Most professional snooker players might feel on top off the world if they were in Ronnie O’Sullivan’s shoes right now, but the man himself is far from content after revealing he’s going to start skipping tour events. Last Sunday, the ‘Rocket’ added The Masters title to the Shanghai Masters and UK Championship wins he’s already racked up this season, beating Ali Carter for his 23rd Triple Crown win.
O’Sullivan, 48, is now the odds-on favourite to make more history this year, as he aims for a record-breaking eighth world crown at the Crucible. And his good form continued at the World Grand Prix on Wednesday, beating Pang Junxu 4-2 in the first round at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
After his win, O’Sullivan revealed his planned schedule of the next three months, vowing to miss both the Welsh Open and German Masters, amongst other events. “I’m going to miss quite a few tournaments after this,” said O’Sullivan on ITV.
“I know I’ve won tournaments, but I’m not really happy with my game. I shouldn’t really have come here. In hindsight, I should have just bowed on this one as well.
“But I’m here now, so I’m going to give it my best shot. I’m going to try to qualify for the China event because I like the China events. That will be pretty much be me done. I’ll show up for the Players as well because that is quite a decent tournament.”
The World Open finals take place in Yushan from March 18-24, following the Players Championship in Telford next month. The world No.1 also said he’s set to enter the Tour Championship in Manchester (April 1-7) ahead of his tilt at another World Championships in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan also cited his poor form as another reason to scale back his schedule, a notion that may bemuse his rivals following his latest major final win. Instead, the man widely perceived as the greatest to ever pick up a cue will focus on non-competitive snooker due to commercial commitments.
“The main thing for me is my exhibitions,” continued O’Sullivan. “I’m contracted to do 20 to 25 exhibitions a year and I’ve got 20 to 30 days commitments with my sponsors. There’s two months there. I just play enough tournaments to get the cue out of the case.” He also added:”I’d rather play well, and get beat than play bad and win.”
O’Sullivan faces Chinese player Yuelong Zhou on Thursday. He’s beaten the world No.21 in all five of their previous meetings.
