Ronnie O'Sullivan: Masters champion unsure if current form will be good enough to triumph at Crucible

Ronnie O'Sullivan is unsure if his present form is good enough to win a modern-era record eighth world title.

The 48-year-old followed an eighth UK Championship success in December by clinching his eighth Masters title with a 10-7 win over Ali Carter on Sunday.

He will head to Sheffield in April with a chance to win all three of snooker's Triple Crown events in the same season for the first time in his career.

"I've never been driven by titles or numbers," O'Sullivan told BBC Sport.

"I just want to play well and enjoy the game. If I happen to pick up a few titles, that's a bonus. I'm trying to master the game and have never been able to do so, so I will keep trying."

The world number one equalled Stephen Hendry's record of seven world crowns at the Crucible in 2022 and will be a firm favourite to surpass that mark after his most recent Masters triumph.

Even before his victory over Carter he had challenged his fellow top-16 rivals to "get their acts together" in order to beat him.

"I always have a good idea in February or March whether my game is good enough to win the Worlds. At the moment I'd probably say it's not good enough to be confident," O'Sullivan added.

"I could still win it, but at the moment I feel like I am having to squeeze everything out just to get a result which is hard, but I am a competitor so I will keep fighting."

'He is going to take some stopping'

After falling 6-3 behind to Carter in the Masters final, O'Sullivan won seven of the next eight frames to wrap up victory at a raucous Alexandra Palace.

Only three players - Steve Davis, Hendry and Mark Williams - have ever won the UK, Masters and World Championship titles in the same season, with Williams the most recent to do so in 2002-03.

Hendry and another former world champion, John Parrott, believe O'Sullivan has an excellent chance to emulate that feat.

Parrott told BBC Two: "He's going there [to the World Championship] as the favourite, that's for certain. It's a bigger test there, it's a lot longer and more draining mentally. But if you've won it seven times, you can win it again."

Hendry added: "It's two finals in a row of Triple Crown events where Ronnie has just pulled away at 7-7.

"He is going to take some stopping at the World Championship. I am looking for challengers who could possibly stop him taking the Triple Crown [this season] and there are not many."

Meanwhile, 40-time ranking event winner O'Sullivan says he intends to compete in the World Grand Prix which begins in Leicester on Monday before taking a two-month break from tournaments to recharge for the end of the season.

"I'll probably just play next week because it's 32 players, I've earned my way to get in that tournament," he added. "But I'll just swerve all the other tournaments now. I feel like I want a break."