John Virgo claims Ronnie O'Sullivan is under more pressure than normal ahead of this year's World Snooker Championship.
The Rocket is aiming to win a record-breaking eighth title as well as claim all three Triple Crown events in a single season for the first time.
O'Sullivan has won five tournaments so far in this campaign but lost in the final of the Tour Championship to Mark Williams last Sunday.
The 48-year-old was far from his best against a sensational Williams, who won the last seven frames to complete a 10-5 win.
Ronnie O'Sullivan is under more strain than normal ahead of the World Snooker Championship, says John Virgo
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O'Sullivan will head to the Crucible later this month and Virgo agrees he is the man to beat.
But the former player and commentator says O'Sullivan will know he cannot afford to play like he did in Manchester last weekend, which he thinks would have been a 'shock to the system'.
Virgo told the Metro: "It’s hard to look past Ronnie, as he’s proved in the UK and the Masters, on the big occasion he does really produce.
"He’ll be a little bit disappointed after his Tour Championship defeat. Very reminiscent of when he lost to Luca Brecel in last year’s World Championship.
"He lost seven frames on the trot and never made any sizeable breaks, which is amazing.
"He did the same against Mark Williams in the final of the Tour Championship, with no sign of that coming at all.
"So for those people who think Ronnie’s only got to turn up and if he puts his mind to it he wins, that’s so far from the truth.
"He’s got to be at his best. Ronnie will know that, but it’ll be a shock to the system, losing as he did."
Virgo says the carrot of being the first player to win eight World Championships adds more 'strain' on O'Sullivan's shoulders.
He added: "Ronnie’s entitled to be favourite, no one questions his ability, but as I say he’s got to put that last defeat out of his mind.
"And of course he’s got the added pressure of looking for the modern-day record of eight world titles.
"So that puts him under a little bit more strain than he would normally be under.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan is aiming to win the World Snooker Championship for a record eighth time
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"But he’s coped with things like that before, so I expect him to put up a good show."
Virgo now lives in Spain and says O'Sullivan visited him last year.
But the superstar was not keen to speak about his loss to Brecel at the 2023 tournament in Sheffield.
Virgo said: "Funnily enough he came over to see me in the summer and I asked him what happened against Luca Brecel in that match.
Ronnie O'Sullivan lost in the final of the Tour Championship last weekend
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"He said, 'I don’t want to talk about it!' So it still wrangles with him.
"For the greatest player we’ve ever seen to play seven frames and not make a 30 break, nobody could have foreseen that.
"He is human like the rest of us, but it was hard to believe. I can only assume it was the pressure of the tournament. Maybe he was looking too far ahead, who knows.
"But he can’t afford bad sessions like that because the competition is there. If you have a bad session you’re going to get walloped, so to speak, which is what he did."