By Swikriti Dandotia – Swikblog Sports Desk
On the eve of another deep run at the UK Championship in York, Ronnie O’Sullivan has done something almost as startling as one of his trademark blitz frames: he has publicly downgraded himself. The seven-time world champion and eight-time UK winner now says he belongs in snooker’s “third tier” of players, behind the sport’s current pace-setters.
For a player many still call the greatest of all time, the quote has exploded across social media and search results. But what did O’Sullivan actually mean – and is his tier list a fair reflection of the modern game?
What Ronnie Said About Snooker’s New ‘Tiers’
Speaking ahead of his 50th birthday and another title charge in York, O’Sullivan argued that the days of Steve Davis- or Stephen Hendry-style domination are over. The standard is now so high, he said, that no one player can “sit above” the rest for long.
He then laid out a surprisingly blunt hierarchy:
- Top tier – led by Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson, “probably the best two players in the world” right now.
- Second tier – names such as Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Shaun Murphy, all still dangerous in any draw.
- Third tier – O’Sullivan put himself here, alongside Barry Hawkins, Ding Junhui and – after some prompting – current world champion Zhao Xintong.
In other words, the Rocket thinks of himself as competitive but no longer the man everyone else is chasing. It is a startling admission from the sport’s most gifted cueist, and a clear sign of how he views the new competitive landscape.
Ronnie O’Sullivan explained his “third-tier” view in an interview with BBC Sport , where he said the current field is deeper than ever and no player now dominates the tour the way legends once did.
From ‘Not Even Amateur’ to Respecting the Pack
Part of the reason the quote has landed so hard is that it marks a complete U-turn from O’Sullivan’s own past verdict on the tour. In 2020 he famously described younger players as “not even amateur” standard and suggested he would need to “lose an arm and a leg” to drop out of the top 50.
Five years on, he is talking about “three or four tiers” of elite players and stressing how little separates them on any given day. That shift tells its own story. The 2025–26 season has already produced different winners from tournament to tournament, and surprise names are regularly reaching the latter stages. The Rocket has clearly taken note.
It is also a more reflective, almost philosophical O’Sullivan. Approaching 50, he appears comfortable admitting that others now carry more week-to-week consistency, even if he can still catch fire and obliterate a field when the mood takes him.
Is Ronnie Really Only ‘Third Tier’?
On pure talent, most fans and former pros would still rank O’Sullivan in his own category. But that isn’t how he is judging himself. His comments are really about consistency and volume rather than ceiling.
Judd Trump’s relentless scoring and Kyren Wilson’s recent trophy haul make a strong case for calling them the form pair of the last two seasons. Selby, Robertson, Murphy, Williams and Higgins remain serial winners who can turn semi-final appearances into titles more regularly than most.
O’Sullivan, by contrast, now chooses his schedule carefully, floats in and out of events and sometimes treats early-round matches like extended practice sessions. When he switches on – particularly at the UK Championship, where he has a record eight crowns – he still looks untouchable. But we see that level in shorter bursts, which perhaps explains why he is happy to shuffle himself down the pecking order.
What It Means for the UK Championship 2025
The timing of the remark is no coincidence. O’Sullivan is using the UK Championship as his favourite stage once again, describing it as a “special, special tournament” with the prestige of a world championship but without the 17-day ordeal of the Crucible.
He goes into this year’s event facing a dangerous last-32 clash with China’s Zhou Yuelong, followed by a potential minefield of seeded opponents if he progresses. In that context, calling himself “third tier” almost feels like classic Ronnie psychology – lowering expectation while keeping the spotlight firmly on him.
If he does blaze through the draw and lift a ninth UK title, snooker’s tier debate will ignite all over again. How “third tier” can someone be if they keep collecting big trophies in their late forties?
End of One-Man Eras – or Just a New Kind of Dominance?
O’Sullivan’s wider point is that modern snooker is deeper than ever. Fifteen or twenty years ago, fans could reel off a short list of realistic champions at every ranking event. Now, there are dozens of players capable of beating anyone on their day.
That might mean we never again see a player string together the kind of decade-long run that Davis or Hendry enjoyed. But it does not necessarily mean the Rocket – or anyone else – is finished as a major force. Dominance today might be measured in moments instead of seasons: short bursts of genius, big-stage performances and unforgettable frames that keep a player’s aura intact even if their ranking bounces up and down.
For fans, that unpredictability is part of the appeal. Every UK Championship session in York now feels like must-watch television, because even the sport’s greatest ever player isn’t sure which “tier” he’ll be playing at when he walks into the arena.
Why Ronnie’s Honesty Still Matters
In a sport where many stars speak in careful clichés, O’Sullivan’s blunt self-assessment is refreshing. It gives us a rare window into how an all-time great processes aging, competition and motivation. It also underlines why he remains the most compelling figure in snooker: even a throwaway ranking of his rivals instantly becomes the biggest talking point of the week.
Whatever happens on the table, the UK Championship 2025 will now be remembered not just for centuries and comebacks, but for the moment Ronnie O’Sullivan looked at the strongest field in years – and calmly placed himself on the third tier of it.
For more on how big sporting events send search interest through the roof in the UK, check out our breakdown of the North London Derby 2025 trending spike.
