Ronnie O’Sullivan has confirmed he will play at this year’s World Snooker Championship.
The seven-time world champion has been drawn against rival Ali Carter in the first round at the Crucible, the pair having famously barged shoulders during their clash in 2018.
Their heated rivalry has since continued with a war of words, with O’Sullivan insisting Carter needed to ‘sort his life out’ following their matchup in last year’s Masters final.
O’Sullivan, seeded fifth for this year’s Worlds, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.
The 49-year-old has been suffering from what he has described as a lack of confidence.
Sky Sports News Kaveh Solhekol exclusively revealed on Wednesday that O’Sullivan was set to appear at the event after a good week practising at his academy in Saudi Arabia.
He confirmed his participation on Friday, saying: “I’m proud to continue my record of having never missed a World Championship. I have many fond memories at The Crucible and look forward to making more in 2025.
“I’ve enjoyed some good prep with my (new!) cue over the last week so feel good ahead of Tuesday.”
O’Sullivan vs Carter session times:
This will be a best of 19 frames with the first nine frames being played in the first session.
Inside O’Sullivan’s beef with Carter
O’Sullivan and Carter, who overcame a neck injury to qualify, have endured a rocky relationship and notably clashed following last year’s Masters final.
O’Sullivan said his opponent was “not a nice person” during an expletive-laden rant following his 10-7 victory in that match after Carter accused him of “snotting all over the floor”.
Carter beat O’Sullivan in the second round of the same tournament in 2018 when they were involved in a “shoulder barge” incident.
‘The Captain’ called out O’Sullivan’s behaviour during the match, admitting that his bitter rival “looked like he wanted to kill” him. Despite practising together growing up, Carter and O’Sullivan have been on frosty terms ever since.
2025 World Championship draw
Top Half
Kyren Wilson (1) v Lei Peifan
Jak Jones (16) v Zhao Xintong
Neil Robertson (9) v Chris Wakelin
Mark Allen (8) v Fan Zhengyi
Ronnie O’Sullivan (5) v Ali Carter
Zhang Anda (12) v Pang Junxu
Si Jiahui (13) v David Gilbert
Mark Selby (4) v Ben Woollaston
Bottom Half
John Higgins (3) v Joe O’Connor
Xiao Guodong (14) v Matt Selt
Barry Hawkins (11) v Hossein Vafaei
Mark Williams (6) v Wu Yize
Luca Brecel (7) v Ryan Day
Ding Junhui (10) v Zak Surety
Shaun Murphy (15) v Dan Wells
Judd Trump (2) v Zhou Yuelong