Ronnie O’Sullivan, widely regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time, has revealed that reaching the pinnacle of the sport has been a bit of an anti-climax. Despite winning seven world titles, O’Sullivan says that achieving his dream has not been as fulfilling as he thought it would be. ‘I don’t regard myself as the greatest. I’m one of them, maybe. You’ve got Hendry, [Steve] Davis, and my hat’s in the ring with them,’ he said. O’Sullivan is known for his competitiveness and is always looking to improve his game. He has recently enlisted the help of coach Nic Barrow, who worked with his former coach, Frank Adamson. ‘I’ve struggled quite a bit to be fair. I know I’ve won tournaments but winning tournaments and playing to a certain standard don’t necessarily always match up,’ he said. O’Sullivan believes that working with a coach will help him to find his form and enjoy the game more. ‘I’ve tried to think how the next five or 10 years will be. If I play I’ve got to find some game, some flow, so I’ve been working with a coach, similar to the one I worked with in 2000, Frank Adamson. I’ve realised I don’t know a lot about snooker. I’ve got to stop coaching myself and just trust in someone. Tell them what I want and then go, how do I get it? It’s getting out of my own head.’ O’Sullivan admits that he doesn’t know as much about snooker as he thought he did. ‘I don’t!’ O’Sullivan said. ‘I thought I did. I know how to get a ball in a hole, I know what I need to do and I know how to compete. I know how to wing it. I’ve got an idea of what needs to happen. I know if I get this bit of wood and this ball and I do this and that, that should happen. But there’s an efficient way of doing it and I haven’t had that for two years.’ Despite his struggles, O’Sullivan is still motivated to win more titles. He is confident that he can find his form and challenge for the world championship. ‘I feel like the last 2-4 weeks I’ve been working on some stuff and I feel better about playing,’ he said. ‘I feel more excited about getting my cue out of my case. O’Sullivan will begin his World Championship campaign on Wednesday against Jackson Page. He is confident that he can overcome any obstacles in his way and win his eighth world title.
Ronnie O’Sullivan: Reaching the Pinnacle of Snooker Was an Anti-Climax, But I’m Still Striving for More Success
