Media

Filming, promo, China Open 2017 draw … and more.

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Ronnie was busy today, filming some promotional stuff ahead of the broadcasting of his documentary “American Hustle” for History Channel.

This is what he tweeted, along with these two pictures:

Doing some promo filming for @HISTORYUK American hustle out in the new year

4 games of pool at once filmed in 360

According to Matt Smith on twitter the first show is scheduled on January 26, 2017.

Meanwhile Worldsnooker has published the draw and format for the China Open 2017 qualifying round, to be played in Preston, end January 2017. The players have to win one match, the main event being played in Beijing from the last 64 on.

Tuesday 20 Dec 2016 03:57PM

The draw and format for the qualifying round of the 2017 China Open is now available. It will take place at the Guild Hall in Preston from January 24 to 27, with the winners going through to the final stages in Beijing in March.

click-here-for-the-draw

click-here-for-the-format

Ronnie has entered the tournament and will play James Cahill, over best of 9, on Thursday, 26 January at 7pm (UK time)

One tournament Ronnie has NOT entered this time is the Championship League Snooker 2017.

The tournament has been moved from Crondon Park to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. I assumed that this meant that there would be an audience this time, but apparently that’s not the case. Surely David Hendon will be devastated: the breakfasts and desserts in Crondon Park are famous! And the players will miss the big leather armchairs … Traditions really go out of the window under Barry Hearn!

I doubt though that the deserts or the armchairs have anything to do with Ronnie giving it a miss. The main factors are probably that he’s focusing on ranking events this season and that Coventry isn’t just down the road …

 

Is a film based on Ronnie’s life coming?

Monique Film, Media ,

If this article in the “Mirror” is anything to go by, yes … but of course it’s only a project for now.

Ronnie O’Sullivan movie has actors cueing up to play snooker legend in Hollywood biopic

Celebrities including Skins star Jack O’Connell want to portray the five-time world champion in the movie based on the life of snooker’s greatest talent.

BY HANNAH HOPE – 19:02, 26 NOV 2016

Actors are cueing up to play Ronnie O’Sullivan in a Hollywood movie based on the life of snooker’s greatest talent.

BAFTA-winning Skins star Jack O’Connell wants to portray the five-time world champion. Two US stars have also put themselves in the frame for the role.

Fans’ favourite Ronnie has had a rollercoaster life with sporting glory contrasted by drug and alcohol addiction, depression and mental breakdown – the last one just seven months ago.

Throw in an OBE for services to snooker, the jailing of his father for murder and his mother for tax evasion and you see why ­ Hollywood has come knocking.

Lionsgate, the giant behind the Hunger Games movies, has already made an approach.

Ronnie – happy again and back with actress fiancee Laila Rouass, 45 – tells the Sunday Mirror: “Lionsgate in America got in contact with my agent. I thought ‘they’re not serious’.

“But as its gone on they’ve said they were going to buy the rights to my film and a couple of big LA actors who are snooker fans said they want the part. I said, ‘As long as the film does justice to my life I’ve got no problems with it.’

“I’ve been told it will be along the lines of dramas Whiplash and the Black Swan – which I really liked as it got into the emotions of the character and I think that’s how my career has been.

“I’ve had everything – good, bad and fantastic. I’ve been on a journey of perfection, that’s why I feel like I’ve had a good life.

“I’ve reached perfection in something that I do, I’ve had a wand in my hand. To get that across into a film is great.“

Ronnie, nicknamed the Rocket for his speedy play, says 26-year-old actor O’Connell has put first dibs on the lead role.

He says: “Jack O’Connell is interested – he’s a big snooker fan and from the North and he’s followed my career and says he wants the part.”

Part of the reason Ronnie is happy again is thanks to Footballers’ Wives star Laila, who lives with him in Essex.

He adds: “Laila and I are enjoying each other’s company and that’s the most important thing. I feel happy now. I feel like I’ve had a good life.”

Ronnie is famous for quitting snooker – then returning even better than ever. These days he eases the pressure on himself by choosing carefully which tournaments to play. And, as he is set to turn 41 next week, he’s keen to mentor other players.

“I’d get a lot of happiness from helping someone improve just five per cent,” he says. Ronnie has three children, Lily, 10, and Ronnie Jnr, eight, from his ­relationship with Jo Langley, and Taylor-Ann, from a romance with Sally Magnus, which ended in 1996.

