Is Ronnie O'Sullivan playing at the World Snooker Championship?

The World Snooker Tour have fueled speculation that seven-time Crucible king Ronnie O'Sullivan could be absent from this year's World Championship event after omitting him from their pre-tournament promotional poster.

Yes, we may be making something from nothing, but the fact that the biggest name in the sport has been conspicuously excluded has raised the eyebrows of many eagle-eyed snooker enthusiasts.

'The Rocket' has undertaken a sabbatical from the sport since crashing out of the 2025 Championship League, where he cut a hugely frustrated figure after suffering defeats in four of his five group stage encounters prior to withdrawing from the event.

Tensions boiled over during his 3-2 loss to Robert Milkins, with the Londoner whacking his cue on the table in frustration following a poor safety shot before making a lewd gesture to the TV cameras after missing a routine blue off the spot.

O'Sullivan, who has amassed a record 41 ranking titles, hasn't been seen since then, opting to remain absent from a number of major events including the second Triple Crown event of the campaign, the Masters.

Questions were already being asked as to whether O'Sullivan would make a return for the end of season showpiece in Sheffield, and those questions will now have grown louder following his absence from the WST's official World Snooker Championship advertisement.

The 49-year-old has never previously missed a staging of the World Snooker Championship - a run extending all the way back to 1993 - and the expectation was that he would undertake some down time before returning to action next month.

He remains second in the betting to land the big one this year, behind world number one Judd Trump, and snooker legend Stephen Hendry, whom O'Sullivan shares record haul of seven Crucible titles with, wouldn't be surprised to see his former adversary back on the baize in a couple of weeks time despite his prolonged period on the sidelines.

"I’ve got a sneaky suspicion he is going to play," Hendry said on the Snooker Club podcast. "And if he does then who can write off his chances of winning it?

"He obviously did it before, had a year off but he was a much younger man and there weren’t the players around that are in such form.

"There were still great players but I think there’s more great players capable of winning it now - there are six or seven easily you could count and maybe more that who will fancy their chances this year."

What tournaments has Ronnie O'Sullivan missed?

Ronnie O'Sullivan's sporadic participation throughout the 2024/25 World Snooker Tour campaign meant he missed out on qualification for the Players Championship and Tour Championship - two events that 'The Rocket' had become synonymous with.

His poor run of form, and off the table issues, also culminated in him skipping numerous other events, including the Snooker Shoot Out, Scottish Open, The Masters, German Masters, Welsh Open, World Open and the World Grand Prix.

Posting on social media prior to his scheduled return at the World Grand Prix, in Hong Kong, in March, O'Sullivan posted:

"I am very disappointed not to be competing. I had been eager to make my comeback in Hong Kong and have put in my utmost effort but unfortunately must consider my health. I wish to sincerely thank the organisers and all the Hong Kong fans for their support."

When did Ronnie O'Sullivan last play?

Ronnie O'Sullivan's last match was against Robert Milkins at the 2025 Championship League, an encounter he went on to lose 3-2 in having held a 2-1 advantage.

Given the competition was held behind-closed-doors, the last time that 'The Rocket' was in action in front of a crowd was at the end of year Riyadh Season Championship, where he bowed out in the semi-finals following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Mark Allen.

That match came on the back of a 4-0 whitewash success over Ding Junhui, with his two previous matches ending in defeat - a 6-4 first round UK Championship elimination in November 2024, just a few days after a last 16 Champion of Champions loss to Xiao Guodong.

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