O'Sullivan decided to make a comeback at the 2025 World Snooker Championships, and being able to play this time is already a victory

O'Sullivan, a generation of football king, has not confirmed when he will return to the court since he left the field in January. He recently decided to make a comeback at the 2025 World Snooker Championships, and will face the enemy "Captain" Carter in the first round.

O'Sullivan said that due to age, his level has declined, and he has lost his self-confidence

The 49-year-old "Rocket" said earlier that he has suffered from emotional problems in recent years, and even said that he has suffered serious physical and mental injuries. In this comeback interview, O'Sullivan said that he had lost his self-confidence recently, but fortunately decided to stand up again with the help of the two.

O'Sullivan withdrew from the Championship League and The Masters in January this year, and has not participated in any competitions since, including missing the World Snooker Grand Prix held in Hong Kong early last month.

O'Sullivan opened his mouth for the first time at the beginning of the month, saying that in recent years, with the growth of age, he gradually felt that he was unable to do anything on the field, and it was effortless to win the World Championships in the past, but when he was crowned king again in 2020, he was exhausted and unable to think normally. Deciding to make a comeback, he admits that he realised that he might not be able to go back to the top: "I tried a new technique six years ago that made it impossible for me to play the way I used to and I didn't know how to get back to the same level as before. ”

The 49-year-old "Rocket" said that being able to compete this time is a victory.

The 49-year-old "Rocket", who has also talked about retirement many times in recent years, said that he has lost his instinct and rhythm, and is not sure if he can solve this problem at this stage: "But I will spend a few years trying to find a way to hit the ball smoothly." Now it's horrible – the white ball will do something I've never seen before. ”

O'Sullivan said that he was able to make a comeback this time because of the help of two people, one is Dr. Steve Peters, a psychiatrist who has helped him for a long time, and the other is Barry Hawkins, one of his old rivals.

O'Sullivan pointed out that a month ago, because he was a little bored, he took out his bat to practice: "A few times I played with Barry Hawkins, and unsurprisingly, he beat me to the ground, but he told me: 'You didn't perform as badly as you thought.'" ”

Barry Hawkins is one of the heroes of O'Sullivan's comeback

Because of this encouragement, he persevered and asked Steve Peters for help, "He said to me, 'Don't think about the future, just focus on this event, I'll be there to support you.'" For me, being able to play here [at the World Championships] is a victory. ”

In the top 16 of the 2018 World Championships, O'Sullivan collided shoulder-to-shoulder with Carter on the way back to his seat after batting, and the two had a public quarrel on the court.

They clashed again at the Masters early last year, and after the game, Carter complained that O'Sullivan was "groaning" on the ground: "Frankly it was disgusting, and as a top-level and professional athlete, I think it's unacceptable. O'Sullivan also raised his middle finger at the press conference, describing it as a nightmare to play with an unfriendly person like Carter, saying that he had not spoken to Carter for 20 years.

O'Sullivan and Carter have known each other for many years, but the relationship between the two is average

However, O'Sullivan seems to have temporarily put away his hot temper this time: "Carter is an excellent player, he has had several excellent seasons, and he has recently regained his form. He should have a better chance of winning this fight, but if I can do well, it would be good. The two-man competition will be divided into two phases, which will start at 9:30 p.m. Beijing time on April 22 and 23 respectively.