Ronnie O'Sullivan is a true sporting great, but snooker will be just fine when he hangs up his cue, writes Nick Metcalfe.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is a snooker colossus. Magical. Wonderful. Pure genius.
Like everyone who loves this sport, I've thrilled over the decades to O'Sullivan. Being up close to him when he's at his imperious best is an absolute privilege.
For me, I'll treasure it just as much as watching Tiger Woods at close quarters during the Open Championship, or Roger Federer on Centre Court, or Usain Bolt at the Olympics.
The debate is long over as far as I'm concerned. O'Sullivan is snooker's greatest. The numbers are on his side, but crucially the longevity is too.
Stephen Hendry, for all that he dominated the sport in such glorious fashion in the 1990s, retired first time round at the age of 43. O'Sullivan turns 50 this year and is still in and around the top of the game.
So be in no doubt, I think O'Sullivan is unbelievably special. You can put that view under lock and key.
What I'm not worried about however is a snooker future without O'Sullivan. Sporting titans come and go, and the show will always go on.
I do realise that in the case of O'Sullivan and snooker, this is one of the most significant characters you can imagine. Trust me, I've been trying to fill column inches for a long time now. I know the power of the man.
But new stars emerge, they always do. Different narratives, dramatic stories. Our beloved sports find ways to stay relevant and current.
With the legendary Woods seemingly near the end of his career now and not really challenging to win majors, do you find your enjoyment of big time men's golf has really been sullied? I'd say for the vast majority of people, the answer is no.
Federer and Serena Williams were wondrous icons of tennis, but has coverage of the grand slams - like the ongoing Australian Open - stalled in their absence? Not in the newspapers I read or websites I look at it hasn't.
Bolt sprinkled recent Olympics with stardust and his races became appointment viewing. But the track and field at the Paris Games last summer was as good as you could ever wish to see. We were entranced night after night.
And snooker will be the same. Look at last week's Masters for evidence. Of course we'd have loved O'Sullivan to play in the tournament. We were relishing the prospect of his meeting with John Higgins, before O'Sullivan withdrew from the event on medical grounds.
But I was there for much of the week and Alexandra Palace was buzzing. The place was vibrant as packed crowds witnessed marvellous deeds, like Shaun Murphy's maximum break and title triumph.
Murphy, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen, Luca Brecel, Ding Junhui. That's eight huge names off the top of my head.
Add to that exciting young guns like Si Jiahui and Wu Yize. A former world champion in Stuart Bingham. The effervescent talents of Jack Lisowski. Recent ranking event winners like Zhang Anda and Xiao Guodong.
Do we seem short of top players to carry the torch forward? We could lend a few stars out to less fortunate sports and still have plenty.
I'm not going to pretend there isn't an O'Sullivan premium. Fewer viewers tuned in for the Masters final between Murphy and Wilson last Sunday, compared with O'Sullivan against Ali Carter in 2024.
But that always happens with true greatness. American sports pundits love to use the phrase "move the needle" when it comes to Woods, and it's true.
I suspect any shortfall in viewers won't be the case for that long. The Masters is 50 years old now. We'll be celebrating half a century of the World Championship at the Crucible soon. Snooker has stood the test of time.
The sport may provide cheap television for broadcasters, as the naysayers often point out, but I hardly think the BBC would commit to showing snooker's most prestigious events for the next seven years without strong evidence that people still tune in, with or without O'Sullivan.
If you want to carry on worrying, you carry on worrying. But I honestly don't think you need to.
O'Sullivan, who has also pulled out of next week's German Masters in Berlin for medical reasons, is an extraordinary force of nature. I'm hoping he'll still be around for a long time to come.
But when he does hang up his cue, snooker will be just fine. Put your faith in the sport.