Ronnie O’Sullivan will make his debut in the World Seniors Snooker Championship this year, competing alongside fellow veterans at the Crucible in May.
The Rocket turned 50 in December and is still playing on the main professional tour, where he is ranked number 11 in the world.
He has not been competing that regularly, opting not to play in a string of events, including last week’s Players Championship and the Welsh Open, which started on Monday morning.
O’Sullivan has chosen to play in the World Seniors Championship for the first time, though, which will run from May 6-10 in Sheffield.
Changes to the set-up of the Seniors mean that players in the top 64 in the world rankings can now compete and a number have taken the opportunity.
Mark Williams is also advertised to be playing in the event, as are the likes of Stuart Bingham, Ali Carter, Matthew Stevens and Robert Milkins.
Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Tony Drago, Reanne Evans and defending champion Alfie Burden are also in the field.
World Seniors Snooker chairman Jason Francis said of O’Sullivan’s inclusion: ‘The most commercially valuable player the sport has ever seen will make his Seniors debut at the Crucible in May in an attempt to add another world title to his CV — wow!
‘We’ve already sold more tickets than we did for the entire event last year, and Ronnie’s participation is set to drive even greater demand.’
Other names involved include Joe Perry, Anthony Hamilton, Peter Lines, Dominic Dale, Igor Figueiredo, Craig Steadman and Egypt’s Mohamed Samy Elkhayat.
O’Sullivan and Williams are also due to compete alongside Stephen Hendry and John Higgins in the John Virgo Trophy, played under 900 rules, on April 11-12.
The event will be staged at Goffs in Kildare, Ireland and is held during World Championship qualifying.
Williams revealed that he will be donating his prize money from both events to the Hospice of the Valleys charity, which he expects to bring a different kind of pressure.
‘I am [looking forward to them] because there’s nothing in it for me,’ said Williams. ‘I’m just playing and whatever prize money I win, I don’t get nothing, I don’t get a penny. It all goes to the local Hospice of the Valleys, which I’m an ambassador for.
‘It’ll be a different kind of pressure because I’m not playing for myself. I don’t really care about myself when I’m playing for something like that, which is close to me, I’ll probably come under a bit of pressure.
‘I know the job they do and it only survives by fundraising and stuff like that. I try and do my bit and whatever I can.’
Williams is in action at the Welsh Open this week, while O’Sullivan is next scheduled to compete at the World Open in Yushan, China next month.
