Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin the defence of his English Open title this week as he closes in on becoming the first player to make 1,000 century breaks.

The five-time world champion is 50 short of the landmark after reaching 950 en route to retaining his Shanghai Masters title last month.

O’Sullivan, who plays Kurt Maflin in the opening round in Crawley, has joked that he plans to get to 999 century breaks and make everyone wait for the 1,000th.

In an interview with Eurosport, O’Sullivan said: “I’m going to get to 999 and keep you all waiting. I will get a right kick out of that and enjoy that.”