After winning the World Grand Prix, Eurosport’s Dave Hendon examines when Ronnie O’Sullivan might announce his retirement from snooker as well as what ‘The Rocket’ might do with his life after the game. O’Sullivan maintained his excellent form this season by defeating Judd Trump in the World Grand Prix final. The Rocket has, however, made hints that he may soon give up snooker.
When is a good time to end the celebration? Are you high and still enjoying yourself, or has it long since stopped being fun?
Ronnie O’Sullivan has thought about this paradox for a while. He finds it more difficult to answer because, throughout his career, he has experienced periods of extreme success and is still searching for a way out.
Now that he has competed in three tournaments, he has won eight of them: the UK Championship, the Masters, and last night’s World Grand Prix, where he overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat Judd Trump 10-7.
At 48, he has been in the game for about 32 years, and he is undoubtedly at the top of his game. However, rumours about his retirement are still circulating, both from his own remarks and from broader perspectives within the snooker community.
Ken Doherty suggested last week that the greatest player in history of the sport might retire following his or her eighth world championship in May, an unprecedented move from the top.
It may be alluring to put himself in such a situation, but if he can win eight world titles, why not a ninth? How about ten? He might leave a legacy that future generations won’t be able to inherit. And he might miss it just as much as his enormous following would.
O’Sullivan has consistently and occasionally humorously threatened to retire. His first came following his defeat by Doherty in the UK Championship of 1994. He was eighteen.
We could all relate to this immature response to loss because many of us were grumpy teenagers once. But as he grew older over the course of three decades, the threats persisted.
