Ronnie O’Sullivan begins the snooker season with work to do to avoid an unwanted trip to World Championship qualifying next year.
The Rocket reached the semi-finals at the Crucible just a few weeks ago, but that came after a time away from the game as he opted out of a string of events.
He is currently sitting pretty at number five in the world rankings, but the seven-time world champion faces falling from that perch in the months to come.
The 49-year-old had a brilliant 2023-24 season, winning two ranking titles. but on the two-year rolling ranking system those ranking points will come tumbling off over the coming campaign.
The 2025/26 season gets underway later this month, and on the projected rankings for next year’s World Championship, O’Sullivan currently sits at number 17.
That would mean he would have to go to qualifying as only the top 16 seeds head straight to the Crucible for the last 32 of the tournament.
The last time the Rocket had to go to World Championship qualifying was all the way back in 1994 when the likes of Alex Higgins and Cliff Thorburn also came through the qualifiers.
O’Sullivan was just 18 as he beat Dennis Taylor in the first round in Sheffield before losing to John Parrott in the last 16. It was a different time entirely.
He has been out of the world’s top 16 since then, but has never had to qualify for the World Championship. After winning the world title in 2012 he took a year off and tumbled down the rankings but returned to the Crucible as number one seed as he was defending champion.
O’Sullivan is not the only big name outside of the top 16 on the projected Crucible seedings, with Mark Allen one place below him in 18th.
2023 world champion Luca Brecel is way down at number 37 on the projected rankings ahead of the 2026 World Championship.
Race to the Crucible
- Zhao Xintong
- Judd Trump
- Kyren Wilson
- John Higgins
- Mark Williams
- Neil Robertson
- Xiao Guodong
- Mark Selby
- Shaun Murphy
- Si Jiahui
- Ding Junhui
- Barry Hawkins
- Jak Jones
- Stuart Bingham
- Wu Yize
- Chris Wakelin
- Ronnie O’Sullivan
- Mark Allen
- Dave Gilbert
- Lei Peifan
Full Race to the Crucible rankings available here.
Of course if O’Sullivan had to win two matches at World Championship qualifying to make it to the Crucible then he would be hot favourite to do just that, but nothing is guaranteed.
Neil Robertson was an unlikely name to face the nerve-shredding qualifiers two years ago and he was beaten 10-9 by Jamie Jones in the final round, missing out on a trip to the Crucible for the first time since 2004.
However, despite the projected rankings being something to be well aware of, there is plenty of time for the likes of O’Sullivan and Allen to make sure they avoid the dreaded qualifiers.
Both are currently comfortably inside the top 16 in the world rankings and can remain there by winning matches, and ideally tournaments.
Last season saw Shaun Murphy facing the same fate of slipping out of the top 16 before the World Championship came around but the Magician just about avoided it.
Murphy didn’t get his hands on a ranking title last season but two semis and five quarter-finals helped him hold onto a spot in the top 16 and avoid a trip to the English Institute of Sport.
The 2025-26 season gets underway on Sunday June 22 with the start of Wuhan Open qualification, held a long old way from Wuhan at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester.
After a quiet second half of last season O’Sullivan has entered the upcoming Wuhan Open, British Open and Shanghai Masters so looks to have a busy start to the new campaign.