Stephen Hendry believes Ronnie O’Sullivan will retire from snooker before John Higgins and Mark Williams because he thinks The Rocket is struggling to find enough motivation.
The formidable trio, dubbed the Class of 92, are still competing at the highest level as they approach their 50th birthdays. They remain inside the world’s top 15 with little sign of decline, but they will inevitably need to bow out at some point.
O’Sullivan has threatened to quit snooker on many occasions and Hendry believes he will be the first one to put his cue away for good.
Speaking to Williams in an interview on his YouTube channel, Hendry said: “Who’s going to pull the trigger first and say that’s it, that’s enough? I think it will be Ronnie.
“Not because of anything to do with standard of play or anything. He’s earning so much money now, I don’t know if the competitive spirit is still there, I don’t know.”
It comes after O’Sullivan admitted he ‘can’t be bothered’ to travel long distances to play at some UK events, insisting that he would rather stay at home.
Earlier this month, he pulled out of the Scottish Open before travelling to Saudi Arabia to compete in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, where he lost to Mark Allen in the semi-finals.
“I’m not being harsh, it’s really difficult when you go to a leisure centre,” said O’Sullivan, who has regularly criticised the playing conditions at British events compared to those abroad.
“You’ve got 50 to 100 people all standing outside. You’ve got to get through that, play a best of seven frames, then you’re not sure when you’re going to be on. They say you could be on at 8.30pm but you get on at 11pm.
“It’s a nine-hour journey from my house to Edinburgh. You weigh it all up and think you can’t be bothered. Ten to 15 years ago I’d probably have been fine, but I can’t play every tournament or every week.
“I’ll try and play a minimum of 10 and I’ll pick the best 10 to play in. After that, if I feel like I need to play in a few more I will. I still want to play snooker but I want to spend time at home as well.”
Only time will tell when O’Sullivan decides to walk away from the table, with the 49-year-old’s status as a legend of the game already set in stone.