Players Championship snooker 2022: Can Rocket Ronnie O'Sullivan return to world No. 1 spot?

ByEurosport

Updated 04/02/2022 at 09:05 GMT

Ronnie O'Sullivan could become world No. 1 for the first time since March 2019 if he can win a record 39th ranking title at the Players Championship next week. O'Sullivan will replace Mark Selby at the top of the standings if he claims the £125,000 top prize in Wolverhampton. Watch snooker live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

‘Oh, wow! What can you say?’ – O’Sullivan’s top 10 shots from 2021

Ronnie O'Sullivan will return to snooker's coveted world No. 1 spot if he can claim the Players Championship title and a £125,000 top prize in Wolverhampton next week.

O'Sullivan first became world No. 1 at the age of 26 in May 2002, but astonishingly could be on the cusp of holding the most revered ranking position in the sport at the age of 46 two decades on.

With world champion Mark Selby failing to qualify for the Players Championship – contested between the top 16 on the one-year list – O'Sullivan will overtake his old rival by 27,500 points at the summit if he can win a record 39th ranking title following his World Grand Prix success in December.

World Championship

O'Sullivan delivered 'perfect' performance in Page win - McManus and White

5 hours ago

O'Sullivan moved above Judd Trump into second spot in the rankings without playing a competitive shot last week after Trump lost 5-1 to event winner Zhao Xintong in the quarter-finals of the German Masters.

The six-time world champion will face Trump in his tournament opener at the Players Championship at 7pm (GMT) on Tuesday, February 8 and will need to do it the hard way if he is going to claim the title for a third time at Aldersley Leisure Village a week on Sunday.

Depending upon results, O'Sullivan may need to overcome Trump, Neil Robertson, defending champion John Higgins and top seed Zhao to become world No. 1 for the first time since March 2019.

"To get to No. 1 playing half the tournaments as everyone else is probably one of the best achievements in all sport," he said after achieving the feat with a 13-11 win over Robertson in the Tour Championship final three years ago.

He would perhaps remarkably not be the oldest player to occupy the top position with Welsh icon Ray Reardon holding the record at the age of 50 in 1983.