Ronnie O'Sullivan spoke ahead of the Shanghai Masters snooker tournament. The non-ranking event will be held from July 28 to August 3.

"I've been preparing all my life to be the best version of myself. So obviously you have to train and be in rhythm, but I'm always ready. I'm working very hard to be the king of snooker, but there are many, many very good players like Zhao Xintong, the world champion. He's a fantastic player. I want to be competitive with these young players who are really very good. I feel blessed", said The Rocket, who was outplayed by Zhao in the semi-finals of the last world championship by 7-17 frames. Zhao later lifted the title after defeating Mark Williams to become the first world champion from China.

O'Sullivan is seeded No. 6 at the Shanghai Masters. The five-time champion will play the winner of the match between Barry Hawkins and Wu Yize in the round of 16.

The current holder of the trophy is Judd Trump, who last year defeated Shaun Murphy 11-5. The winner of this year's edition walks away with a winner's share of £210,000. | BGNES