Ronnie O’Sullivan reveals he is ‘not enjoying snooker’ so far this season at UK Championship

Updated 14/11/2022 at 13:59 GMT

World No. 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has opened up on how he is “not enjoying” snooker this season, despite being the reigning world champion and winning the Hong Kong Masters and Champion of Champions. O’Sullivan told Eurosport he feels “a lot happier” when he is “not doing so well” on the snooker table, referring to the 2020-21 season when he lost five consecutive finals.

‘I’m not enjoying my snooker’ – O’Sullivan

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he is “not enjoying” his snooker this season, despite winning two titles going into the UK Championship.

O’Sullivan has won the Hong Kong Masters and Champion of Champions and is ranked as the world No. 1, but says he is “a lot happier” when he is “not doing so well”.

The Rocket played his first round match at the UK Championship on Monday against Matthew Stevens.

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“I always do these smiley, neutral and sad faces,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “There’s a lot of neutral and sad faces this year. For some reason, I’m not really enjoying my snooker.

“When I get out there I do my best, whatever that is great. It’s more working on the mental side because technically I’m not great, I have winged it a bit.

"So that means I have to work more on the mental side if I want to put in a half decent performance.”

In the 2020-21 season, O’Sullivan reached five consecutive ranking finals but lost them all, including a shock defeat to Jordan Brown at the Northern Ireland Open.

However, he says that period made him happier compared to the way he’s felt during the current snooker campaign.

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“In some ways I’m a lot happier when I’m not doing so well on the snooker table,” added O’Sullivan.

“The year I got to five finals, a lot of people see it not as a success, but I enjoyed my snooker more that year than any other because I was trying when I felt like it and if I didn’t I would accept it wasn’t my day and go home.

“I think people started to doubt me a little bit and that got me excited again. I thrive on being written off. It excites me. I think, ‘Ok that’s a bit of a challenge’.

“It was a good little thing for me to focus a bit more maybe, if that’s the right word. Dig out a few results instead of seeing what time I can get home for tea.”

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