Rocket blasts snooker

In an extraordinary outburst, O'Sullivan said he was disillusioned with the state of the professional game.

The maverick 33-year-old said Cowell - who masterminded hit shows such as The X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent - could revive the sport, which he said has become "boring".

"I feel like I'm in a sport that has had its good days. It's s**t," he said.

"It is on a really downward spiral... It just seems to be going backwards, nothing seems to be happening.

"It just feels boring going to tournaments."

The maverick O'Sullivan added that he believes the sport needs a new direction to recapture its glory days.

"I think it needs someone like Barry Hearn or Simon Cowell with entrepreneurial skills, someone who's more up to date in the modern world, that's a bit more dynamic," added the world champion.

"The game is dying and unless something happens I ain't going to these tournaments for £30,000.

"I love the game and I'm in great shape physically and mentally, but I've got to the stage where I don't really care if I play or not.

"I don't really want to go through the rest of my life like that. So I've got to make a decision on what I want to do. Although I'm through and enjoyed that game, long-term-wise I don't really know."

O'Sullivan also revealed he had deliberately broken his previous cue on Friday in a desperate bid to give himself a reason not to have to play this week.

"I just thought, 'How can I stop playing or give myself an excuse to stop playing?' Because it's very hard. It's either get rid of the table or snap the cue.

"When I did it, I thought 'Was that really wise?'. It was quite fun doing it, I really went to town. It was really fantastic. It felt really good. It wasn't easy to snap it, I wish I'd recorded it, put it on YouTube."

O'Sullivan's remarks came after his 6-5 victory over Joe Perry in the first round of the Masters at Wembley.