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Ronnie O’Sullivan opens up on ‘addictive nature’ ahead of World Championship: ‘As long as I’m clean and sober’
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Published 09/04/2023 at 12:36 GMT+1
Ronnie O’Sullivan will be chasing a record-breaking eighth world title at the Crucible when the World Snooker Championship gets underway in Sheffield on April 16. Should he win it, it would further burnish his status as snooker’s GOAT. Ahead of the tournament, though, he said that his mental well-being is his paramount concern and anything else is a bonus as long as he is “clean and sober”.
Unseen footage: O’Sullivan breaks down in tears as seventh world title sinks in
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ronnie O’Sullivan heads to the Crucible chasing a record eighth world title.
Ahead of snooker's blue-riband event, the 47-year-old was in reflective mood and has opened up on addiction, the processes he has put in place to ward against it and his continued prioritisation of his mental well-being.
The 47-year-old beat Judd Trump 18-13 in the 2022 final that saw him draw alongside Stephen Hendry with a seventh world crown.
O’Sullivan cut an emotional figure after the final and, in an interview ahead of his latest tilt at further burnishing his status as snooker’s GOAT, said the achievement went far beyond winning a title.
“If you’d asked me in 1998 or 1999 where I’d be in 24, 25 years, I’d never have said, ‘Winning the World Championship, feeling good, come through whatever you’ve come through’,” began O’Sullivan in an interview with The Sun.
“You know, seeing my kids are doing great and they’re growing into little adults.
“If you’d asked me, I’d have said, ‘Nah. There’s no way’.
“A lot of the emotion was reflecting back on, ‘OK, I’ve made it’. And I don’t mean winning a tournament. I mean I’ve made it to 47."
O’Sullivan has spoken previously about his struggles with addiction, telling Eurosport’s The Breakdown podcast that the period, which “lasted quite a few years”, was "horrendous".
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‘It was horrendous’ – O’Sullivan opens up about addictions which cost him ‘a few years'
Video credit: TNT Sports
In his latest interview, O’Sullivan spoke on the power of addiction and the processes he has put in place to ward against it.
'As long as I’m clean and sober'
“Addiction is a powerful thing. I’m an addict. I know that," he said.
“I don’t have my issues with it any more. I channel it into running or the gym.
“So when a lot of people go, ‘Why is he in the gym?’ Mate, that gym could have been a crack house. I just choose to go to the gym.
“I choose to run in the forest. I choose to do everything that keeps me away from pubs, drinking, partying.
“My mate once said, ‘If you stay outside a barbers long enough, you’ll end up getting a haircut’.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan clasps a seventh world snooker title at the Crucible Theatre.
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“I have this addictive nature. It has been good for me in my snooker.
“It has been a massive force and drive but it needs to be managed.
“I need to be near gyms, running clubs, running people — and when I say being here now, that for me is winning.
“If you don’t have a good family behind you, it’s easy to go off the rails.
“Anything for me now, I just see it is a bonus. As long as I’m clean and sober.
“As long as I’m in a good place mentally. My well-being is good. That’s rule No. 1.
“Rule No. 2 is to remember rule No. 1. And there is no rule three.”
The World Snooker Championship runs from April 15 to May 1 at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.
You can stream the World Championship live and on-demand via eurosport.com and discovery+.
Reports and reaction from the best of the action will be available on the Eurosport website and the Eurosport app.
WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
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The World Snooker Championship is live on discovery+, Eurosport, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com.
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