Steve Davis stokes the fire as Ronnie O'Sullivan weighs up World Snooker Championship spot

legend Steve Davis has dismissed the possibility of turning and winning the in the next few weeks. It is unclear if the Rocket will even arrive at the for his opening match after not playing professionally since January.

He confirmed that a decision would be made on April 17 or 18, less than a week before his scheduled opening match, having snapped his last cue at the Championship League. O'Sullivan , but Davis has stoked the fire by playing down chances of an eighth title.

Six-time Crucible champion Davis thinks that the sport's biggest figure won't be able to replicate his efforts from 2013, when O'Sullivan took the entire season off before winning the World Championship.

"I don't think he can at 49," Davis told . "It was a jaw-dropping thing when he did that last time, having a whole season off and winning it. That was astonishing. This would be even more astonishing. I don't think he's going to win the World Championship this year, but I'd love it if he did.

"He is still the person that we think can fly, he's the genius and we're all believers to some degree. We know he's superhuman when he's on a snooker table."

Davis feels that the standard surrounding O'Sullivan, partly due to the Rocket's influence, is stronger than it was 12 years ago. The 49-year-old is no longer the lone dominant figure in snooker, with a host of rivals in with a realistic chance of taking the top gong.

"The problem for him is, when he gave up the ground last time round he was still cutting edge," David added. "It's not so clear cut that he's cutting edge by any stretch, he's not ahead of the game anymore, unless he's on absolute top form.

"He can't just switch the switch on and blow his opponents away anymore. He needs a bit of help, so if he were to win it he'd players to not play brilliantly against him and he needs to be on top form. It's a marathon event and the older you are it takes its toll more and more."

The likes of , , and are among the leading names looking to prove Davis right - that the quality is now too high for O'Sullivan to turn up and win.

But if O'Sullivan is searching for any added motivation, he does not have to look much further than Davis' comments.