Jimmy White has backed Ronnie O'Sullivan to win 10 world titles after he warned his snooker rivals that he is "not going anywhere yet."
The Rocket trounced world No 10 Luca Brecel 6-1 to get off to the flying start in his pursuit of an eighth Masters title at Alexandra Palace on Monday.
World No 1 O'Sullivan already cemented his status as the undisputed greatest player ever with a record-equalling seventh World Championship victory in May.
The 47-year-old remains the man to beat in snooker and was in ominous form against Brecel as he targets an incredible 22nd Triple Crown trophy this weekend. And six-time world finalist White insists O'Sullivan can remarkably dominate the sport into his fifties by claiming at least three more wins at the Crucible.
“Ronnie can win 10 World Championships, easy,” White told Eurosport. "We never thought we would see anyone better than Steve Davis, then we never thought we would see anyone better than Stephen Hendry.
"If we will see someone better than Ronnie O’Sullivan, I don’t know, but he is the greatest ever for me.”
White's assertion that O'Sullivan can reach double figures in world title triumphs comes after he revealed that he is here to stay at the very top of the elite game.
"I'm enjoying every moment," he said after thrashing Brecel. "I might say I don't care but actually there is a very good competitor there. I'll never lose that so the players can keep expecting me to come back for more. I'm not going anywhere yet."
O'Sullivan has often flirted with the idea of retirement throughout his career and has maintained a rhetoric of ambivalence towards his sport in recent years.
But while he has been criticised for his apparent indifference over his results, O'Sullivan's positive post-match comments prove he is in the right headspace to achieve even more success on the baize in the near future.
“Snooker is not the be-all and end-all. I love it, I enjoy it and I love competing, but I also enjoy my life as well and it’s just getting that balance right," he added.
“I don’t want to be defined by snooker or disappointed if I don’t do well at snooker. I think I’ve enjoyed the last 10-12 years of my snooker more than I ever have, I wish I had done it years ago.”
