Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘I’d always get this feeling of doom and gloom’ – Six-time world champion on best advice
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ByEurosport
Updated 13/10/2021 at 17:07 GMT
O’Sullivan has finished runner up in the last three iterations of the event, falling 9-7 to Judd Trump on each occasion. Ahead of his match against Alfie Burden on Eurosport on Tuesday, he said that the best piece of advice he ever received was that feelings are fickle. Watch the 2021 Northern Ireland Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app.
‘Feelings are fickle!’ – O’Sullivan on the best advice he has ever received
Ronnie O’Sullivan has told Eurosport that the best piece of advice he has ever received is that “feelings are fickle”.
The six-time world champion was speaking ahead of the Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
“The best piece of advice I've ever received is that feelings are fickle,” said O’Sullivan.
"I used to think that feelings lasted forever! Actually, feelings come and go and it's kind of helped me with my snooker in a way.
Because I would always get this feeling of doom and gloom and that everything was going to go wrong.
"And I've quickly realised that feelings can change from minute-to-minute. So yeah, it was quite good to know that really.”
O’Sullivan, 45, has previously said that he does not have a plan for his schedule this season and that he will play tournaments if he wants to.
“I don’t have a plan,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport earlier this week. “I will just play when I feel like it. If I don’t feel like playing, I won't.”
O’Sullivan had a packed schedule last season, but says that was on account of the travel restrictions and many events being held in Milton Keynes.
“I didn’t have to go backwards and forwards from China,” O’Sullivan said. “Logistically, normally, I can’t do the flying round the world four times in three weeks.”
The Rocket, beaten in five finals – the Scottish Open, The Players Championship, the European Masters and the Tour Championship as well as the Northern Ireland Open - last season, does not feel he is compromising his ability to challenge for titles by hand-picking his schedule.
“I am always playing catch-up but I have to accept that,” he said.” Playing half a season I am still top-16, top-eight. I need to get a result now and again, but being in the top-16 is not as important as it was. As long as you are in the top-64 you are in the draw.
I have tremendous faith in my ability that if I play well I have a good chance of winning. Even if I don’t I still have a chance, as I have won tournaments when not at my best. I never question my ability.
"Winning tournaments is a by-product of what you do. If being in five finals is a bad season, it is a compliment to my ability."
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He has also said this week that he was "very bored" during his win over Andy Hicks and less than happy with the atmosphere in Belfast.
"I kind of struggled with the table and I struggled with the atmosphere - there was really no atmosphere out there," O'Sullivan told Eurosport.
"I'm playing alright, so normally I can generate the atmosphere but, I don't know... it felt like years ago, every time we played a tournament, every match felt like a big night, like a Champions League night, whereas out there, it was poor... it was hard.
"I don't know, you've got all these games going on, you've got people walking about, you know... I struggled. It's the atmosphere. These flat draws, you've just got to hope you get through to the quarters and click into a spark.
"It was very flat out there. I was very bored out there... I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, to be honest with you. I was thinking, 'please, just don't let this go long, two-three hours'.
I was really not enjoying the atmosphere and wasn't really bothered if I won or lost, to be honest with you.
"That's not a good attitude to have, so I tried to talk myself out of it, but it is what it is, you know."
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'I wasn't bothered if I won or lost' - O'Sullivan 'struggled' in win over Hicks
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