RONNIE O’SULLIVAN claims his “nightmare decision” to pull out of the Masters was due to exhaustion – and after he “lost the plot” by snapping his cue last week.
The Rocket, 49, was set to face John Higgins – a fellow Class of 92 icon – in the first round on Sunday afternoon.
AlamyRonnie O’Sullivan announced his withdrawal from the Masters last week[/caption]
PAThe snooker icon has revealed his reason for pulling out of the tournament[/caption]
But on Friday morning, the defending champion sensationally quit the 16-man event, allowing Australian cueist Neil Robertson the chance to appear as a last-minute substitute.
O’Sullivan spent most of Christmas in the Far East, playing a series of lucrative but tiring exhibitions.
And the seven-time world champion was so angry with his game at a behind-closed-doors event in Leicester, he threw his cue in the BIN in disgust.
The world No.3 broke his silence of his withdrawal in a chat with Eurosport ahead of Monday evening’s Last-16 match between Ali Carter and Mark Selby.
Asked how he was feeling, he replied: “I’m alright. Not too bad. It was a tough decision to withdraw.
“It was a nightmare decision really to make. If you had asked me on Sunday ‘was I ready to play?’ I would have probably been okay to play.
“It’s such a massive tournament and I have been on this three-week trip away.
“I think I just exhausted myself. A lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that, it just got a bit too much really.
Inside Ronnie’s colourful career
FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O’Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
The seven-time world champion makes almost as big an impact away from the table as on it.
O’Sullivan has three children – two daughters and a son.
And the Rocket’s on-off relationship with British actress Laila Rouass has also hit the headlines.
He has opened up on battles with his weight and addiction.
While the controversial cueist reckons he wasted NINE YEARS of his career by partying too hard.
Despite being worth £14million, O’Sullivan is renowned for his love of canal boats and snubbing flashy cars.
His rivalry with fellow star Judd Trump has been branded ‘snooker’s greatest feud’.
And Ali Carter had his nose knocked out of joint by the Rocket in their infamous ‘Snotgate’ row.
Check out all our latest Ronnie O’Sullivan articles.
“I mean I lost the plot on Thursday. Snapped my cue. So that is unplayable. I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was not to play.
“It’s such a big tournament, I thought that whoever would come in should at least have a couple of days’ notice.”
O’Sullivan won the Masters for a record-extending eighth time 12 months ago — he beat Carterf 10-7 in a bad-tempered final — but given his poor recent form, he would not have been favourite to retain the Paul Hunter Trophy this week.
For the rest of this season, as the players build-up towards the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in April, he will have to get used to a new piece of equipment.
The Essex potter said: “The cue was in the bin, one of those wheelie bins.
“My mate said: ‘Look, we cannot leave that here.’ So he got it out. Brought it with us.
“I have got a couple of other cues that I have to start practising with.
“Obviously there are some tournaments coming up. I’ll continue to play. So I need to get used to the cue now.
“I’d love to play John Higgins here. This is an unbelievable tournament.
“Top 16, best players in the world, an amazing crowd. I have won this tournament many times. Been in 14 finals.
“I’d love to come here and play again. Hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to win the trophy again. That would be great.”
AlamyRonnie O’Sullivan has been dealing with exhaustion[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
