Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he came close to withdrawing from the World Snooker Championship because he was “scared” and feared he would “embarrass” himself on the sport’s biggest stage.The 50-year-old snooker legend, who has lifted the world title seven times, admitted he was seriously contemplating missing the Crucible event just ten days ago.However, his remarkable world-record 153 break during the World Open in Yushan has transformed his mindset.The extraordinary clearance, which featured a free-ball and an additional black, came during his quarter-final victory against Ryan Day last Friday.That performance has convinced O’Sullivan to compete at Sheffield when the championship begins on April 18.The Dubai-based player holds himself to exceptionally high standards and becomes deeply self-critical when his technique falls short of perfection.To spectators, his play appears flawless, yet O’Sullivan was dissatisfied with his cueing during the opening months of 2025.Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he came close to withdrawing from the World Snooker Championship because he was “scared” and feared he would “embarrass” himself on the sport’s biggest stage | GETTYJanuary and February proved particularly difficult, with the world number 10 struggling to find his form on the match table.As recently as a fortnight ago, the prospect of making his 34th consecutive appearance at the Crucible seemed uncertain.His journey to the World Open final, despite losing 10-7 to Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, has significantly lifted his spirits and restored belief in his ability to compete at the highest level.Five quirky facts about snooker | PAO’Sullivan explained his recent mindset in stark terms: “I wasn’t even going to play in the World Championship 10 days ago because I was too scared. I felt I was going to embarrass myself.”The seven-time champion added: “But now I feel like I probably will go because I feel like I can at least pot a few balls.”It’s not great. I’m not in a great, great place with it, but I’m better than I was maybe two weeks ago.”He has opted against entering the Tour Championship, which begins next Monday in Manchester.This means his next competitive outing, and first UK match since 2 December, will be at the World Championship, running for 17 days from 18 April.Ronnie O’Sullivan is a seven-time world champion | PAO’Sullivan offered a candid assessment of his current abilities, acknowledging he can only execute around 60-70% of shots comfortably, with certain angles simply beyond his reach at present.”I just can’t get to the potting angle of certain shots,” he said. “When someone plays like that and I’m just one-dimensional basically, it just limits what I can do.”Reflecting on his final defeat, he praised Un-Nooh: “Thepchaiya was unbelievable, he deserved his victory. He was just flowing and had every shot in the book.”Despite these limitations, O’Sullivan believes he is in a stronger position than at any point during the past three years, though he remains cautious about getting too optimistic.