Ronnie O’Sullivan: I no longer question my addiction
The snooker ace talks about finally finding balance and taking care of his mental health.
By Helen McGurk
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan.
After a life that’s proven almost as colourful away from the table as on it, Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan, snooker genius and recovering addict, reckons he has found some balance.
“I’m less intense. I’ve not mellowed in that I’ve changed my personality, but I’ve learned to just not take myself too seriously. I’m much more philosophical,” says the seven times world champion.
At 47, he’s been at the top of his game for longer than many of his peers. Yet it wasn’t an easy start for the former ‘bad boy’ of snooker – given his family history (his father was jailed for murder when O’Sullivan was 16) and his battles with drugs, alcohol and depression.
He won his latest world title just last year – but was defeated by Luca Brecel in the quarter-final of this year’s World Championship at The Crucible, Sheffield – and has overcome periods of self-doubt, plus a year-long break from the game, only to come back stronger than ever.
His struggles with severe anxiety and ‘snooker depression’ are charted in his latest book, Unbreakable, which largely focuses on how he’s tackled his “mental wellbeing”.
These days, he runs, paints and sticks with people he considers to be true friends, far away from the celebrity circuit. He has a good relationship with both his parents, who are divorced (his father was released from prison in 2010 after serving 18 years), and has been with his partner, Holby City actress Laila Rouass, for a decade (although they briefly split last year).
“It’s good,” he says of their relationship, smiling. “She’s great. I love her. She’s great company and I love being around her. She’s very supportive. I have to behave myself – I know when to go, ‘Alright, you’re in charge’. But she’s also really good at going, ‘Listen, you’ve got a busy life, you’ve got a lot to do, just get on with it’.
“Now it feels a lot better – everyone’s just in a better place. I just want to see her and her daughter happy [Rouass has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship], and her family, who are like my family, happy.”
In the book, he says his worst times were between 1994-2000 and that rehab and running saved him, while the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps programme and a good sports psychiatrist have also helped.
“I went to AA and NA, I learned about addiction and struggled for about three or four years, because I just couldn’t accept that I was an addict,” he says today.
“Now I don’t question it, whereas before, I’d go out and try to drink sensibly and fail miserably. So now, I think, don’t even start. They say if you stand outside the barber’s long enough, eventually you’ll get a haircut. So I stay away from clubs, from people that drink. They’re not for me, because eventually that will be me.”
He uses a diary he’s kept for the last 10 years to help manage his anxiety, putting smiley, neutral or miserable faces against entries and then working out what triggers him – which is often taking on too much – and has developed a template to maintain his mental wellbeing.
“I’d rather just stay simmering with my work, which means I’m not at high intensity all the time, just ticking over.”
O’Sullivan has been described as “the most naturally gifted player ever”. He was potting balls from age seven, had scored his first century by 10, beating all in his wake before turning professional at 16.
He earned the nickname ‘The Rocket’ for his fast pace and still holds the record for the fastest maximum (147) of five minutes eight seconds. But the pressures of snooker and a disrupted family life came at a price.
O’Sullivan’s Sicilian mother Maria also spent time in jail for tax evasion, leaving him to look after his little sister Danielle. His father’s imprisonment had a huge effect on his life.
“That was the biggest thing that just ravaged me, mentally and emotionally, it just ruined me. I thought, that’s it, I’m never going to see him and we’re never going to have that relationship any more. It’s just two hours on a visit once a month and loads of phone calls. I just wanted him there.”
His misspent youth and problems with drugs, alcohol and depression – plus spells in rehab – have been well charted in his two previous autobiographies. Unbreakable focuses more on how he feels when he’s playing, and how he’s learned to take care of himself.
He says his relationship with his father – who currently lives in a campervan – since he came out of prison is great.
“At the start, everyone was just adjusting. You know, my dad’s an alpha male and he was like, ‘I’m back and I’m in charge’, but I was 36 , knew what I was doing and didn’t need to be told. Now he just backs off. We have a great relationship. I see him all the time.”