And his family background helped lure the interest of ­Hollywood. Parents Ronnie Snr and Maria ran a string of sex shops in London’s Soho. When Ronnie was 18 his dad was given 20 years for the knife murder of East End gangster Charlie Kray’s driver after a nightclub row.

Then Maria was locked up for VAT fraud, leaving Ronnie to care for sister Danielle, then aged eight.

Now the star has poured these formative experiences into a semi-autobiographical crime novel, Framed.

Ronnie added: “My mum was horrified I was writing a crime novel and said ‘I hope you don’t mention me.’ It was a great way to reveal some of the experiences I’ve been through that I couldn’t talk about in my autobiography.

“I seem to be the only one in the family who hasn’t got in trouble. Going to visit them in prison just became part of my life.

“Writing has been one of the best experiences outside of snooker. A bit scary, but once I started to embrace certain things, I realised I have a story to tell other than just snooker player.”

Framed is out now, published by Orion, £16.99.

Day Off in York

Monique Media, Snooker ,

There was no play yesterday, and Ronnie took the opportunity to do a book signing session in Waterstones in Sheffield, as well as meeting with friends for a meal.

The press also made the most of the day off by publishing various off-the-table stories, and here is a selection of what I found interesting:

Mark King spoke to the BBC about how his gambling addiction impacted his life.

Peter Lines, talking to the Yorshire Post, revealed why he considered quitting snooker entirely.

John Higgins told the BBC about his fears he could become a journeyman whilst going trhough a lean spell a couple of years ago.

And young James Cahill, Stephen Hendry’s nephew, revealed to the BBC how low he feels about his game, his future on the main tour and that he could call it a day on his career at the end of this season.

James, just like Mark King and Anthony Hamilton, mentioned that they are skint and how nearly impossible it is to sustain the costs of playing on the main tour if you’re not at the top, and nobody starts at the top. The discussion, yesterday, came on to twitter and I got involved. I did a very simple thing: I looked at the sheet published on Worldsnooker, took my pocket calculator, and did the maths. A lower ranked player, who isn’t taking part to any invitational event, but does play and win their first match in every tournament available to them, will get just below 40K, before taxes. Several bloggers and players managers have done an estimate of what it costs, just to play, and came up with numbers between 20K and 25K. That’s just to cover the entry fees and the travel expenses. It may look to be a lot but entry fees aren’t cheap at all and, planes and hotels aren’t either. Remember that, if a player doesn’t turn up at the main event, after winning their qualif matches, they get nothing. So, let’s take an example: a player winning their qualifying match at the International Championship will have to travel to China, and that means at least two planes both ways, as the tournament is held in Daqing. It’s a very long couple of flight, and even in economy class it’s not cheap. In Daqing, in this particular tournament, the hotel is paid by the sponsor, but only whilst the player is still in the tournament. Which means they have the following choice: either they book their planes with fixed return date, and if they lose early they will be stuck in Daqing (which no one wants to do after losing anyway) and have to fork out for their hotel themselves, or they take an open return option and it will add considerably to their flights costs. Whatever, it costs them. So, in fact what they get – IF they win their first match every time – is about 1K to 1.2K per month. Not much he? Especially if you have a family to support, or if you are an expat in UK. So, that is what I posted and it earned me a spat with the boss himself. Indeed I got an answer from Barry Hearn: “Rubbish!”. Really Barry? It’s simple maths … and of course I got no further explanation as to why my post was “rubbish”, very simply because it isn’t, it’s the sad state of things for those not at the very top, whatever Barry Hearn wants us to believe. Barry always goes on about “not supporting mediocrity”. I agree with the principle, but what about investing in the future? Because snooker is a very difficult game, and it takes time to climb to the top. Would have Neil Robertson be able to survive nowadays to realise his huge potential? I think not. I don’t think that a teenager, for all his huge talent, alone far away from his family, with £500 in his pocket and his game very raw because he never played top opposition at home would stay any sort of chance in today’s system, where he would have to play a top 64 every first match and get nothing at all when he loses. And that doesn’t bode well for the future.

A very nice interview with Ronnie about his new book

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It was published today by buzz.ie

Snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan revisited his misspent youth to create the hero of his debut novel, Framed. Ronnie told us about his own turbulent times in gangland Britain and how his family brought him stability.

