Unique: Ronnie O’Sullivan on why he nonetheless desires his children to keep away from snooker – ‘You shut down feelings’

Ronnie O’Sullivan has repeated his declare that he doesn’t need his kids to pursue a profession in snooker, saying “I simply wouldn’t need my baby to stay that life”.

However talking to advertise his new two-hour Eurosport present Seventh Heaven, premiering on Saturday 15 October, the Rocket mentioned that though he liked the game, he believed the atmosphere was not conducive to a contented life.

When requested if his opinion had modified, O’Sullivan instructed Eurosport: “No, completely not. I feel being in a snooker room, a darkish room, taking part in as most snooker gamers do for five-six hours a day… they don’t discuss, they don’t talk, it’s a lonely life on the tour.

“I need my children to be sociable. I need them to be out within the recent air. I need them to have a great life.

“And I simply take a look at snooker and I feel that for all however a handful of gamers, it’s an actual wrestle. While you see them at tournaments that’s the nice aspect of it. However the precise daily, in a snooker membership, the vitamin isn’t nice, the atmosphere’s not nice.

“I sort of simply assume, would I need my baby to develop up in that atmosphere? Would I need my baby to undergo what I went by?

“Now in the event that they went by what I went by, I might say it’s most likely price it as a result of the rewards have offset among the adverse sides of it. However that’s not the case for lots of the gamers.

“So that you sort of assume there are higher selections and higher selections to make.

“It wasn’t like I used to be saying it as a result of snooker’s not an incredible sport – I like the game, I like taking part in it. However I might equally love taking part in tennis and golf and driving a System 1 automobile.

“So I might all the time steer my child to decide on a sport that they might equally get as a lot love out of, however but most likely have a greater time, a greater life and revel in it extra. That was why I mentioned what I mentioned [last year]. I most likely didn’t clarify it nicely sufficient. That was my thought course of.”

O’Sullivan is the game’s most well-known face and arguably its biggest ever participant, with the Rocket sealing a record-equalling seventh world title on the Crucible in Might.

However regardless of his successes on the inexperienced baize, O’Sullivan mentioned he desires his kids to discover a completely different ardour.

“It’s only a robust sport. A variety of snooker gamers are fairly introverted as a result of they’re quiet for lots of the time,” he mentioned.

“It’s fairly a mentally taxing sport and I feel you shut down plenty of feelings. I simply wouldn’t need my baby to stay that life.

“I might need them to be inventive, expressive, work in an atmosphere the place they’re surrounded by good individuals which can be inspiring. I simply don’t see that power on the snooker circuit or within the snooker golf equipment.”

O’Sullivan mentioned there have been modifications World Snooker might implement to make the game extra enticing, though he wouldn’t be drawn on specifics and mentioned he had given up making an attempt to drive constructive change.

“I’ve simply accepted there isn’t any change,” he added.

“The one change that may occur is that if somebody at World Snooker decides that they assume it’s the appropriate factor to do.

“The gamers don’t actually get listened to. They’re an afterthought – enterprise first, snooker gamers second.

“You sort of [think] there’s no level making an attempt to have a voice in snooker for the gamers. I’m higher off simply doing my very own factor , having fun with it for what it’s and preserving my mouth shut actually.”

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