He largely credits his improved mental health to his mentor, sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters.
“I’ve learned everything from Steve Peters. He has given me the ability to work it out for myself now, to get on with it and not be afraid to confront stuff and know how to get on top of it.”
O’Sullivan admits in the book that he hasn’t been the best parent, doesn’t see his eldest child Taylor-Ann and hasn’t been a hands-on parent to his two other children, after his relationship with their mother broke down.
“Given the opportunity, I would have liked to have done loads more, but it got to a point where I thought it was best for everyone, for my sanity and their sanity, that as long as they’re healthy, they’re good, I’m going to play the long game. I’ll be here.”
His experiences have made him stronger, he insists, and he hopes he may forge a better relationship with them as they get older – he sees his younger two children at weekends and in the holidays, and they were at The Crucible in Sheffield last year to see him lift the World Championship trophy.
In some ways, he is looking forward to his snooker career coming to an end – he predicts he may continue for another couple of years, or longer – but while he’s still doing well, he won’t quit.
Now, though, he is able to separate his snooker life from his other interests, and the balance has helped him love the sport again.
“We still do the things we love, but we have a way of detaching ourselves from that for a certain amount of time to give ourselves a break and live life a bit – and then have the confidence that when I go back to it, it’s still going to be there,” he says.
“I hope people will go out and will start to listen to their instincts. At some point, it can be the simplest thing, whether it’s walking your dog, going for coffee with a friend, hanging out with certain people that make you feel good about yourself… sprinkling your life with little things that just feel good.”
Unbreakable by Ronnie O’Sullivan with Tom Fordyce is published by Seven Dials on May 11, priced £22.
Mark Allen, winner of three tournaments during the 2022/23 season, has been named WST Player of the Year for the first time.
Having won the Northern Ireland Open, UK Championship and World Grand Prix, Allen was the only player to capture three trophies during the season. The 37-year-old from Antrim also reached the final of the British Open, the semi-finals of the World Championship and rose to a career high position of third in the world.
Allen also won the Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year award, voted by media around the world who cover snooker, as well as the Fans’ Player of the Year award, voted by fans on the WST website, app and on social media platforms in China.
The Performance of the Year category was won by Luca Brecel, for his spectacular display in winning the World Championship for the first time, beating Mark Selby 18-15 in the final.
Selby took the Magic Moment of the Year award for his maximum break against Brecel as he became the first player ever to make a 147 during the world final.
Julien Leclercq
Belgium’s 20-year-old Julien Leclercq won Rookie of the Year, having reached the final of the Shoot Out and climbed to 80th in the world during his first season.
A new category was introduced this year – Breakthrough Player of the Year – for a young player who has made a leap forward in his career. This went to China’s Si Jiahui for his tremendous run to the semi-finals of the World Championship.
John Virgo has been inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to the sport for more than 50 years – read more on that here.
WST Awards: 2022/23 winners WST Player of the Year – Mark Allen Fans’ Player of the Year – Mark Allen Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year – Mark Allen Performance of the Year – Luca Brecel Rookie of the Year – Julien Leclercq Magic Moment of the Year – Mark Selby’s 147 Breakthrough Player of the Year – Si Jiahui Hall of Fame: John Virgo
Player of the Year – former winners 2011: John Higgins 2012: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2013: Mark Selby 2014: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2015: Stuart Bingham 2016: John Higgins 2017: Mark Selby 2018: Ronnie O’Sullivan 2019: Judd Trump 2020: Judd Trump 2021: Judd Trump 2022: Neil Robertson 2023: Mark Allen
Congratulations to All!
