Ronnie O'Sullivan left underwhelmed by talk of greatness

Ronnie O’Sullivan shrugged off suggestions of greatness on the eve of his bid to eclipse Stephen Hendry and become the first player to win eight world snooker titles in the modern era.

O’Sullivan is already routinely described as the best player to pick up a cue after a record-breaking career that includes eight Masters and eight UK titles within a total of 41 ranking tournament wins.

But the 48-year-old, who starts his first round match against Welsh qualifier Jackson Page on Wednesday, has never been one to pore over the record books, and questions whether such plaudits are worth having at all.

"I don’t regard myself as the greatest of all time," said O’Sullivan. "Statistically, I suppose I am, but I’m just happy to be playing.

"I suppose as a kid I would have been desperate to be up with those guys but when you get there it’s a bit of an anti-climax – it’s not as great as you thought it would be."

O’Sullivan, who won his first world title in 2001, currently sits on seven alongside Hendry, with Davis and Ray Reardon one behind on six wins each.

Yet while the title-winning eras of those fellow greats spanned less than a decade, O’Sullivan’s longevity, which shows all the signs of pushing on beyond a quarter of a century, makes the reign of the 'Rocket' indisputably unique.

"I’ve had a different career to them," added O’Sullivan. "They just did it over a 10-year period while I’ve sort of gone off track for five or six years, then got myself back together, then disappeared for another three years, then got myself back together again.

"I was a bit all over the shop really, stuff going on off the table that can affect how you perform. Hendry and Davis had everything fitted around them to focus on snooker, but that’s how it worked