ve probably left it a bit late, but I’m not saying I can’t do it this year. I’d have to do alright in some of these tournaments beforehand.
“If you get to the quarters of the Worlds, you never know. It’s sort of a different animal, that tournament.
“Once you get to that stage, anybody can win it really. So I think that’d be my one last ambition in snooker, to get the eighth world.
“I’d be eight-eight-eight, that’d be nice. I just try to peak towards certain tournaments – I might have left it a little bit late for the Worlds, but you never know.
“Next year, I can maybe play a little bit more and maybe stack a few tournaments together, and at least go into the big ones with some sort of match form behind me.”
While O’Sullivan was still a bit rusty in his opening victory against Long at the Tempodrom, he has been putting the work in behind the scenes.
The Englishman proved earlier this season that he still has what it takes to mix it with the best in the world, coming within a few balls of winning the Saudi Arabia Masters.
At the same tournament in Jeddah, O’Sullivan produced one of the sport’s iconic moments when he compiled a brace of 147 breaks during his semi-final triumph over Chris Wakelin.
If he can begin to replicate that kind of level, silverware this season will of course remain a possibility.
“I’ve been feeling a lot better in practice,” said O’Sullivan, who hasn’t won a ranking event since January in 2024.
“I felt the table was unbelievably fast, I just couldn’t control the ball. Obviously I haven’t played in tournament tables that much.”
“So you have to hit them differently, you have to strike them more pure and confidently. I haven’t really had enough practice on them type of conditions.
“That was tough, and the pockets felt a little bit tight. Plus, just not playing a lot of matches, so it’s never easy when you don’t have that match sharpness.
“I don’t mind practicing, I enjoy that. If every tournament could be a 20-minute drive from my house, I’d probably play in a lot more tournaments.
“It’s just that the travelling can grind you down sometimes. At some point, you have to get a bit more balance in your life.
“But I love practicing, I love the game. I’ve been playing a bit of Chinese 8-ball at my friend’s house, which has been good.
“I’ve been enjoying that – I know it’s not snooker, but it’s still a cue in hand, it’s still balls, and it’s still keeping your mind sharp.
“It’s like a mathematician who just wants to be around numbers all the time. So I’ve been playing a lot and I’ve been working hard.
“I just haven’t been playing a lot of tournaments, but I’m still working hard at my game.
O’Sullivan will take on Ali Carter in the last 32 of the German Masters on Wednesday, the Captain a two-time former winner of the popular ranking event.
Elsewhere, the round of 64 concluded with victories for the likes of Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong, Mark Selby, and John Higgins.
The next round also commenced with reigning champion Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy among the first players through to the last 16.
Featured image credit: WST
Dave Hendon said this was O’Sullivan’s first match at the Tempodrom in nine years.
O’Sullivan had until this recent update on his planned schedule indicated he would participate in the Tour Championship.