It’s hard to disagree with this season’s awards. I’m glad that they introduced a new category to recognise Si Jiahui outstanding achievements. It’s quite remarkable, and pleasing that two mainland European players received an award. Both are Belgian. There are only three Belgian players on tour, all young, and two earned special recognition this season.REALLY, it is time for WST to reflect on their UK centric tour structure and to do what’s needed to give players and fans outside UK, and in mainland Europe in particular, more and better opportunities, actually equal opportunities. They call themselves WORLD Snooker Tour … it’s time to live by their chosen name.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was not too downbeat after his Crucible exit (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan looked back on a ‘marvellous’ season despite his shock World Championship exit at the hands of Luca Brecel, saying he has largely been happy after something of a low last summer.
The Rocket lost the final seven frames of the match to Brecel as the Belgian Bullet prevailed 13-10 in an incredible contest at the Crucible.
It was an unlikely defeat for the world number one, but it has not ruined his season, which he has largely enjoyed, winning both the Champion of Champions and the Hong Kong Masters this campaign.
O’Sullivan admits that he was down for some time after winning his seventh world title last year, but once he had recovered from that low, he has had a good time.
‘I think it’s been marvellous. Lots of smiley faces,’ O’Sullivan said of his season. ‘It started off a bit miserable, I’ve got to be honest, I was on a bit of a comedown from the World Championships.
‘So I didn’t really feel like playing much. I knew why, so I just took some time off the practice table, played the tournaments, and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve had a great season.
‘I judge my season on whether I was happy and I’ve been very happy.
‘May, June, July, August I just didn’t want to play, it was weird. I can only put that down to such a massive high. It might have been something else.
O’Sullivan was gracious in defeat to Brecel (Picture: Getty Images)
‘You go through periods like that, people fall in and out of love with what they’re doing. I just chose not to practice, took some time out and that was great.
‘I came back in January, put the time in and I’ve really enjoyed my practice and the tournaments I’ve played in.
‘Alright, I haven’t won as much but well-being, happiness, they’re the most important things. Snooker, that’s a bonus. If it goes great, I’ll take that. If it don’t go so great, alright. There’s always another tournament.’
Ronnie O’Sullivan suffered a shock quarter-final exit from the World Championship this year (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan was left ‘gutted’ by his quarter-final exit from the World Snooker Championship this year, believes his manager Jason Francis.
The Rocket was beaten by eventual champion Luca Brecel in the last eight, after downing Pang Junxu and Hossein Vafaei in his opening two contests.
The defending champion was looking good after battering Vafaei 13-2 and then leading the Belgian 10-6, but seven frames on the spin from the Bullet saw him shoot into the semis and oust the world number one 13-10.
O’Sullivan took the loss very graciously, heaping praise on the performance of Brecel and saying he has enjoyed a ‘marvellous’ season, but his manager says there was certainly a lot of disappointment over the defeat.
‘I think he was gutted,’ Francis told the Talking Snooker podcast. ‘I think that one thing I don’t have to tell you is he knew he was in a winning position.
‘But that takes nothing away from the way Luca played, I’ve never see anyone play like that against Ronnie here.
‘This place, Sheffield, it either makes you or it breaks you and I think the people who come through and can handle it, they become real champions.
‘People say it defines their career, if they’re successful here, but it can also define the way they play in the future, because there’s no harder place to play.
‘So I think he came up against someone who played unbelievably well, but I also think that he’s incredibly disappointed, because if you look from the outside there was an opportunity there this year.’
Francis has been working with O’Sullivan for the last decade, and explained that a huge part of his job is trying to keep people from distracting the Rocket when he should be focussing on snooker.
‘My role with Ronnie is filtering chaos and trying to put out fires before they come,’ he explained. ‘One of Ronnie’s faults is his generosity, so you can turn up at a tournament, it will start off being me and him but very soon the circus is in town.
‘Someone who’s a friend of Ronnie or wants to come and see Ronnie…what Ronnie probably should say is: “Look, I’m here to win the World Championship, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks for a dinner.” But he’s so generous, they want to come and see him, and suddenly we end up with an entourage.
‘Part of my job over the last 10 years has been managing that, but also be respectful that ultimately he’s the player, he has to decide.
