Ronnie O’Sullivan says that he draws inspiration from Mark Williams and John Higgins, who he believes remain among the finest players the sport has to offer.
All three legendary competitors, who became professionals at the same time in 1992, turned 50 last year.
However, despite sometimes failing to match the consistency levels of their absolute heyday, the trio has continued to regularly challenge for silverware on the main tour.
Higgins won two titles in 2025, returning to the champion’s circle at a ranking event for the first time in four years with his success at the World Open before following it up with an even better triumph at the Tour Championship.
The Scot subsequently reached the final of the International Championship and earlier this month was the runner-up at the prestigious Masters in London.
Williams, of course, became the oldest ranking event winner in the sport’s history with his glory at the Xi’an Grand Prix in October.
A few months before that, the Welshman produced a remarkable run in Sheffield, reaching the World Championship final with defeats of Higgins and Judd Trump before being denied a fourth world crown by Zhao Xintong.
“I see Williams and Higgins still playing unbelievable snooker,” O’Sullivan told the World Snooker Tour. “When they are on, they still look to me like the best players in the world.”
“They probably throw in the odd dodgy match now and then, which means you don’t end up winning the tournament.
“But if you look at some of Mark Williams’ top stuff, even at the World Championship last year, his draw was ridiculous and he beat some unbelievable players.
“You get inspiration from that, and I’m hoping that we can all keep going and push each other along.”
O’Sullivan hasn’t played as frequently as his contemporaries recently, withdrawing from a lot of tournaments over the course of the last couple of seasons especially.
However, the 41-time ranking event champion has still shown glimpses of his best stuff on occasion, most notably this term at the Saudi Arabia Masters.
O’Sullivan compiled an incredible brace of 147 breaks during his semi-final victory over Chris Wakelin in Jeddah, and he then came within a whisker of lifting the trophy itself – losing a dramatic deciding-frame final to Neil Robertson.
Such is the remarkable longevity of O’Sullivan, Williams, and Higgins that they all continue to rank inside the world’s top eight on the official rankings list.
They will each return to the baize on Wednesday for their round-of-32 clashes at the 2026 German Masters having safely emerged from their opening fixtures in Berlin.
O’Sullivan, who won the title in 2012, faces an intriguing showdown with old foe Ali Carter while Higgins is in action against Zhou Yuelong and two-time former champion Williams faces Jimmy Robertson.
A lot of the other seeds remain in the draw as well, but who would really be that surprised to see one of these three legends end the week with another trophy in their hands?
Despite becoming quinquagenarians, O’Sullivan, Williams, and Higgins continue to prove that they aren’t ready to relinquish their statuses as top contenders just yet.
Featured photo credit: WST
