Jewell wrote:Ronnie coming back would be the best thing ever!
Even when it was initially announced he would be missing the rest of the season I said he would come back for the Worlds, and it looks my prediction is going to be coming to fruition.
Over the last few months we've seen little signs here and there to suggest Ronnie will be coming back to defend his crown. All that remains is for the announcement to be made.
Can't wait for the Crucible now, with Selby in such great form, what price a Ronnie-Selby final? That one could possibly be the most anticipated match in snooker history, even the Ronnie would be salivating at the prospect of that match up.
A lot of people agree with you - for the tournament it probably be good for the build up to the event. The long awaited return of Ronnie O'Sullivan, the one player the fans would give their right arm to watch' - in the strictest realms of World Snooker hyperbole of course.
For Ronnie himself I think it could be a very bad thing and these are the reasons why;
He will be coming to Sheffield to play on the 20th April having not won a professional match since beating Carter eleven and a half months previously.
He will be woefully short of match practice - the Snooker Legends events do not count as genuine preparation to defend the biggest championship in this sport.
As Number 1 seed he will not have to enter the qualifiers - removing essentially the only competitive avenue for him to take - on top of this it will also mean taking on someone who will be considerably match sharper at least than him, and also on top of this will have won between one and five best of 19 frame matches to qualify for the tournament.
Personally, I don't think it'd be fair on Ronnie to turn up on April 20th, get beat in the first round and be eliminated before the tournament really gets going. Likewise, it wouldn't be fair on the tournament to build up the return of O'Sullivan for him to lose in the first round which is more than likely.