Ronnie O’Sullivan not bothered about world ranking after reaching last-32 of the International Championship
- Planet Sport writer
- 7 November 2023
World No 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan has had no less than four challengers to his throne this week but he insists the only thing that matters to him is titles.
O’Sullivan shrugged off the importance of holding onto his world number one spot after reaching the last 32 of the International Championship in Tianjin.
He fired three centuries and two more breaks over 80 to beat Mark Joyce 6-3 all while facing threats to his position from three other players this week.
But O’Sullivan insisted: “For me it’s about the titles, leaving a legacy and leaving targets for everyone else to try and chase. Hopefully I will be dead by the time they catch my targets.”
One player in with a chance of overtaking O’Sullivan, world champion Luca Brecel, saw his hopes dashed in a shock 6-3 defeat to veteran world number 64 Mark Davis.
But Judd Trump remained on course for a fourth-straight ranking title win – as well as the top spot – after surging to a 6-0 win over Michael White.
The victory marked Trump’s 22nd-straight tour success and means he is still yet to drop a frame in the tournament.
The fourth player in with a chance of being world number one at the end of this week, Mark Allen, faces Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the third round on Tuesday.
There was more woe for out-of-sorts Neil Robertson who fell 6-1 to Daniel Wells, while Dominic Dale beat Shaun Murphy 6-3 and teenager Liam Pullen scored a notable 6-5 win over Noppon Saengkham.
READ MORE: Judd Trump thrashes local challenger Wang Xinzhong at International Championship
