ROCKET: LESS IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR HIGGINS
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has urged long-term rival John Higgins to cut back his schedule to rekindle his love for snooker.
Scots star Higgins recently admitted he “hates” the sport after suffering successive World Championship Final defeats.
But ahead of next week’s UK Championship in York, one of the three major tournaments, O’Sullivan advised the Wishaw Wizard to follow his example.
He said: “John’s not enjoying it at the moment but I don’t think it’s the game he’s not enjoying. I think it’s all the travelling and everything else that goes with it.
“It’s hard when you get to our age. I fell out of love with the game last year but then won five tournaments and I’m loving it now. I pick and choose which events I play.”
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has revolutionised the game but some players have complained about burnout because of a packed schedule. The Rocket has been critical of Hearn despite the increased prize money and now cherry-picks his events regardless of whether ranking points are on offer.
It’s served the five-time world champion well this season having won the Shanghai Masters and Champion of Champions titles.
He added: “I said to John, don’t get sucked into chasing these ranking points.
“I’m not chasing ranking points any more, it’s a waste of time. A tournament without me and John is a lot less anyway so we should just forget rankings and play.
“If someone offered me last season again now I’d say you can keep it because it was just dashing from one place to another and I didn’t enjoy it.
“I’m just going to play for my fans, try to be in good form.”
O’Sullivan kicks off his title defence against Luke Simmonds on Thursday while Higgins face Thailand’s Dechawat Poomjaeng on Wednesday.