Ronnie O'Sullivan chooses his top pot from last year's Saudi Arabia Masters ahead of bid to end 18-month title drought

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Ronnie O'Sullivan will aim to end an 18-month wait for a ranking title when he chases the £500,000 first prize at the Saudi Arabia Masters in Jeddah. The seven-time world champion meets recent World Open finalist Joe O'Connor in his opening match in the last 32 of the £2.3m tournament on Tuesday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+. O'Sullivan has picked out his favourite shot from last year.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan last won a ranking title at the outset of 2024 when he defeated Judd Trump 10-7 to claim the World Grand Prix in Leicester.

He will begin his quest for a record-extending 42nd ranking triumph at the Saudi Arabia Masters against Joe O'Connor on Tuesday evening at 17:30 (UK time), live on TNT Sports and discovery+, aiming to end an 18-month title drought in the desert.

O'Connor has never met O'Sullivan in a ranking tournament, but did edge him 3-2 in the invitational version of the Championship League last season.

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Despite claiming a record-equalling seven world titles between 2001 and 2022, and a record eight Masters between 1995 and 2024, O'Sullivan is no stranger to a barren spell or two without silverware.

He went two years and four months without a ranking title victory between his success at the 2009 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 German Masters, a year that also saw him capture his fourth Crucible crown.

In the early part of his career, he also went over two years between his successes in winning the 1994 British Open and 1996 Asian Classic.

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The Rocket opened the new campaign with a slender 6-5 victory over Barry Hawkins at the Shanghai Masters in July, before suffering a quarter-final exit, losing 6-3 to 2024 world champion Kyren Wilson.

The 2024/25 season was a disrupted one for O'Sullivan, with numerous withdrawals at ranking events, which included missing the Masters in January.

But he did play in Riyadh, host of the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters last year, and fondly remembered a certain pot in reaching the last eight.

O'Sullivan picked out a fearless do-or-die red to green pocket as his favourite effort during the final frame of his 6-5 win over Zhang Anda from 3-0 down in the last 16.

"Looking forward to getting on the table, and playing in Jeddah for the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters! Look forward to seeing you all there!," said O'Sullivan on social media.

"I enjoyed this shot in my match against Zhang last time out in Saudi."

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O'Sullivan lost 6-4 to Si Jiahui in the quarter-finals of the competition last year, as world No. 1 Trump claimed the inaugural £500,000 crown with an epic 10-9 win over Mark Williams in the final.

The world No. 5 feels Trump, world champion Zhao Xintong and new Shanghai Masters champion Kyren Wilson are the players to beat this week.

"Kyren Wilson is the strongest at the moment, followed by Judd Trump, and Zhao Xintong is the new world champion," he told local reporters on Monday.

"These three are currently competing at a higher level than everyone else. There are seven or eight very good and experienced people behind them.

"I believe these three can win this week because they are in a very strong field."

Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+

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