Ronnie O'Sullivan reveals why he craves 'ultimate pressure' ahead of UK Championship title bid – 'I love snooker'
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ByEurosport
Published 24/11/2023 at 10:11 GMT
Snooker GOAT Ronnie O'Sullivan has regained his love for snooker ahead of his quest for a record eighth UK title in York. The world No. 1 lifted the UK title in 1993, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2014, 2017 and 2018. He opens his campaign against Anthony McGill on Tuesday. "I love playing. I love snooker," said O'Sullivan. Stream the UK Championship live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
Watch the moment O'Sullivan wins Shanghai Masters
Ronnie O'Sullivan is adamant he needs the sensation of feeling under "extreme pressure" ahead of his quest for a record eighth UK Championship title at the York Barbican.
The world No. 1 feels he has regained his "love" for snooker 18 months after equalling Stephen Hendry's modern day record of seven Crucible titles with a rousing 18-13 final win over Judd Trump in Sheffield.
When asked to sum up why the feeling of playing competitive snooker gives him more satisfaction than media work or exhibitions, O'Sullivan insists the fire continues to burn brightly inside him on the cusp of turning 48 two days after the UK concludes.
"I could go and get a job doing podcasts. I could work on Eurosport. I can go and do other bits in China, but I’m never going to get that feeling," he said in The Telegraph.
“On your own. Under the most extreme pressure. Your back against the wall and you’ve got to go out there and perform.
"That’s the ultimate pressure. I want that high. I love competing. I love playing. I love snooker.”
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O’Sullivan seconds away from record-breaking century in mesmerising break
The snooker GOAT has been drawn against world No. 21 Anthony McGill in the last 32 of the UK Championship with their best-of-11 frame contest live on Eurosport and discovery+ at 13:00 UK time on Tuesday. However, he will return to screens before that when he appears in the Eurosport studio on Saturday afternoon, on air from 13:00 UK time.
The 39-time ranking event winner admits he toiled to regain his passion for the sport after the exacting nature of his run to a seventh victory at the World Championship, 21 years after his first Crucible triumph.
“A lot of the desire went. I just genuinely didn’t want to go near a snooker table," he said. "I’d achieved something so big. I went 18 months just hating it. For about six, seven, eight months, I didn’t go on a practice table.
“I’d go to a club, look at a table and think, ‘I can’t get my cue out’. I’d never done that in my whole career. I was, ‘F***, maybe I’ve hit my moment’. I thought, ‘There is no forcing it. I want to keep playing for the next 10 years if I can’. So I just walked away.
"Then, come (this) August, I thought, ‘I’ve got to go to Shanghai. If I’m still feeling like I don’t want to go near a table now, probably the game is up’. But then I started to enjoy trying to get my game back into good shape.”
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‘He can’t let him go!’ – O’Sullivan embraces Trump after winning seventh title
O'Sullivan emerged victorious in claiming the elite Shanghai Masters and a £210,000 winner's cheque with an 11-9 final win over Luca Brecel after overcoming old foes Ali Carter (6-3), John Higgins (6-5) and Mark Selby (10-7).
“I’m not surprised to be world No 1,” he said. “If I thought I was getting bashed up and couldn’t do any better, I just wouldn’t play. No chance. But while I’m able to find ways of competing, it’s not a bad life. Gets me out of the house. I’ll pick and choose the tournaments where I’ll dig deep.
"The other ones I’ll play for the fun. I make it work.”
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