RONNIE O’SULLIVAN does not want to be the first member from the Class of 92 to hang up his cue – because he reckons he would get BORED at home.
And Judd Trump believes the iconic cueing trio will keep on going and end up becoming OAP POTTERS.
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This is the fifth time in history O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins have all appeared in the same World Snooker Championship quarter-final line-up, following 1998, 1999, 2011 and 2022.
The three sporting titans, who have a combined age of 148, have 14 Crucible crowns between them and are ranked in the world’s top six spots.
This is a golden era for the sport, one to rival the great rivalries of men’s tennis (Djokovic, Nadal and Federer) and golf (Nicklaus, Player, Palmer).
On the subject of retirement, the Rocket, who is 50 in December, said: “I wouldn’t want to be the first to go because I still want to play – and I think I’d be pretty bored if I didn’t play.
“For that reason, I wouldn’t want to be the first to go. I don’t think any of us are bothered about pushing each other on.
“I think that stopped a long time ago. Maybe ten years ago we probably felt we finished using each other in that aspect.
“We wanted to enjoy our snooker from 40 onwards. There was a big element of that in the early part of our careers.
“If one did well the others wanted to do better. John was the first to win a World Championship, then it was Mark, then me. You’re always wanting to keep up with them.
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“I think we just love the game. We love playing, we love competing.
“Without it, you think, what would I do with my time?”
O’Sullivan was not at his fluent best on Tuesday but he still went back to his digs leading 6-2 against Si Jiahui.
The Chinese qualifier, 22, was left shaking his head at multiple misses and the Rocket got better as the afternoon went on, finishing it off with a 121.
On table two, Trump hit back-to-back centuries – 106 and 110 – against maverick Luca Brecel and is on 102 tons for the season, one behind Neil Robertson’s world record of 103.
The Juddernaut, 35, is 5-3 up against the Belgian and it is surely a matter of time before he eclipses Robertson’s 2013-14 tally.
In frame six, he was on 87 but uncharacteristically missed a black off its spot – during that three-frame spell, Brecel did not pot a single ball.
Brecel, 30, ended the day with breaks of 68 and 128 and this tie was of the high standard that we had hoped for.
Trump says he has been hugely inspired by the Class of 92 graduates and cannot see them disappearing any time soon – and could be competing when they get their BUS PASSES.
Inside Ronnie’s colourful career
FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O’Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
The world No.1 said: “I think they’re miles away from retiring. They’re not far from their absolute best.
“I think those three could be here when they’re 65 if they want to put the work in.
“I can’t put my finger on what the reason was that players couldn’t play to that age before. I mean I don’t really know the difference between being 35 and being 50.
“I don’t know if the concentration goes, I don’t have experience with that yet.
“Stephen Hendry was in his early 30s and he couldn’t really do it. So, I don’t know the reason for that.
“It’s very hard to compare eras. But I would still be working as hard in my 50s.
“If I can manage my schedule and not be playing too much and still enjoy snooker, there’s no reason why I can’t be playing at that age.”
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