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There is something mesmerizing to watch as snooker players get the cleats to end up directing the ball to the exact spot, even if the movement seems incredible or the angle, impossible. Among the best in this sport that attracts thousands of followers in countries such as Great Britain or China, without a doubt Ronnie O’Sullivan, this 44-year-old Englishman, an icon of this discipline and who is seeking these days to re-green his curriculum at the Snooker World Cup held in Sheffield (from 2 to 16 August, Eurosport). Champion in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2013, he has been number 1 in the ranking also five times. Among his records, that of leading the table of strokes (hitting all the balls consecutively without failing, which gives 147 total points) with 15, the one that accumulates the most strokes (1,017) or the fastest: 5 minutes and 20 seconds . Hence the nickname “The rocket”, “the Rocket.”
With all won, more than twenty years of professional career, with an extra ability to hit with both hands, and the veterancy of someone who knows he has nothing more to prove, he remains a perfectionist to the extreme, always very critical of himself. He still feels the pressure and that fear of losing, of failing, of not being the best. «I have stage fright most of the time. It’s not nerves, it’s stage fright, thinking ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do it’. But when I get to play it’s like ‘I have to do it, am I not going to play?’ So I do it, even though sometimes I feel really sick, but I say to myself ‘I have to go out there and do it.’ And once you do it, it’s not so bad, “he explains to ABC in an interview with other international media. “It’s not a matter of life and death and I feel like I don’t want to be anywhere else at that moment. But it’s the same old thing: when you show off and your reputation is on the line and everyone expects you to do something magical. And this is not pulling out a wand. Then comes the pressure. The one from outside, which I don’t handle very well, and my own, when it comes to you and you have to comply in the game. I like this pressure, and I’m good at it. It’s the one that I think makes me play better. Hence, he feels comfortable in Sheffield, a tournament in which the public has not been allowed access due to the coronavirus crisis.
17 days in a row
Account of his first world championships won that pressure or concentration did not mean too much effort. “Winning the first time was kind of a relief, then … it was over and I thought I could be playing another 17 days in a row. I’m happy it’s over, because yes there is effort for a long time, but I feel ready to run 10 kilometers the next morning (it has a 34 minute mark). Or you could have two days off and go back to racing. Many of my matches are fluid, fast and frankly painless, ”he continues. One of the criticisms he has made in recent times is the lack of competitiveness among the young players who come to the circuit, whom he considers do not have enough capacity to stay at a good level for a long time, which, in his opinion, it has lowered the quality of the sport and got to bore the spectator.
And how does someone who has won everything manage to maintain the passion of when they started and continue learning? “If Tiger Woods had chosen basketball, it would have been fantastic. They are natural athletes. A bit like me, with the ball. I understand the ball, I look at it and I know how to hit it, how to spin it, how to stop it, how to make an effect. I know how to manipulate it. But I need people to teach me techniques. People telling me, ‘Look, have you tried this? And once they teach it to me, I know how to do it. I said ‘well, Have you seen this what i can do? And that increases your range of play. O’Sullivan also works with a sports psychologist, Steve Peters, because he understood that there was a snooker depression that was not making him enjoy the game. I just wanted to win. “Sometimes I feel a little flat and I need a little pressure, and something to sting me to say, ‘Come on, I’m going to show you how to do this.’ I think many of the best athletes need a bit of conflict to motivate them.
Detox clinics
Also off the table, O’Sullivan has had to deal with more than one rival. His father went to prison for murder when it started to take off. And he’s been through detox clinics. «In 2000 I was always partying too much and I could never say no. I went into a detox clinic and then got a few periods of abstinence. But I think my life always needs some excitement. I understand addiction and I understand that I am an addictive person, so now running is what keeps me with that emotion and makes me overcome other addictions. If I know that I am going to have an addiction, at least one that keeps me fit and healthy. I don’t want to take it off because it stimulates me. And that made snooker become more important in my life. What else am I going to do with my time? Bars and pubs are forbidden, so I’ll try to get the best out of snooker. I don’t like to lose, I like to compete. So that’s why I think that since 2000 I’ve done my best. Logically the spell has not always been on the table all these years, but it has not been for addictions, but for personal reasons. I think that if 20 years ago someone had told me that I would be here today, I would not have believed it. Trying to remain the best.
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