After losing the World Championship, Ronnie O’Sullivan made it clear that he will…

After losing the World Championship, Ronnie O’Sullivan made it clear that he will…

Ronnie O’Sullivan crashed out of the World Snooker Championship to Stuart Bingham.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has already admitted that he may retire from snooker next year, but not before the 2025 World Championship. The Rocket suffered a surprise exit at the quarter-final stage to Stuart Bingham, having seen the tournament open up with three qualifiers reaching the semi-finals for the first time.

O’Sullivan’s appearance at the Crucible has been shrouded in controversy, having opened the door to a LIV-style breakaway tour after calling for the World Championship to be moved away from its iconic Sheffield venue.

The 48-year-old’s frustrations have been laid bare and were on show once again during his exit to Bingham, telling the referee to “chill” as he was disappointed with the number of people entering the venue during his shot.

O’Sullivan has flirted with retirement on several occasions throughout his glittering career and after admitting that he hasn’t enjoyed playing this year, he insisted that another 12 months of similar performances would be enough for him to call it a day and quit professional snooker.

“I’m in that situation at the moment where I’ve just got to get myself in a frame of mind for maybe the next however long,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport at the beginning of the tournament. “I’ve given myself a year to the end of next year’s World Championship to work with Steve (Peters – psychologist) and hope, you know, to get back to where I feel it’s acceptable.

“I could do another year like this, I’ll commit to that playing how I’ve been playing and the struggles and what we all want to call it – the yips or the snatches, whatever you want to call it.

“I don’t consider that snooker, I’m butchering balls. Everyone’s got their own problems. But that ain’t fun for me. I’ve got two options. Like Steve said, you can learn to live with it. You can learn to live with anything and be happy or choose to be miserable.

“The task I’m gonna have to set myself is if I can’t get my game in the right place, and I really don’t wanna stop then I’ve got to get round my head round acceptance. Learn to live with it, play it.

“But if I can’t, then maybe do 18 months, two years, exhibitions, go see all the fans and really just go down that testimonial route and then hang my cue up. Would be, like 51, 52. No big deal.”

However, O’Sullivan has been noticeably upbeat throughout the World Championship during his interviews, even in the aftermath of losing to Bingham. That is despite frequent complaints about the venue and backing of a breakaway tour, casting doubt over his future with the World Snooker Tour, though the Rocket’s retirement chances hinge on his happiness next season.