'I'm old enough to be their dad' — Ronnie O'Sullivan on record eighth world title

Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Judd Trump in last year's final and joined Stephen Hendry in seven titles. Credit: AFP/Oli Scarff

Ronnie O'Sullivan hailed the power of Pilates as he began his journey to a record-breaking eighth world snooker title with an unprecedented 31 consecutive Crucible appearances.

Now he has surpassed even Steve Davis in terms of longevity, O'Sullivan could set two more modern records in Sheffield over the next two weeks, when a victory would not only beat Stephen Hendry by seven titles, but would also break his own record as the oldest champion ever.

«I was a kid when I first came here — now I'm old enough to be the father of most of them, it's a little scary, I'm a little old,» said O' Sullivan, who is also a holder with a 30-year record as the youngest winner of a ranking event.

His first opponent on Saturday was 23-year-old Chinese player Pang Junxu. O'Sullivan had been a pro for eight years when Pang was born.

Now 47, O'Sullivan is still ranked No. 1 in the world but has had a mixed season and believes energy management and some convenient early wins will be critical to his chances over the next 17 days.

Oh'Sullivan is focused on winning a record eighth world title. Photo: PA/Isaac Parkin

“Last year I was just exhausted,” he said. “When I was younger, like in 2012, 2008, 2013, I remember winning it and walking home and thinking I felt fresh like a daisy. The last two times I stayed at home and had to wait another two weeks before I felt normal again. This requires much greater physical and moral losses from me.

He trained extensively with Stuart Bingham, the 2015 world champion, and, as always, tried to combine his hours at the table with taking care of himself off the table.

“I do a lot more Pilates and these things are just stay in a good place and focus on keeping everything calm,” he said. “At this stage of my life, it makes no sense to get hung up on anything. I am a survivor. At some point I can look down, but there is a resilience that just shows up. This has been proven over the last 30 years so don't ever discount me even if I lose.

“I didn't wake up last week and decide that I want to be a professional snooker player. I made this decision when I was eight years old. So from the age of eight to 47, I prepared. I'm ready for anything this game has to offer.»

On the prospect of a record-breaking eighth title, O'Sullivan said, «I don't like to put numbers. Why eight? It could be seven, eight or nine. Maybe 10. Who knows? Once we were talking about four world titles. It's ridiculous to try to talk about numbers and such.»