‘They’ve twisted my arm’, says Ronnie O’Sullivan as snooker legend reveals he WILL play in pre-Crucible tournament

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has revealed he will be chalking up his cue for two tournaments before the World Championship next month.

The Rocket, who recently sat out the Welsh Open due to “stage fright”, is preparing for snooker’s most prestigious competition at the Crucible in April.

GettyRonnie O’Sullivan has said he will play in two more tournaments before the World Championship[/caption]

His preparations seem to be putting him in good stead as he won his fifth title of the season on Wednesday night when he took home the £250,000 prize for winning the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh.

O’Sullivan won the inaugural Saudi tournament in a 5-2 final against reining world champion Luca Brecel.

And after his victory in the Middle East the 48-year-old explained that he will now play another two tournaments before taking to the table in a bid to win a record EIGHTH world championship in April.

O’Sullivan will head to China for the World Open next week before returning home to the UK to take part in the Tour Championship in Manchester – a tournament he says he had to be convinced to play in.

Speaking to WST in Riyadh, he said: “I’m going to keep playing, keep enjoying it.

“I go to China next week which I’m looking forward to. It’s a tournament that I’m geared up to do well in, with this and China.

“Then obviously the one in Manchester because my sponsors have twisted my arm to say, ‘look we want you to do well in it, it would mean a lot to us.’

“So for the next four tournaments [including the Saudi success] I’m really going to give it 100 per cent because sponsors and all the backing that they’ve put in for these events.”

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The Rocket won’t stop there either with a exhibition event in Hong Kong also lined up for the end of this month.

The snooker superstar will take part alongside the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Williams and Jack Lisowski.

Snooker Calendar 2024

March 11-17 – Women’s World Championship – Dongguan (China)

March 12-13 – Championship League Winners’ Group – Leicester (UK)

March 13-15 – Q Tour Global Playoffs – Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

March 18-24 – World Open – Yushan (China)

March 30-31 – World Mixed Doubles – Manchester (UK)

April 1-7 – Tour Championship – Manchester (UK)

April 8-17 – World Championship Qualifiers – Sheffield (UK)

April 20-May 6 – World Championship – Sheffield (UK)

May 24-26 – British Women’s Opens – Walsall (UK)

May 25-26 – Helsinki International Snooker Cup – Helsinki (Finland)

Jul 15-21 – Shanghai Masters- Shanghai (China)

Jul 25-28 – Xi’an Grand Prix Qualifiers – Xi’an (China)

Aug 19-25 – Xi’an Grand Prix – Xi’an (China)

Aug 26-28 – Wuhan Open Qualifiers – Wuhan (China)

Aug 31 to Sep 7 – Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters – Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

Sep 16-22 – English Open – Brentwood (UK)

Sep 23-29 – British Open – Cheltenham (UK)

Oct 1-4 – International Championship Qualifiers – TBC

Oct 7-13 – Wuhan Open – Wuhan (China)

Oct 20-27 – Northern Ireland Open – Belfast (UK)

Nov 3-10 – International Championship – TBC (China)

Nov 23 to Dec 1 – UK Championship – York (UK)

Dec 9-15 – Scottish Open – Edinburgh (UK)

Dec 16-19 – World Open Qualifiers – TBC (China)