LONDON: Seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed plans to leave the UK and start a new chapter of his life in the Middle East, BBC Sport reported on Saturday.
The 49-year-old, widely regarded as the greatest snooker player in history, made the announcement after a heavy 17–7 defeat to Zhao Xintong in the semifinals of the World Championship in Sheffield on Friday.
The loss marked the end of his first tournament appearance since snapping his cue in frustration at the Championship League in January.
“I think I am going to be moving out of the UK this year,” said O’Sullivan, who is based in Essex and also runs a snooker academy in Saudi Arabia.
“I’ll be moving away to the Middle East. We’ll see how it goes, I might be back in six months. A new life somewhere else. I don’t know how that is going to pan out,” he added.
“The Rocket,” as he is known, had raised hopes of an eighth Crucible crown, which would stand alone as a modern-era record, with earlier victories over Ali Carter, Pang Junxu and Si Jiahui. But he was comfortably outplayed by former UK champion Zhao, who sealed victory with a session to spare.
Despite his long list of achievements — including a record 41 ranking titles, five more than Stephen Hendry — O’Sullivan admitted he is struggling to visualize what lies ahead.
“I will still try to play snooker, but I don’t know what the future looks like for me, really,” he said. “It is a big part of my life, but I have to try and figure out what my future looks like, whether it’s playing or not.”
O’Sullivan has spoken openly in recent years about his struggles with motivation and mental health, and previously revealed he had taken medication to deal with anxiety.
His absence from the sport for several months earlier this season prompted speculation about whether he might be winding down his career ahead of his 50th birthday in December.
At this year’s tournament, he has also faced a battle with his equipment after breaking his trusted cue — a problem he said was still unresolved.
“I don’t even know if it was the cue, the ferrule or me. There were three things,” he said. “I didn’t know where the white ball was going. I was at a loss. I won’t throw the cue. The merchandise people want it, so it will be up for sale.
“I’ve been playing like that quite a lot in practice and it’s just hard to get my head around. I can’t even fix it, that’s the problem. I know I said I’d like to try and give it two years, but if you’re going to play like that it’s pretty pointless. It’s not good.”
O’Sullivan was full of praise for his young Chinese opponent following the crushing defeat.
“We’ve got a really nice relationship, I’m always trying to help him if I can. He wanted the crowd to give me clap, but it’s his moment. I tried to get off as quick as I could because it’s his moment,” he told Sportsboom.com
“It’d be amazing if he did it. He’d be a mega star, he’s still very big in China as it is. But if he becomes world champion, he’ll be unbelievable. It will just be amazing for snooker, and his life as well.
“He can definitely get over the line. But he’ll have more of a test against the other two guys in the semis. I think that’ll be a proper test for him.”
