Ronnie O’Sullivan has bluntly declared he’s just “not a very good player anymore” amid claims that he could decide to hang up his cue sooner rather than later. The seven-time world champion was in World Grand Prix action this week, but suffered a 5-3 defeat against Xiao Guodong in the last 16.
It’s now over two years since O’Sullivan last won a ranking tournament, with the Rocket having reduced his schedule in order to manage the latter stages of his career. Across his last four tournaments, O’Sullivan has just two victories to his name, most recently defeating Joe O’Connor in Hong Kong before losing to Xiao.
And after his latest loss, O’Sullivan believes his confidence has taken an almighty beating of late. He told the South China Morning Post: “There was no rustiness, I felt relaxed … I’m just not a very good player anymore. Deep down, I enjoy playing. I have to accept [I’m not as good as I was] and find a way to keep playing without it driving me crazy.
“I have to manage my frustrations, and hope the snooker gods will be kind and put me to rest when they decide the time is right… I have this ability to make people play badly. If I’m bad, they’re waiting for me to play well, but sometimes I don’t.”
On his increased family time, O’Sullivan added: “All the times I don’t play, it’s because they’re on holiday and I get to see them. I’ve had my career, I just want to keep playing and enjoy moments with them. I’m sure I’d get wild cards if I fell out of the top 32.”
“Maybe if get to the quarters of the Worlds, you never know. It’s a different animal, that tournament, once you get to that stage, anybody can win it really. So, yeah, I think that would be one last ambition left in snooker – to get the eighth World. It would be 8-8-8 [Worlds, Masters, UK Championship]. Lucky for the Chinese, they love a number 8. That would be nice. That would be great to do that.”