Due to a persistent foot problem, Ronnie O’Sullivan qualifies for a trip to China.

In order to go to the tournament’s final stages, Ronnie O’Sullivan barely made it through his Barnsley World Open qualifying match against Alfie Burden.

Midway through the fourth frame, O’Sullivan, who has been granted special permission by World Snooker to wear trainers because of a foot ailment, started them off when Burden was leading by 61.

The top player in the world, who won the World Grand Prix in addition to the Masters on Sunday, then postponed the start of the fifth frame a little while to fix his shoes.

Burden drew back to 3-3 after breaking 104, but breaks of 83 and 58 gave O’Sullivan a 5-3 lead and a spot in the actual competition in China later this year.

Ronnie O’Sullivan solidified his position at the top of snooker once more on Sunday night as he raised his fourth trophy of the season. However, as he gets closer to 50, is this his finest season yet? It could be, but we can’t be certain just yet.

A week after winning his eighth Masters championship and one month after hoisting the UK Championship trophy eight times, The Rocket defeated Judd Trump 10-7 to win the World Grand Prix in Leicester on Sunday.

In addition, the world number one defeated world champion Luca Brecel, John Higgins, and Mark Selby to win the Shanghai Masters at the beginning of the season.