The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rocket crashes out but vows to fight on
SNOOKER: Fivetime champion won’t quit the sport until he hits 50
Ronnie O’Sullivan has vowed to play until at least the age of 50 and accepts he will never get a break from the snooker spotlight.
The 42-year-old landed his fifth Crucible title in 2013, but his wait for a sixth goes on after he was knocked out in the second round of the Betfred World Championship by Ali Carter on Saturday.
Their powder keg collision exploded when the players clashed in the 19th frame, O’Sullivan appearing to barge into Carter at one stage and calling him “Mr Angry”.
It was the latest in a long line of controversies in O’Sullivan’s career which has spanned more than 25 years and contained a host of retirement threats.
He is not thinking along those lines now.
“I’ll keep pitching up, I’ll keep playing, and I’ll probably be here until I’m 50 so get used to me,” he said.
He challenged reporters to show a sense of perspective, highlighting its insignificance in the context of world news events such as the Syria crisis.
But O’Sullivan knows he remains the sport’s big attraction, and added: “The story’s going to keep going because until I die, you’re going to have to keep writing stuff about that.
“You can’t say we’ve had 25 years of Ronnie, can we just push him aside?
“I’m here to stay. I’d rather be like a John Higgins and go under the radar, but it just isn’t possible.”
Carter complained before the match that it had become ‘The Ronnie O’Sullivan Show’, and the 38-year-old had a point. Even O’Sullivan, who will spend the rest of the tournament working on television coverage of the event, did not quibble.
“Every sport has their Tiger Woods. I happen to be the figure in snooker,” O’Sullivan said.
“I try to carry that as best as I can, but if other people have a problem with that then they have to deal with that themselves.”
Meanwhile, snooker’s top stars have been urged to watch out for each other after a number of high-pedigree players reported mental health worries.
Five-time world champion O’Sullivan has frequently spoken about his struggles with depression and how he finds running therapeutic.
Reigning Masters champion Mark Allen has given candid accounts of how life on tour has left him in dark places.
English cueman Mitchell Mann has also been struck hard by anxiety and depression. There have been other cases, too, prompting the sport’s authorities to act.
Mann, 26, withdrew from the Betfred World Championship qualifiers earlier this month when trailing Ryan Day 7-1 in the second round due to illness.
“I’ve kept very close to Mitchell Mann,” said Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
“I did speak to him (after the qualifiers) and I felt very sorry for him.
“Snooker is a very solitary sport. When you start taking people on their own to strange countries, it is a risk for us.
“If someone’s not turned up for breakfast one morning, ask where are they?”
The WPBSA has ties with the Silence of Suicide organisation, and now offers confidential and professional support to suffering players.
Allen, through to the Crucible quarterfinals this year, was not surprised to hear Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick recently reveal trips with England had left him depressed.
United fan Allen said: “People will probably say he’s got a cheek to talk because he earns so much money, but the money doesn’t help.
“Being away from your family and friends regularly is not a nice feeling
“For year on year I was just locking myself away in my room and I didn’t want to see anyone, even my friends.
“Now I try to get out and socialise for dinner just to get a bit of conversation.
“It’s such a hard sport at the best of times so you don’t want to make it harder for yourself.”