Ronnie O’Sullivan has talked about his driving force behind an impending snooker competition.
According to Ronnie O’Sullivan, if he hadn’t had his “arm twisted” by sponsors, he might not have participated in the Tour Championship next month. The Rocket is ramping up his preparation for the World Snooker Championship after winning the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and taking home a cool £250,000.
In recent years, the 48-year-old has taken more control over his schedule and has made it clear that he would rather compete overseas than in UK competitions. O’Sullivan may not have originally planned to compete in the Tour Championship in Manchester next month, but he has since announced his desire to do so.
O’Sullivan told the WST, “I’m going to keep playing and having fun with it. “I’m excited to travel to China the following week. I’m prepared to perform well in this tournament, as well as the one in China, and the Manchester one, of course, because my sponsors have put a lot of pressure on me to perform well because it would mean a great deal to them.
“Due to the sponsors and all of their support for these events, I’m really going to give it my all for the next four tournaments.”
The 12-man competition comes just after the World Open, which begins on March 18 in Yushan, China. This means O’Sullivan will have a hectic few weeks leading up to competing in the Crucible. Before going back to the UK, he will perform in an exhibition event in Hong Kong with artists including Judd Trump and Mark Williams.
Due to sponsorship interference, O’Sullivan withdrew from a number of British events this season, including the Scottish and Welsh Opens, but he still promised to compete in Manchester. He even threatened to give up snooker entirely last year if he was not permitted to put playing abroad first.
Leave a Reply