‘I’ve smashed a few cues’ reveals Ronnie O’Sullivan as he lifts lid on lashing out in ‘tough’ snooker moments
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN revealed he has smashed a few cues in his career as he shared how he dealt with tough moments in his career.
The seven-time world champion has experienced plenty of highs and lows in his 32-year career.
He is the most decorated snooker player of all time but there have been times when O’Sullivan has hinted at stepping away from the game
The Rocket has spoken plenty about his battles with addiction in the past and the help he has received from sports psychologist Steve Peters.
He went through a dramatic breakdown during the World Snooker Championship signal in 2022, which he went on to win to equal Stephen Hendry’s record.
O’Sullivan, 48, was able to overcome his anxiety to beat Mark Selby on that occasion but there have been times when he would go to more dramatic lengths to deal with tough moments.
He told talkSPORT: “I’ve smashed a few cues in frustration but when I worked with Steve Peters he helped me work out what was going on so I’m better at handling it.
“But I only enjoy snooker when I’m playing well. If I’m not playing well then I don’t like it but I still feel like I have to find a way to get through those tough moments.
“Some players they don’t care if they are playing well or bad, they love it they get through it and I just think I don’t know how they do it.
“I’m a bit bipolar like that. If I play well I’m buzzing, if I’m playing terrible I’m on the floor, I’m not a happy person.
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“It isn’t just about winning or losing, I wish it was. For me it’s about performance. If I get beat and feel like I’ve played good game I come off and think ‘oh I really enjoyed that,’ so it’s strange really.”
Just this month O’Sullivan was scathing of his own game as he told fans to give up hope of him winning the World Snooker Championship in March.
After crashing out of the English Open he told SunSport: “I’m absolutely useless, that’s why.
“Forget about the Worlds. I’m not even bothered to be honest with you, if I’m going to play rubbish I might as well play left-handed.
“Play left-handed and enjoy it, but be useless, or play right-handed, be useless and not enjoy it.
“I haven’t got long, I’m not going to deny it, I’m not playing well enough, there’s no point in even worrying about it – I’ve just accepted it now which is quite a nice place to be really.”