Ronnie O’Sullivan explained his withdrawal from the Champion of Champions earlier this month to Eurosport.
The top snooker player in the world talked candidly about his mental health, stating that “prevention rather than the cure” is his goal. Before his bid for the UK Championship began, he stated that he “wouldn’t have been able to give my best” at the Champion of Champions.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, the top player in the world, gave an explanation for his withdrawal from the Champion of Champions earlier this month.
On November 14, he declared that he was “mentally feeling a bit drained and stressed” and would not be defending his championship at the competition.
After losing to Zhang Anda in the semi-finals of the International Championship held in China, O’Sullivan withdrew from the competition.
Four days later, he was scheduled to face Zhang once more in the first round of the Champion of Champions in Bolton.
Throughout his career, O’Sullivan has been transparent about his battles with mental health, and he went into further depth about his withdrawal in an interview with Eurosport.
For me, a lot of it is more about prevention than treatment,” he remarked. “I don’t want to get to that point where I’m thinking, ‘I’ve overdone it here, again’.”It’s not like I’m on the ground in pieces or am having a lot of trouble pulling out. I’m only aware that attending that competition will put me in a bad situation and prevent me from enjoying the game of snooker.”My main goal is to enjoy playing snooker, and I believe that in order to do so, I need to be able to train for tournaments and get adequate sleep in between them.”I was supposed to play on Wednesday afternoon, but I returned on Tuesday afternoon.
Not being in the “right frame of mind” to participate in the Champion of Champions, O’Sullivan continued.
“I don’t require the cash. I don’t require the headings. Therefore, in my case, I have to attend the competitions, enjoy myself, and feel motivated to perform.”
Tomorrow, O’Sullivan will return to action at the UK Championship in York, where he will square off against Anthony McGill.
In addition to chasing his ninth championship at the competition, the 47-year-old is also going for his first ranking title of 2023.
O’Sullivan said that the UK Championship this year seems “even more special” than usual because just 32 players are competing for one of snooker’s most prestigious titles.