‘I don’t want anything I say to ever thought to have cost him a match. There’s nothing that I can do to make him win a tournament or lose a tournament. It’s the player and the table, but my job is to try and bring some stability, maintain relationships with people and be professional. I think that’s why it’s worked with Ronnie for as long as it has.’
The reasons Jasons put forward are quite interesting. Some players, like Luca f.i., seem to be able to switch in and out of their “zone” very easily and naturally, but I know that this is not the case for Ronnie.
That said … yes, this season has been poor but it’s been the case for many top players and it would be interesting to fully understand why. Ronnie ends the season still ranked number one and he’s 14th on the one year list as it stands today, despite missing some events because of the elbow injury. Judd Trump is 13th on it with only 7000 points more than Ronnie despite not missing any event. John Higgins (23d), Mark Williams (19th) and, very surprisingly, Neil Robertson (22d) are out of the top 16 on that list. It’s been a very bizarre season indeed and the only explanation I can think of is the shambolic structure of last season’s calendar with big gaps alternating with some very intense playing periods.
WST announce that for this season only, up to 68 players will qualify for the 2023/24 season based on the two-year world rankings after the 2023 Cazoo World Championship rather than the usual 64.
This step will see all players on the two-year world rankings up to Mark Davis (but no lower than him in the world rankings), set to finish the season in 68th position, qualify for a further year on the World Snooker Tour, retaining all of the points that they had accrued over the past two years.
The move will also result in some changes to the players re-qualifying as the top players on the one-year list with Xu Si and Mark Joyce now qualifying for a full tour card. The one-year list will now be made up of Daniel Wells, Jimmy White, Ian Burns and Hammad Miah, the four highest ranked players on the one-year list who haven’t qualified for the tour through other means, and these four players will receive two-year tour cards.
The decision to extend tour numbers up to 68 players was taken by WST due to highly unusual circumstances where some players who remain on tour at the end of the season are currently suspended pending the outcome of an independent tribunal.
WST is not involved in these cases, neither is it a party to the tribunal and has no influence upon it.
The decision to extend numbers was taken by WST so that no player might suffer missing out on a Tour Card irrespective of any outcome in those disciplinary proceedings and to maximise playing opportunities on the World Snooker Tour. This extension will apply to this season only.
This decision may not be to everyone’s liking but, personally, I prefer this to the addition of some random wildcard players, or arbitrary picking four amateurs amongst those who were not already eligible via the agreed routes.
It also means that should some of the currently suspended players be found not guilty or receive a very short ban, the tour might count more than 128 players. I don’t want to enter into speculations but from what transpired today on social media, that scenario looks quite unlikely.
Luca Brecel made history yesterday night when he became the first player from mainland Europe to win the World Snooker Championship. He beat Mark Selby by 18-15.
If I’m not mistaken he’s the youngest World Snooker Champion since Shaun Murphy in 2005.
Breath-Taking Brecel Beats Selby In Crucible Classic
Luca Brecel’s unique natural flair and remarkable calmness under pressure were his key qualities as he became the first player from mainland Europe to win the Cazoo World Championship, beating all-time great Mark Selby 18-15 in the final.
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A historic contest, in which four-time champion Selby became the first player to make a 147 in a world final, bubbled up to a thrilling conclusion as the Englishman threatened a trademark come-back when he recovered from 16-10 down to 16-15, only for Brecel to take the last two frames, finishing with his fifth century of the match.
The legendary golfer Bobby Jones once said of Jack Nicklaus: “He is playing a game with which I’m not familiar,” and that comment springs to mind when watching Brecel, as he plays snooker like no one else, approaching a huge occasion with such confident nonchalance and relying on flamboyant shot-making. Even the all-time greatest Ronnie O’Sullivan, after being blown away by Brecel in the quarter-finals, insisted that “no one else can play like that.”
