Ronnie O'Sullivan admits he 'lost the plot' as he opens up on 'nightmare' decision to pull out of the Masters on medical grounds days after mid-match meltdown
- The 49-year-old has previously withdrawn from tournaments on health grounds
- O'Sullivan missed his final group game during last week's Champions League tie
Ronnie O'Sullivan has opened up on the circumstances that forced him to pull out of the Masters on medical grounds just two days before the start of the tournament.
The snooker icon has struggled for form of late and withdrew from the Champions League in Leicester last week before his final group game on the heels of a meltdown in his defeat to Robert Milkins.
O'Sullivan smashed his cue on the table after missing a simple pot during the 3-2 contest, swiftly apologising to the referee and his opponent after the incident.
But in another notable moment during the match, O'Sullivan appeared to perform a lewd gesture by spreading his legs, sticking his tongue out and moving his cue back and forth at his waist.
The Rocket last missed the Masters - where he receives huge support from his home crowd - in 2020, but has previously passed over tournaments for medical reasons including his mental health and wellbeing.
Last season, O’Sullivan missed the German Masters to prioritise his ‘heath and wellbeing’ and pulled out of the Welsh Open due to ‘anxiety’. He also withdrew from last month’s Scottish Open one day before he was due to play, having also skipped the British Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open this campaign.
Ronnie O'Sullivan admitted that he 'lost the plot' during his match against Robert Milkins last week - forcing him to pull out of the Masters
The snooker icon whacked his cue on the table and seemed to perform a lewd gesture before losing in Leicester
But while O'Sullivan continues to keep his cards close to his chest, he was keen to share a few details with Eurosport as he revealed what it took to make the 'nightmare decision.'
"If you had asked me on Sunday if I was ready to play, I'd probably have been OK. It is such a massive tournament,' O'Sullivan said.
'"I've obviously been on this three-week trip (playing exhibition events in Asia), away playing, and I think I just exhausted myself.
'(There was) a lot of pressure while I was away and the build-up of all that kind of got too much. I lost the plot on Thursday and snapped my cue so that's unplayable, so I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was not to play.
'It's such a big tournament I felt whoever was going to come in should at least have a couple of days' notice.'
O'Sullivan confirmed that he is now 'all right' but noted that he will have to adjust to using a new cue, after breaking his previous one and leaving the remains in a 'wheelie bin'.
'My mate said we can't leave that there, so he got it out and brought it with us,' O'Sullivan added.
'I've got a couple of other cues that I can start practising with because there's some tournaments coming up. I'm going to continue to play so I need to get used to the cue now.'
O'Sullivan's admission of exhaustion comes on the heels of the player calling taking up the sport his 'worst ever decision'.
O'Sullivan has been travelling around Asia playing exhibition matches over the last month
The 49-year-old shared in a recent interview that taking up the individual sport was among his worst ever decisions
In an interview which took place before his Champions League meltdown, O'Sullivan was blunt about the impact the sport has had on his life.
'In some ways, I wish I had a different job,' O;Sullivan told Telegraph Sport. 'I’m fortunate in many ways, because it’s been good to me, but I wish I’d been good at something else. Something more educational, maybe a scientist or something more interesting.
'I found just being on my own, it’s quite hard, because you’ve got to motivate yourself, you’ve got to push yourself, you’ve got to figure out all the answers yourself.
'If I was in a team environment, I think I'd have enjoyed that camaraderie.'
