Ronnie O’Sullivan heads to Crucible with chance to cement status as best ever

The biggest threat to O’Sullivan clinching that prestigious eighth title remains O’Sullivan himself.

Ronnie O’Sullivan remains a class apart from his World Championship rivals (.Zac Goodwin/PA)

Ronnie O’Sullivan may claim not to care about records but the magnitude of his quest to eclipse Stephen Hendry and claim a record-breaking eighth world snooker title in the modern era cannot be understated.

O’Sullivan heads to the Crucible as reluctantly as ever, yet he is arguably never in a stronger position to go one better than his great rival and further enhance his surely unarguable status as the greatest snooker player of all time.