RON ANSWER
‘I don’t know much about snooker’, says Ronnie O’Sullivan as legend prepares to launch bid for eighth World Championship
O'Sullivan has taken a surprise step to address his lack of knowledge ahead of the World Championships
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN has admitted that he does not "know much" about snooker.
The Rocket has dominated the sport for the last two decades and is set to launch his bid for an eighth World Championship triumph.
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O'Sullivan, 48, has won 41 titles in his career and made 1,206-century breaks.
The snooker star, who was first crowned world champion in 2001, shows no signs of slowing down, having won two of the last four world titles.
He has now linked-up with a former coach with the aim of improving his gameplay because he believes he still hasn't mastered the sport.
O'Sullivan will put his new approach to the test against qualifier Jackson Page on Wednesday in the first round of the World Championship, which gets under way at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on Saturday.
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He said: "I've been trying to think how I want the next five to ten years to be. I've been working with a coach and we've done a lot of testing in some ways and I've realised I don't know much about snooker.
"I thought I did. I know how to get a ball in a hole, and I know how to compete and win it, and I've got an idea of what needs to happen. I know I have to get this bit of wood and this ball and if I do this, that should happen.
"But I haven't been that efficient in the last few years and I've just tried to accept that I needed a bit of help, so I've gone back to a coach that worked with my old coach, and I'm going back through the stuff that worked for me."
O'Sullivan's coach, Nic Barrow, is a veteran figure on the world snooker circuit and runs a training programme called The Snooker Gym which vows to "help frustrated amateurs with any problem in diagnosis".
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While O'Sullivan is far from a frustrated amateur, he is still unhappy with his form despite heading to Sheffield as the world number one after winning five ranking events this year.
After frequent hints at retirement over the years, the cueman claims he could play on for another decade and needs to make changes to ensure his longevity.
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"I like to win and I've got another five to ten years, and I've got to enjoy the work that I'm doing," he said.
"I know I've won tournaments but winning and playing to a certain standard don't always match up. I've played a lot better and not won anything all season.
"It doesn't really make sense but I haven't really enjoyed it, I've just been struggling to get through the ball smoothly.
"Being happy with the game is what it's all about, or if that's not the case, I've got to get around not playing well and accept it, but I'm not good at accepting it."
World Snooker Championship draw 2024
Here is the full draw for the Snooker World Championship:
- Luca Brecel v David Gilbert
- Robert Milkins v Pang Junxu
- Ali Carter v Stephen Maguire
- Shaun Murphy v Lyu Haotian
- Mark Selby v Joe O'Connor
- Kyren Wilson v Dominic Dale
- John Higgins v Jamie Jones
- Mark Allen v Robbie Williams
- Judd Trump v Hossein Vafaei
- Tom Ford v Ricky Walden
- Zhang Anda v Jak Jones
- Mark Williams v Si Jiahui
- Ding Junhui v Jack Lisowki
- Gary Wilson v Stuart Bingham
- Barry Hawkins v Ryan Day
- Ronnie O'Sullivan v Jackson Page
