Alan McManus raises doubts over Ronnie O'Sullivan 'desire' as Rocket targets ninth UK Championship title
By Tom Masters
Published 29/11/2025 at 21:17 GMT
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Former Scottish snooker star Alan McManus has questioned Ronnie O’Sullivan’s desire to keep winning the biggest competitions in the sport ahead of his entry into the UK Championships. The Rocket turns 50 next week and has not won any title since the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker in March 2024. Jimmy White, who won the 1992 UK Championship, believes match practice is the issue.
'I don't think Ronnie has that anymore' - O'Sullivan's desire questioned
Video credit: TNT Sports
Alan McManus has questioned Ronnie O’Sullivan’s desire to keep winning the biggest competitions in the sport ahead of his entry into the UK Championship.
O’Sullivan turns 50 on 5 December and, though he reached a record-extending 14th World Championship semi-final in May, he suffered a resounding 17-7 loss to eventual winner Zhao Xintong.
That takes him back to March 2024 for his last title, beating Belgian Luca Brecel at the 2024 Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
O’Sullivan has changed his schedule, lowering his number of tournament appearances as he pursues an eighth world championship at the Crucible.
That may well prove a stroke of genius, but McManus questions whether the Rocket still has the same passion for winning as he once did.
He said: "I am expecting Ronnie to play ok, whether we are going to see fireworks, I don’t know.
"The only problem I have with Ronnie as a snooker fan side of things, I think in this game, it has to be a lifestyle choice and I don’t think that Ronnie has that anymore.
"He wants to do other things, we understand that, he is 50 in a few days’ time.
"Possibly, possibly [the burning desire has gone.]"
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Jimmy White, who won the UK Championship in 1992, does not believe the issues O’Sullivan has faced comes down to a lack of desire, but a lack of match practice.
Now as the Rocket targets his ninth UK Championship title, and first since 2023, White believes that while there would be no surprises if O’Sullivan did do just that, it is that lack of sharpness that may hold him back.
"For me, during that world championships, every round he played, whoever he played, didn’t play at all against him," White said.
"You didn’t ever think for a minute that he was going to win the world championship, come up against Xintong and got beaten quite convincingly in the end, as soon as someone played well against him.
"He must have gone away in the summer and changed his cue, because the way he played against Neil Robertson in Saudi Arabia, he ended up losing 10-9, he was 7-2 behind and went 8-7 in front or 9-8 in front.
"For me, he has not had the match practice, he is not sharp, he did not go to China.
"We wouldn’t be surprised here if he came and won this championship because he is that good, but he is not match sharp, it is the match practice, he is not sharp in that respect."
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