Will Ronnie O'Sullivan defend his Snooker World Championship?

Ronnie O'Sullivan has until the 28th of February to decide.

The four times World Champion hasn't played since his first round loss at the PTC 3 in Gloucester. The Rocket was expected to make his full ranking return at the inaugural International Championship in October, which he pulled out of at the 11th hour citing on-going health problems. Shortly after he announced he would take no further part in the 2012/2013 season. 

Life without Ronnie? 

The game of snooker is bigger than any one player, that is for sure and in Ronnie's absence it has given plenty of player’s opportunities to shine. None more so than Stuart Bingham who lit up last year’s Premier League, a competition O'Sullivan has dominated for 10 years.

But the appeal is still there, while the game has lots of up and coming stars and established stars there a few marquee names. John Higgins and Mark Williams remain, but with the retirement of Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis and Jimmy Whites uncontrollable slide towards retirement the game lacks real A List players.

O'Sullivan is still the sports main attraction, but in his absence Judd Trump has become a fans favourite. Also young attacking players such as Luca Brecel and Jack Lisowski are on the cusp of breaking through at a major TV event. In the future I can see the burden of being the "Entertainer" being passed around more than it currently is. 

It would be strange having a World Championship without O'Sullivan, especially given he is the defending champion. But like every other tournament we've had over the years without him, the tournament will go on and will still be as enthralling. 

O'Sullivan in Numbers

4 World Championships

4 Masters

4 UK Championships

24 Ranking Titles

670+ Centuries

11 Maximum Breaks