“Because I had a real confidence where my game was at. I believed that if my game was good, I had a chance to beat anyone, win any title.BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.

But he has already begun to binge on drink and drugs and, when his mum was sent to prison for tax evasion, in 1996, he struggled to cope with looking after his eight–year-old sister alone.“I’ve got to try find the old way of playing snooker. I have literally forgotten what I used to do.“They say, ‘Listen, you just take as much time as you need’.“Then I take a couple forward and then I take one back. You think that’s why I said I want to give myself some time.

“Give myself some proper time. I still know I can play, I still know I have got the mind and energy and hunger for it.“They are like, ‘oh, you have got to go and get the eighth, you’ve got to go and do this’. So, it’s hard to listen to that sometimes as it’s not that easy.”“I know I’ve got the talent and I know that it’s there but it’s just finding it. I haven’t found it for three or four years.

Yet despite banking more than £1million in prize money since the Covid crisis — including a seventh world success in 2022 — the Rocket claims “the last four years have been appalling” on the table.“I had a spell in 2022 from January until the world championship where I won it and beat Judd Trump in the final and felt great.

The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.

O’Sullivan’s game cannot be that bad given he hit TWO 147s in practice last Tuesday while visiting his academy in Saudi Arabia. He used an untested cue that he brought over.And he reckons on form, he would be “lucky” to be placed in the world’s top 32.RONNIE O’SULLIVAN reckons he would be happy to win just one match at the Crucible — despite rattling off TWO 147s on the practice table with a NEW CUE.RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has enjoyed an incredible career as snooker’s biggest star.Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.Most World Titles (modern era)“So, I need to be good to be able to compete with the top guys.”

‘I’d rather not have the snooker, just a normal family’ – Inside Ronnie O’Sullivan’s troubled childhood

“I’d probably say I’d be lucky if I made the top 32. There are so many good players around and the standard is very, very good.

He said: “I know it’s not going to be a quick fix. At the moment, it’s like I’ll take a step forward, I get excited, and then bang, I take two back.I know I’ve got the talent and I know that it’s there but it’s just finding it. I haven’t found it for three or four years.“In 2013, I know I hadn’t picked a cue up for nine months but the minute I did pick my cue up I felt like I couldn’t miss.Some fans expect the Essex potter to rock up and beat everyone despite not playing for 13 WEEKS and having pulled out of five events on medical grounds.Yet he replied: “I’m laughing because I just feel like it’s so absurd in many ways. In 2012 or 2013, I’d have said, ‘you know what, maybe it’s possible’.“This is completely different. If I was to be honest, I’d ask myself this question . . . where would I rank myself on performance compared to where everyone else is at the moment?“On the practice table I felt like I was hitting the balls as sweet as ever. My confidence was there.

He continued: “The people who have been around me a lot can see what I’ve been going through.Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.O’Sullivan, a TNT Sports snooker pundit, has been struggling with his game this season and is particularly frustrated with his technique.The snooker legend is trying to unpick and “unravel” his game again and reckons his long-time issues could be down to “bad coaching advice” from six years ago.Just a year later, Ronnie became the youngest ever UK Champion, seven days before his 18th birthday. Then at 19, in 1994, he became the youngest Masters champion.

He said: “I didn’t want to blame everything on that situation with my dad, but I was thinking, ‘I’d rather not have the snooker. just a normal family’. Because… It was a dream, but looking back, it was a nightmare.”Ronnie O’Sullivan

O’Sullivan’s parents ran a chain of sex shops in Essex and his father was jailed for 20 years for murder when he was just 16.CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSRead more: Ronnie O’Sullivan’s yo-yo health battles – from ballooning to 16st on Smirnoff to ‘wrecking game’ by dieting TOO muchAnd yet he continued his search for a new one by reeling off two maximums in just two days, filling fans with hope he will make a triumphant return.O’Sullivan, who is renowned for being a perfectionist, snapped his favourite cue in anger in January.

“There are people who know me but don’t see me a lot and don’t really know the full extent of it.

• TNT Sports is the new home of snooker. Watch the World Snooker Championship, including all qualifying, live on TNT Sports and its streaming home discovery+

List of all-time Snooker World Champions

But the Rocket’s turbulent past has led to struggles with mental health, addiction and yo-yo weight battles.

“But at the moment, I would be happy to win a match. If I turn up at Sheffield and I win a match, I would go ‘that’s a huge victory for me’. It really would be.“Other than that, the last four years have been so appalling I’m not sure what to expect really.“I am pulling everything apart at the minute, trying to build something that is half reliable.”In the Amazon documentary The Edge of Everything, the snooker icon admitted his dad going to prison had a profound effect.

• 1969 – John Spencer
• 1970 – Ray Reardon
• 1971 – John Spencer
• 1972 – Alex Higgins
• 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
• 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
• 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
• 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
• 1977 – John Spencer (2)
• 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
• 1979 – Terry Griffiths
• 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
• 1981 – Steve Davis
• 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
• 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
• 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
• 1985 – Dennis Taylor
• 1986 – Joe Johnson
• 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
• 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
• 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
• 1990 – Stephen Hendry
• 1991 – John Parrott
• 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
• 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
• 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
• 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
• 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
• 1997 – Ken Doherty
• 1998 – John Higgins
• 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
• 2000 – Mark Williams
• 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
• 2002 – Peter Ebdon
• 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
• 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
• 2005 – Shaun Murphy
• 2006 – Graeme Dott
• 2007 – John Higgins (2)
• 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
• 2009 – John Higgins (3)
• 2010 – Neil Robertson
• 2011 – John Higgins (4)
• 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
• 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
• 2014 – Mark Selby
• 2015 – Stuart Bingham
• 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
• 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
• 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
• 2019 – Judd Trump
• 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
• 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
• 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
• 2023 – Luca Brecel
• 2024 – Kyren Wilson

The Romford potter did retain the championship in 2013 after a year’s sabbatical and parallels have been drawn with his latest hiatus.In an exclusive SunSport chat, it was put to O’Sullivan that he still has the talent to go all the way in Sheffield, which start Saturday.

• 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
• 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
• 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
• 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
• 2 – Alex Higgins