He’s had his share of torment, battled with alcohol, drugs and depression and endured years without his father, who served a life sentence for murder, yet there’s something gentle and disarmingly honest about snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan.

After writing about his turbulent times, the booze, drugs and spells in rehab in his previous two autobiographies, the five times world snooker champion, nicknamed The Rocket because of the speed with which he pots the balls, is now revealing more of his own life, this time through his first novel, Framed.

It’s a gritty thriller set in 1990s gangland London, in which the hero, young snooker club owner Frankie James, enters a sordid world of ruthless mobsters and twisted killers, to find

out who has framed his brother for murder.

“Frankie is basically me, having to do things out of loyalty for his father and brother. He doesn’t want to be in that world, but he hasn’t really got a choice.

“I spent a lot of time going back to haunts in Soho where I grew up, and picked through my autobiographies. I wanted Frankie to come across stuff in the novel that I couldn’t put in the autobiographies. It was a chance to show the other side of what was going on in my life at the time.”

In the book, Frankie has a father in prison, something which O’Sullivan was able to draw on from his own experiences. When he was 16, his father Ronnie Snr. – who became a millionaire from running sex shops in Soho – was jailed for life for the murder of Bruce Bryan, a driver to the gangster Charlie Kray, in a nightclub in Chelsea. He served 18 years of his sentence before being released in 2010.

O’Sullivan’s Sicilian mother Maria also spent time in jail for tax evasion, leaving him to look after his little sister Danielle.

He says his father’s imprisonment had a ‘massive’ effect on his life.

“I like to think that if he’d been out, I would never have done drink or drugs, I’d probably have won world titles a lot earlier, probably not had the ups and downs that I’ve had.

“When he went away, I lost my way a bit, got involved with the wrong crowd and the wrong people and was quite easily led. I didn’t know what to do apart from block my mind from it through drinking, which is what Frankie has done in the book.”

After years of depression and spells in addiction clinics, O’Sullivan tries to follow more positive pursuits.

These days he says he has an occasional drink every three or four months. And he runs, currently covering around 25 miles a week.

“I took up running and that keeps me on the straight and narrow,” he says. “My addiction now is running, training and keeping fit. If I’ve got an addictive nature, I might as well have a good addiction.”

Widely regarded as the most naturally talented snooker player of all time, he explains: “A lot of the things I do are solitary, like snooker and running and now writing. It suits my personality.”

He’s no longer grabbing unwelcome headlines – in 1996 he was found guilty of assaulting an official and two years later was disqualified from a tournament in Ireland when traces of cannabis were found in his system – but seems to have mellowed thanks to a settled life with his fiancee, actress Laila Rouass.

They live together in Chigwell, Essex, with her nine-year-old daughter Inez, to whom he is stepfather.

“She’s energetic, very bright and loves having fun – a bit like her mum, really.”

He also sees his two children Ronnie Jr and Lily, from a previous relationship with his ex, Jo Langley, and has hopes of a closer relationship with his eldest daughter, Taylor-Ann, from a previous relationship, who is now 20.

“We’ve made contact and hopefully that’s something I can start building again. She contacted me and we started chatting and I thought, ‘cool’. Now we are in contact by text and are going to meet up soon. The last time I saw her was four or five years ago, and before that it would have been 10 years.”

He and ex-Footballers Wives and Holby City actress Rouass have been engaged for three years, after meeting when she was house-hunting and viewed his house.

She recently said: “I’m so proud of him and think he’s very capable of handling his depression these days. He’s been strong enough to seek help, brave enough to talk about the problem, and is so positive and upbeat about life.”

So, is the wedding imminent?

“You never know, but we’re happy at the moment. She’s in no rush, I’m in no rush, we’re happy together – that’s the most important thing,” he responds.

The couple prefer a quiet life away from the spotlight.

“She can’t stand red carpet events and nor can I. We like to keep a low profile. She likes to be at home or to go to the theatre in London.”

He turned 40 last year, but didn’t want a big party, he reveals.

“I never celebrate my birthdays, I hate them, want to get them over and done with. I don’t like people making a fuss. I’m quite shy and like to slip under the radar.”

But he did turn out to receive his OBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace earlier this year.

