'Not happy' Ronnie O'Sullivan intends to withdraw from snooker tournaments

Snooker Snooker NEWZMOLE January 19, 2024 0 Comments

‘Not happy’ Ronnie O’Sullivan intends to withdraw from snooker tournaments

If they were in Ronnie O’Sullivan’s position right now, the majority of professional snooker players might be ecstatic, but the man isn’t happy about it having said he will begin missing tour tournaments.

The ‘Rocket’ defeated Ali Carter last Sunday to capture his 23rd Triple Crown, adding the championship to the victories he has already accrued this season at the Shanghai Masters and UK Championship.

The 48-year-old O’Sullivan is currently the overwhelming favorite to create further history this year as he goes for an unprecedented ninth global title at the Crucible. He also defeated Pang Junxu 4-2 in the opening round of the World Grand Prix on Wednesday at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, demonstrating his sustained good form.

Following his victory, O’Sullivan disclosed his three-month itinerary, pledging to skip the Welsh Open and German Masters among other tournaments. “After this, I’m going to miss a lot of tournaments,” O’Sullivan stated on ITV.

“Although I’ve won competitions, I’m not very satisfied with my performance. Honestly, I shouldn’t have came here. In retrospect, I ought should have bowed on this one too.

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 Players Championship in Telford next month will be followed by the World Open finals in Yushan from March 18–24. In addition, the top-ranked player said that he will compete in the Tour Championship in Manchester (April 1–7) before going after another World Championship in Sheffield.

O’Sullivan gave his poor form as a another justification for cutting back on his schedule, which may confuse his opponents in light of his most recent major final victory. Due to business obligations, the man who is regarded as the best cueist of all time will instead concentrate on non-competitive snooker.

My exhibitions are the most important thing to me,” O’Sullivan said. “I have agreements with my sponsors that span 20 to 30 days, and I’m committed to do 20 to 25 exhibitions annually. It lasts for two months. I only participate in enough competitions to remove the cue from the picture. “I’d rather play well and get beat than play poorly and win,” he continued.

On Thursday, O’Sullivan plays Chinese player Yuelong Zhou. The world No. 21 has lost to him in each of their last five encounters.