Snooker gets toxic with bitching and moaning - I did it for a while! But I stopped and feel great

NOW O’SULLIVAN HAS A LICENCE TO CHILL

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RONNIE O’SULLIVAN insists snooker’s ‘toxic’ side almost drove him out of the game.

But the Rocket is now a happy man going into this week’s UK Championship, bidding to lift the trophy for an eighth time.

“I am feeling very relaxed and enjoying life,” said the six-time world champion, who has a tough opening match tomorrow against twotime ranking-event winner Michael White.

“I do feel like I am on holiday at tournaments these days. And I try to remove myself from that toxicity that I feel is sometimes around snooker.

“You get a lot of people bitching and moaning – and I was one of them for a while. I did it for about two years before making a conscious decision that I couldn’t live my life like this, and it was the best thing I ever did.

“As long as there is a tournament and a table, I’m OK.

“There are a lot of things I would change about the game and I have talked about them in the past, but I don’t any more.

“Certain things happened and I thought it was so toxic that I had no choice but to become more detached. I was able to remove myself and guide myself in another direction.

“Out of everything I do, snooker would be the first thing I would give up if one had to go. I wouldn’t give up anything else to play snooker.

“The fact is it’s my personal choice and I still love playing. I love the buzz, I love competing, I only play because I really enjoy it.”

O’sullivan, who will turn 46 on the day of the final in York, can sometimes play down his array of achievements.

But he admits that one burning ambition is to set a mark for wins in snooker’s ‘Big Three’ that can never be beaten.

The UK Championship, the Masters and the Betfred World Championship form the game’s Triple Crown and O’sullivan (left) already has 20 of them, more than anyone else.

He added: “The final is on my birthday this year – so who knows if I can celebrate that in style. Obviously one of my goals is to leave some records that will be very tough to beat, and 20 Majors is already a good benchmark.

“Records are there to be broken but, if I can add one, two or three majors to that list, then I really do think

23 Majors would be a tough one to beat for anyone.”

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN is an ambassador for Eurosport.

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