“What a fantastic day that was! One of the best days ever. Charles presented it. I was looking at him a bit star-struck, it was a surreal moment.”

Family loyalty has been a major force in his entire life, he agrees, and while his novel is set in a violent criminal underworld, it also emphasises the loyalty involved within close-knit families, no matter what.

“My father was big on that. If you were his friend, he’d back you to the hilt and I grew up around that kind of culture, which rubbed off on me a little bit. It’s OK to be loyal, but sometimes you can be loyal to the wrong people and that’s what got my dad into trouble.

“I’ve tried to learn from that and be a bit more loyal to the right people.”

It felt strange when his father was released from prison, he observes.

“I’d been used to seeing him on a visit once a month and phone calls. All of a sudden, I felt the responsibility was on me again to make sure that he was all rig

ht. It was difficult for him, but absolutely put more pressure on me.

“I felt sorry for him because I could see that he didn’t feel comfortable and I was worried about him. He used to say, ‘It’s harder out here than it was in there’ and it’s sad to hear someone who’s got their freedom back say they feel more comfortable in a cell.”

Today, the O’Sullivan family remains close. He’s hoping his debut novel will lead to further books and possibly even a TV adaptation.

And could he be snooker world champion again?

“The honest answer is probably no, but I wouldn’t count it out,” he says.

Framed by Ronnie O’Sullivan is published in hardback by Orion, is available from Eason from €17.99.

“Framed” – a personal review

Monique Book, Media ,

Having just finished reading Ronnie’s last book, I’d like to share my personal views on it.

“Framed” is a crime novel, but does not exactly follow the conventional genre where the police, or a detective are investigating to solve a murder. Indeed, young Frankie James, the main protagonist, is neither. He’s the brother of the main suspect, Jack, and neither does he believe that his young sibling could ever do what he’s accused to have done, nor does he trust the police to try and solve the case in a fair way. The James family has been on the wrong side of the law only too often in the past, and Frankie very much has developed  an “us against them” attitude when it comes to the authorities and the justice system. So he takes things in his own hands, and starts investigating his own brother case, backed by a boss of the local mafia. This will bring him to do things that aren’t exactly lawful and, although he succeeds in proving Jack’s innocence, it’s not exactly a happy end. Frankie will also have to face some serious consequences on a personal level. I won’t say more, I don’t want to spoil you.

Frankie is supposed to be similar to Ronnie as a person, with a similar family background, and he is indeed similar to a large extend, but he’s definitely harder than the real Ronnie, who, to his own admission, is rather a softy. A lot of traits are common though, and not just the nice ones: it does ask for a lot of honesty to expose ones own foibles the way Ronnie does here, through the character of Frankie, a good guy at core, wearing his heart on his sleeve, but no always acting in the most sensible way. Ronnie also manages to make his real self appear in the book (wink).

There is a lot of strong language used in the book, and a lot of slang too, which contributes to the general atmosphere – Soho some 10 years ago, not exactly upper-class – but this may make it more difficult to read for non native English speakers, and it will certainly require a VERY good translator, if it’s ever translated, to faithfully render the peculiar style of writing used in the book. That said, “Framed” would certainly make an excellent plot for an action film. It’s dynamic and colourful. I enjoyed it.

Ronnie said it’s better than his biographies. I wouldn’t say that: it’s simply too different to compare. What’s tastier? Old cheese and wine or chocolate cream cake? Well it depends on personal tastes, and on the moment too for those who appreciate both… same here.

Ronnie in the media today …

Monique Media

Ronnie isn’t playing today, but he’s very much present in the media …

He was on BBC5 radio and you can listen to this snippet about how it was to grow up with both parents in jail.

Desmond Kane, from Eurosport, wrote about Ronnie and John Higgins 24 years old rivalry

Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and a magical 24-year rivalry unique to sport

John Higgins completed a 10-7 win over Ronnie O’Sullivan in a Champion of Champions final that provided a reminder why both men are true giants of their sport, writes Desmond Kane.

It is probably fitting to be evergreen on the green baize even if professional snooker has no room for sentiment.

When it is your time, it is your time. The aging process, terminal loss of form and the rise of younger, hungrier foes tend to drag you kicking and screaming from the sport when you are on the decline. Whether you like it or not.

