Judd Trump believes Ronnie O’Sullivan ‘won’t be seen many more times’ in the wake of his shock Masters withdrawal.
The Rocket pulled out of the competition on Friday on ‘medical grounds’, days after he’d quit the Champions League.
O’Sullivan is the best player to ever pick up a cue, having dominated snooker over the past two to three decades.
He has struggled for consistency over the past 12 months, however, and there’s a sense that he’s now approaching the twilight years of his glittering career.
Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the Masters on Friday
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Trump doesn’t think O’Sullivan will retire just yet, despite the issues he’s faced over the past year.
But he does feel the 49-year-old ‘won’t be seen many more times’ because he’s losing the desire he once had.
Trump, who is bidding for Masters glory this winter, said: “He’s someone, from what I can tell, he probably wants to have one big last hurrah and get out of here.
“To be honest, it could be any point where one more World Championship and he calls it a day.
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“You’re probably looking at the last five years of knuckling down and going for it.
“I think because Ronnie’s starting to miss more events, people realise they might not see him for too much longer.
“They probably feel they need to appreciate what they’ve taken for granted for the last 20 or 30 years.
“When he’s missing in an event everyone notices. The world will always move on, there will always be more players coming through.
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“But I think everyone realises that we’re at a point where we won’t see him many more times in the big events like the World Championship.”
Trump has also expressed a belief that O’Sullivan has lost his fear factor, despite everything his rival has achieved.
“He maybe doesn’t have the same intimidating factor that he had,” the snooker star added.
“A lot more players are able to beat him. He’s not able to put in the consistency that he had.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan has been tipped to retire soon by Judd Trump following his withdrawal from the Masters
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“Now, people can bring their best game against him, something they couldn’t do before.
“Ronnie, for me, has never been an absolutely incredible player who blows you away, he just had this intimidation that no other player had.”
Meanwhile, Neil Robertson has replaced O’Sullivan for the Masters.
And while he’s glad to be playing at the tournament, he’s also showed class by sending O’Sullivan his best wishes.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has struggled for consistency over the past year
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“From a personal point I’m buzzing to be in the Masters. But I really hope Ronnie’s okay,” he stated.
“He’s been a bit indifferent in terms of his thoughts on the game this season. I hope he’s good and we see him back playing soon.
“It’s important if he’s feeling the way he I to pull out of the Masters, that he takes a break to refocus.”