The 28-year-old Belgian becomes the 22nd player to lift the famous trophy at the Crucible, and only the fourth non-British champion, after Canada’s Cliff Thorburn, Ireland’s Ken Doherty and Australia’s Neil Robertson. Remarkably, Brecel had never won a match at the Crucible before this tournament, losing in the first round on his first five appearances at the venue. He came within a frame of first round defeat, but a 10-9 victory over Ricky Walden inspired him to much bigger and better things. After knocking out O’Sullivan he made a record comeback in the semi-finals, from 14-5 down to beat Si Jiahui 17-15, then saved his best for the last day of the tournament. A fabulous third session, in which he made four centuries, saw Brecel pulled way from 9-8 to lead 15-10, and in the closing stages he overcame a master of matchplay who was heavy favourite going into the final. Overall Brecel contested 131 frames during the tournament, a new record for the champion.
It’s a fourth ranking title for Brecel and second of the season, having won the Championship League at the start of the campaign. The top prize of £500,000 is by fair the biggest of his career, and it boosts him from tenth to second in the world rankings, behind only O’Sullivan who finishes the season as world number one.
The road to the top has been long and winding for a player who was recognised as a prodigy during his early teens, especially when a video of him making a 147 in practice emerged on YouTube. At 17 he became the youngest player to make a Crucible debut, but it took him four more years to break into the world’s top 32. The tour is tough – and there were opinions from outside Brecel’s inner circle that he would not rise to the top unless he moved from Belgium to the UK. His family, particularly father Carlo, have made huge sacrifices in terms of time, travel and finance to allow his career to flourish.
Tonight is their reward and, as always, Brecel has done it his own way. He never wanted to move to the UK, in fact he drives through the night in between matches to spend time in Belgium with new girlfriend Laura. He insists he doesn’t practise. Before the first session of the final, he arrived at the venue five minutes before the break-off. An orthodox coach would tell him he is doing everything wrong, but he has found a way to do what every player strives for: to compete with total freedom, uninhibited by fear.
His stylish game and affable personality will, it is hoped, make him a role model for sport in Belgium. The country already has two promising rookies in Ben Mertens and Julien LeClercq, and perhaps many more will follow.
Selby missed out on becoming only the fourth player, after O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, to lift the trophy five times at the Crucible. The 39-year-old from Leicester had won his last four finals, in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, but fell 3-0 behind this time and was never quite able to get back on level terms. Scoring a momentous 147 in the 16th frame, on Sunday evening, is a consolation, but it’s silverware that Selby craves. The 22-time ranking event winner finishes the season fifth in the world.
Leading 15-10 after the third session, Brecel took the first frame of the concluding chapter with a break of 67, before Selby pulled one back with a run of 78 for 16-11. In frame 28, Brecel led 36-20 when he missed a tough long pot on the penultimate red, and his opponent made a fine clearance to give his fight-back momentum.
The tide looked to be turning as Brecel failed to score a point in the next three frames – Selby’s breaks of 122, 50 and 52 saw him close to 16-15. And he had first chance in frame 32 but, after potting the opening red, crucially missed the black to a top corner. Brecel made 51, then Selby had one more opportunity after fluking a red, but failed to pot the brown to a centre pocket and soon it was 17-15.
A safety error from Selby early in the next proved his last shot as Brecel wrapped it up with a 112, raising his arms to the crowd as he cruised over the winning line.
“It’s a dream come true, the best moment of my life,” said Brecel, from Maasmechelen. “Especially the way I did it, beating Ronnie, Mark Williams and then Selby in the final who is the toughest opponent of all. I could have easily lost my first match but made a good break in the last frame against Ricky, and ever since then I have played my best stuff. It’s unreal, after not winning a game here for so long.
“At 16-13 I felt I wasn’t going to win. I was too nervous, I couldn’t play my shots and missed so many long balls. Mark got stronger and put me in so much trouble. When you are feeling it, it’s so tough to deal with. I just needed a good chance to settle down again. I got that at 16-15 and made a 50 break, after that I was more relaxed. I needed to stay in front, if it had gone 16-16 then there was only one winner. In the last frame I felt I would make a good break. It has been an unbelievable two weeks and this trophy is beautiful!