It is a fact of life that has already bamboozled sadly retired icons such as Stephen Hendry, who lifted the last of his seven world championships in Sheffield aged 30, and Steve Davis, who had to grapple with an obvious loss of consistency in his 30s after winning a sixth and final world title in 1989.

Snooker’s shot clock remains unforgiving. Yet there are those who seem to be strangely protected by some sort of time-reversing emollient, a magical elixir that means age will not wither them.

The sight of Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins contesting a major snooker final does not sound like anything out of the blue amid their addiction to potting blacks

With nine world titles, eight UK Championships and eight Masters between them, it might sound a bit like the norm for two figures who have become public faces and multi-millionaires on the back of mastering the curious art of potting balls with a wooden stick.

Then you consider their longevity, and you begin to appreciate such greatness is far from standard fare. A bit like the exceptional tariff they place on their somewhat peculiar calling in lives.

Both men turned professional in 1992, have a combined age of 81 and contested their first and last World Championship 15 years ago which O’Sullivan won 18-14 for the first of his five world titles.

Not only are they rolling back the years, they also continue to roll in the balls with no signs of decline or decrepitness normally associated with their third decade in the sport.

They were sent to Coventry over the past few days to illustrate why they both remain very special.

The invitational Champion of Champions final at the Ricoh Area was won 10-7 on Saturday by an imperious Higgins, who catapulted Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump and Ding Junhui, three of the finest in the sport, on his way to lifting his second title in successive weekends.

Six days earlier, the man from Wishaw in Scotland carried off the China Championship with a 10-7 victory over Stuart Bingham where he made three successive centuries in the final three frames.

The reward for back-to-back successes in such a cut-throat environment, snags Higgins £300,000. He shows no signs of going under before the next stop on the tour takes him to the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast today for this week’s Northern Ireland Open.

When O’Sullivan and Higgins decided to pursue snooker all those years ago, Bill Clinton was on the cusp of becoming president of the USA, Prince Charles and Di were about to split, Czechoslovakia was still a country and Windsor Castle went up in flames in a year the Queen described as an “annus horribilis”.

There are not many figures in professional sport who continue to burn brightly at a point in their sporting lives when they are supposed to be on the wane.

O’Sullivan and Higgins first met in a final at the 1995 Masters at Wembely which O’Sullivan won 9-3. Little did they know back then that they would be as sharp as ever 21 years on.

Little did they know in 2012, they would be back at this level. Higgins has admitted himself that he entered the doldrums when his confidence deserted him a year after he lost his dad John Senior to cancer.

O’Sullivan somehow managed to go three years without winning a ranking event after the Shanghai Masters in 2009, but lifting the German Masters in 2012 provided him with the impetus to win two more world titles, two Masters, the UK Championship and two Champion of Champions.

In Saturday’s final, Higgins made breaks of 75, 74, 79, 65, 60, 63 and 83 before pushing over the line with closing runs of 76, 86 and 58.

O’Sullivan, the greatest player snooker has produced, continues to flower on such occasions with a technique as formidable as granite. He lost despite knocking in 68, 88, 90, 61, 74 and 130. It is the second final he has appeared In successive months having lost 9-8 to Trump in the European Masters final in Romania.

It is only a matter of when his next title comes along after he demolished Mark Allen in the last four with a 6-2 win that included three sparkling 100 plus knocks.

The levels they reached at the Ricoh Arena were as immaculate as they have ever struck the ball so well with fast break-building, long potting and intricate tactical play the bedrock of a truly absorbing public tete-a-tete.

You can get 20/1 on Higgins winning a fifth world title next May while O’Sullivan is favourite at 9/2.

There are no other players in any professional sport playing as well over such a quarter of a century. The lesson to be learned is valuable: if you are old enough, you are good enough.

When O’Sullivan and Higgins are on it, they simply remain a breed apart. They remain unique sportsmen who are measured in decades rather than years.

Desmond Kane

Ronnie tipped the Northern Irish to star in their home tournament according to The Belfast Telegraph

Ronnie O’Sullivan has lift-off and tips Mark Allen to thrill Belfast

By Adam McKendry

Five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has said home favourite Mark Allen would be a “worthy winner” of the Northern Ireland Open, should he himself not go on to win it.

RW: 34248856 k: reference-default-34248856-sec-sport_othersports_snooker-art e: 20m d:

‘The Rocket’ eased through his opening match against Welshman David John, 4-1, at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast last night, setting up a clash with the legendary Jimmy White.

