Ronnie O'Sullivan: Genius of the baize bids for eighth World Snooker title

Ronnie was on his way to a 4-2 lead against debutant Craig Steadman at the 2015 Worlds when he complained his shoes were hurting him, and promptly removed them.

O'Sullivan then continued before being told that he was in breach of the Crucible dress code and required to find new shoes to continue. Tournament director Mike Ganley donated his shoes and the match continued.

At the Welsh Open in 2016, after potting 14 reds and 13 blacks against Barry Pinches, O'Sullivan deliberately gave up his shot at a maximum break by drifting up for the pink instead. Afterwards he called the £10,000 on offer "too cheap" for a 147.

Snooker chief Barry Hearn responded furiously, calling O'Sullivan's display "unacceptable" and "disrespectful".

At the 2020 Championship League, he slammed conditions at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes because he had to self-isolate surviving on cornflakes in a hotel room after undergoing a Covid-19 swab test before playing in the event.

"Got to be off me head coming here, haven't I? I've been sat in my room for 24 hours," said O'Sullivan. "I done 16 hours in a cell once, and it was better cause I got to choose my own food."

The outspoken O'Sullivan was back at it at the Worlds that year by saying the standard of players coming through was not that good really and that he'd probably have to "lose an arm and a leg to fall outside the top 50 in the world".

He then deployed scattergun tactics by smashing balls around the table during his semi-final against Selby. He eventually pulled through to win en route to the title.

There was further shenanigans at the 2024 Players Championship in Telford where he suffered a 6-0 defeat to Selby in the quarter-finals.

He was trailing when he tried to avoid a foul by scattering a cluster of balls with many people taking to social media to criticise O'Sullivan for his perceived lack of effort.

O'Sullivan hasn't been seen on the baize since he broke his cue at the Championship League in January.

The 49-year-old pulled out of the Masters before his first-round clash against John Higgins and question marks remained on whether the world No 5 would return in time for his bid at a record eighth world title in Sheffield.

He was drawn to face former practice partner Carter in the first round and he only confirmed his return to competitive action two days before the start of the tournament.

O'Sullivan and Carter have endured a rocky relationship and notably clashed following last year's Masters final.

O'Sullivan said his opponent was "not a nice person" during an expletive-laden rant following his 10-7 victory in that match after Carter accused him of "snotting all over the floor".

Carter beat O'Sullivan in the second round of the same tournament in 2018 when they were involved in a "shoulder barge" incident.

'The Captain' called out O'Sullivan's behaviour during the match, admitting that his bitter rival "looked like he wanted to kill" him. Despite practising together growing up, Carter and O'Sullivan have been on frosty terms ever since.

Ronnie confirmed his participation at this year's Worlds, saying: "I'm proud to continue my record of having never missed a World Championship. I have many fond memories at The Crucible and look forward to making more in 2025.

"I've enjoyed some good prep with my (new!) cue over the last week, so feel good ahead of Tuesday."

O'Sullivan also thanked fellow seed and former runner-up Hawkins for hauling him up to Sheffield to give it another shot.

"I was a bit bored a month ago so I got my cue out of my case and I thought, 'just practice'.

"Obviously I got to this tournament and Barry gave me a little bit of support. I had a couple of practice sessions with Barry and he gave me a good hiding, which I expected. But Barry told me, you're not playing as bad as you think you are."