“I didn’t expect to win, then all of a sudden I was clearing the table to become World Champion. The only thing in my head was that I wanted to share the moment with my family. It’s going to take a couple of weeks to sink in.
“The interest in snooker has been exploding in Belgium for the last couple of days so I don’t know what’s going to happen now but I can’t wait to see it. There is no reason for me to feel any pressure any more, I have achieved the ultimate dream, it is life changing and I’m sure it will set me up for many more things to come.”
Selby said: “I battled and gave everything but every credit to Luca he deserves it. Congratulations to Luca, he’s a great talent and a great lad with a lovely family. I wish him all the best. It was great to make a 147 at the Crucible, I never thought I would do it in a final.
“It was an amazing achievement and something I will remember for rest of my life but it’s not about me today, it is about Luca, he played fantastic over the two days.”
Here are the last frame and the trophy ceremony shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel
It’s fair to say that the fans really appreciated Luca’s game and persona. They were on their feet before the match was over!
I want to hope that Luca’s achievements will bring changes to the way WST organises and manages the “World Tour“. Mainland Europe has largely been sidelined since the disappearance of the PTCs and it’s been even worse since the covid crisis. The simple fact is that every ranking tournament is played at least in part in the UK because that’s where all the qualifiers are held. This means that the young and rookies from mainland Europe and Asia very rarely get to play in front of their own fans. It is mentioned that Luca chose not to move to the UK and therefore does a lot of traveling. Ben Mertens and Julien Leclercq do the same. Living as an ex-pat is challenging, especially for the very young, travelling back and forth is tiring … and for many simply impossible. In what other sport are qualifying rounds for major events played weeks before and geographically far away from the main event? Just imagine qualifiers for Wimbledon being played in Monaco sometime around March… Crazy? Nonsense? Yes indeed, but that is exactly how the WST tour actually functions. This has to change. And I don’t want to hear that the UK players are a majority; yes, they are the majority BECAUSE this extremely biases organisation of the sport favours them. I don’t want to hear that “it would be long weeks away from home”, for years for most non-UK players it’s been the whole season away from home, and, with covid , for some, it’s been several years away. Si Jiahui hadn’t seen his parents and girlfriend for 3 years… and he’s only just 20. Think about that!
This 2023 World Snooker Championship has been extraordinary … and yesterday it delivered again!
Mark Selby made a 147 in the second session of the final and it’s actually the first ever 147 made in a World Championship final. It that wasn’t enough, yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the first ever 147 made at the Crucible by Cliff Thorburn. Brendan Moore is refereeing his last ever competitive snooker match and he couldn’t have dreamed of a better and more extraordinary farewell present.
Congratulations Mark Selby!
Here it is, shared by Eurosport on their YoTube channel
And some pictures shared by WST on twitter
As for the match itself, Luca Brecel is currently leading by 9-8. Luca won the first session by 6-2. At that stage Mark – who looked very tired – was making unusual mistakes and Luca was taking full advantage. In the second session however, things changed as Alan McManus had expected. Indeed Angles was in the ES studio after the first session and said that he fully expected Mark Selby to come back after getting some rest. Mark won the second session by 6-3. He’s still behind but just by one frame and must be considered as a clear favourite to lift the title this evening. That said, the way this championship has gone … who knows?
Unless the match finishes with a session to spare – which is very unlikely as it can only happen if Luca wins the afternoon session by 8–0 – I will only post about the outcome of this final until tomorrow evening. Indeed, I will be traveling to Sheffield for the 2023 Seniors World Snooker Championship. I will need to get up very, very early – 4am CET or earlier – and will only arrive in Sheffield in the evening. I don’t plan to watch much of this evening session…
Allen also won the Snooker Journalists’ Player of the Year award, voted by media around the world who cover snooker, as well as the Fans’ Player of the Year award, voted by fans on the WST website, app and on social media platforms in China.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 