But, speaking after his win, O’Sullivan earmarked Allen – who plays tonight – as well as fellow Ulsterman Joe Swail, as a potential winner this week.

“I think they’ll be inspired by the crowd,” the former world number one said.

“I think Mark Allen is a really, really good player and I think he’s playing very well at the moment so he’s going to have a lot of belief.

“If I didn’t go on to win the tournament I think he would be a worthy winner, and I think it would be great if a home player, someone like him, could win.

“Joe Swail is a fantastic talent and is a dangerous opponent for anyone, and if he gets on a run he’s capable of beating anybody.

“But I’d love to win here in Belfast. I’ve won here before in the Waterfront so it’d be nice to win it again, but the main thing is to enjoy it.

“Keep competing and enjoy playing.”

O’Sullivan, playing competitively in Belfast for the first time since his 2008 victory at the Northern Ireland Trophy, also commented on how impressed he was by the crowd at the £366,000 event.

“I love this city, I think it’s great that there’s a tournament here now and it’s really good to be here and playing,” he enthused.

“They’re a great crowd, they know their snooker here. It’s always good to come to places where they have a real good idea of what good snooker is.

“They appreciate it, so it’s good to play in front of fans like that.”

O’Sullivan put on a masterclass as he rattled off the first two frames with breaks of 131 and 86, before following it up by taking the third frame in fine style as well.

John fought back to take frame four, but O’Sullivan showed his class with the biggest break of the match, 133, to seal victory in the fifth frame.

The World No.8 admitted that he was pleased with how he performed, and that he felt like he was coming back into form after some indifferent recent performances.

“I was happy with that, that was one of my better performances of the season,” the 40-year-old said. “I’m pleased with that, yeah.

“I’ve got a great belief in myself and my game, I just have to find some form.

“Once the form comes then I have the chance of competing in most events I play in.”

O’Sullivan who will now take on veteran of the game Whirlwwind White in round two, after the 54-year old made it past another Welshman, Gareth Allen, winning 4-2.

“Every match is hard now. It doesn’t matter who you play, you have to play well to win,” O’Sullivan said, looking ahead to the rest of the tournament.

Elsewhere, Antrim amateur Jordan Brown is into the second round after he overcame England’s Ben Woollaston 4-2 last night.

Brown picked up the only century of the match in the second frame as he raced into a 2-0 lead, before Woollaston took the next two to level proceedings.

But Brown struck back to win the final two frames to secure his place in tomorrow’s second round.

World No.5 Shaun Murphy was the shock casualty on day one after he was whitewashed 4-0 by 21-year-old Luca Brecel.

Four-time world champion John Higgins beat Paul Davison 4-0 to extend the Scot’s winning run to nine matches.

Belfast Telegraph

And finally, in this interview with the BBC, and reported by The42 he jokingly compared himself to J.K. Rowling whilst promoting his new book

FIVE-TIME WORLD snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has joked he could be the “new JK Rowling” after turning his hand to novel writing.

O’Sullivan has penned the fittingly titled crime story Framed, which takes inspiration from his own life story.

The ‘Rocket’ has previously released two autobiographies and seems to have caught the writing bug.

Put to him by BBC Radio Five Live that he could have a great literary career ahead of him, O’Sullivan boldly compared himself to the author of the Harry Potter series, replying: “That’d be great, wouldn’t it? [The] new JK Rowling!”

“Obviously I’d done a couple of autobiographies and there are certain things that you do that you enjoy, and I really enjoyed being involved in the whole process of doing my autobiographies.

I think they [the publishers] sensed that and they approached me and said would you be interested in doing a novel?”

Despite his success, O’Sullivan has long had a love-hate relationship with snooker and says his new-found love of writing will help him cope when he eventually walks away from the game for good.

I’ve started to look for things that I enjoy and I’ve found two or three things now that I really enjoy,” he said. ”I know now that if I never played snooker I’d be fine.

“I’m now playing snooker because I want to, not because I have to.

Everybody needs a purpose in their life and snooker has been that purpose, but at some point I’d like to find another purpose.”

He did not rule out a sixth World Championship triumph, adding: “Anything is possible with me. I’ve stopped trying to predict what I’m capable of or not capable of.”