Ronnie O’Sullivan is no longer snooker’s highest earner – with the Rocket watching his winnings drop by £800,000 this season.
Icon O’Sullivan has endured a difficult campaign, and pulled out the Masters just two days before the tournament got underway, with his earnings plummeting as a result of a lack of success. In 2023/24 the Rocket was the sport’s biggest earner, making just over £1million – but that has dropped to just £265,600 this campaign. The 49-year-old broke his silence after withdrawing from the Masters telling Eurosport: “I’ve lost the plot.”
His place at the top of the prize money table has been taken by world No.1 Judd Trump, and figures compiled by OLBG show that the Ace in the Pack has earned a whopping £1.22m this season already, more than double that of the second highest earner Mark Williams – who has picked up £513,800.
A stunning year has seen Trump win 41 of 49 matches and two tournaments, and he says he fully focused on World Championship glory in May – with his winnings allowing him to pick and choose where he competes, which included dropping out of the Scottish Open in December. In 2024 world champion Kyren Wilson scooped £500,000 for victory at the Crucible. And the gap between O’Sullivan and Trump could grow even further if the world No.1 can claim the Masters this month, which comes with a record purse of £350,000.
Wilson was third in the prize money table for the season winning £497,400 to date, with Mark Allen’s £460,100 placing him fourth. Ali Carter, the sport’s sixth highest earner in 2023/24 with £425,000 in winnings, is the biggest faller – with The Captain now ranking 20th for the season, collecting £138,000 to date.
Whilst O’Sullivan might’ve seen his earnings this season drop, the 49-year-old great remains the sport’s highest ever earner. Up until May of last year he had taken home over £14m in prize money across his glittering 30 years professional career, well clear of the £9.8m earned by Scots hero John Higgins, and £8.8m Stephen Hendry accumulated through his time as a player. Trump’s £7.5m by last May has been added to substantially since then however, and, at just 35 with prize money ever-increasing, he could now be the main threat to O’Sullivan’s career total.
Snooker’s biggest earners 2024/25
- 1 – Judd Trump – £1,220,200
- 2 – Mark Williams – £513,800
- 3 – Kyren Wilson – £503,800
- 4 – Mark Allen – £460,100
- 5 – Mark Selby – £335,500
- 6 – Shaun Muprhy – £334,400
- 7 – Xiao Guodong – £334,100
- 8 – Ding Junhui – £328,500
- 9 – Ronnie O’Sullivan – £265,600
- 10 – Si Jiahui – £263,800