RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has vowed to re-dedicate himself to snooker until the end of 2027.
And his will involve getting a new cue, no coaching, no exhibitions and a laser-like focus towards competitive matches.
The draw has openly up kindly for the Rocket and he is ONE frame away from securing a record-extending 23rd Crucible quarterfinal.
The seven-time world champion leads Chinese qualifier Pang Junxu 12-4 after session two of three.
The No.5 seed responded wonderfully to losing frames nine and ten on Sunday afternoon – qualifier Pang, who had been 6-2 behind on Saturday, scored 87 and 62.
hit successive breaks of 79, 80, 105, 135 and 62 as he won SIX frames in a row in blistering fashion.
Whatever happens this next week in Sheffield, there are positive signs he is not going to quit anytime soon.
First thing first, he has master cue-maker John Parris working on a new piece of equipment, given he snapped his favourite one in January in a moment of rage.
O’Sullivan said: “I’m keeping this current cue until maybe John Parris can make me another one that I feel comfortable with.
“I’ve tried about 20 so far. I’m a bit fussy with cues. I’m not one to get a cue and think: ‘Oh, I’ll persevere a bit.’
“I like to feel like I can play with it straightaway. So John’s going to get busy. He’s out there chopping down trees as we speak to try and find me a nice bit of wood.”;
About six years ago, before the start of the COVID pandemic, O’Sullivan claimed he received some bad coaching advice that “set the rot in”.
The sessions saw him “change my alignment”, lose his timing and “basically lost all connection with the cue”.
Ever the perfectionist, he is “now trying to unravel” what he was taught and he has promised not to listen to any outside gurus about technique.
in China, Macau and Europe will now been blocked because they “can be a bit of a drain”.
In the past O’Sullivan said he preferred these non-sanctioned matches to actual competition but now he has done a U-Turn.
After one of the most challenging periods of his life, in which he withdrew from five events in 2025 on ‘medical grounds’, there is renewed optimism and positivity about next season.
O’Sullivan explained: “I’m just in a rebuilding process. I’m probably on the last leg of my career.
“And I’ve had to probably rebuild three or four times.
“I’ve got one more rebuild in me to try and compete with these young guys.
“This is a start. I will commit to two years, whether it is good or bad, give it all to the sport.
“See if I can turn it around and at least finish my career on a high.
“If it goes well after two years and I feel like I am back somewhere to where I used to be, and how I know I can play the game, I will play for another four or five years.
“Because I love the game, I really do. It’s tough when you have struggled for a long period of time.
“It might take a month, six months or a year. I will have a proper good old go at it and that’s what I owe snooker.
“I feel like I have to put everything into this tournament. Once it’s over, I will reset, go again, and devote all my time to getting ready to play again.
“Over the last two or three years, I’ve done a lot of exhibitions and travelled a lot for various reasons.
“Hopefully in the next two or three years, I’d just shelve everything else and just focus on snooker and at least finish on some kind of good note.”
