Players Championship snooker 2022: Can Rocket Ronnie O'Sullivan return to world No. 1 spot?

Ronnie O'Sullivan will return to snooker's coveted world No. 1 spot if he can claim the Players Championship title and a £125,000 top prize in Wolverhampton next week. O'Sullivan first became world No.

1 at the age of 26 in May 2002, but astonishingly could be on the cusp of holding the most revered ranking position in the sport at the age of 46 two decades on. Ad/> O'Sullivan and Trump to meet in blockbuster clash at Players Championship Acting the GOAT: O’Sullivan returns to No 1 as world sport’s number one Players Championship 2022 — How to watch the latest ranking event, draw, schedule Players ChampionshipPlayers Championship 2022 — How to watch the latest ranking event, draw, scheduleA DAY AGO With world champion Mark Selby failing to qualify for the Players Championship – contested between the top 16 on the one-year list – O'Sullivan will overtake his old rival by 27,500 points at the summit if he can win a record 39th ranking title following his World Grand Prix success in December. O'Sullivan moved above Judd Trump into second spot in the rankings without playing a competitive shot last week after Trump lost 5-1 to event winner Zhao Xintong in the quarter-finals of the German Masters.

The six-time world champion will face Trump in his tournament opener at the Players Championship at 7pm (GMT) on Tuesday, February 8 and will need to do it the hard way if he is going to claim the title for a third time at Aldersley Leisure Village a week on Sunday. Depending upon results, O'Sullivan may need to overcome Trump, Neil Robertson, defending champion John Higgins and top seed Zhao to become world No. 1 for the first time since March 2019.