Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed that he considered skipping the Snooker World Championship just 10 days ago because he was too scared of embarrassing himself. The seven-time world champion, who lost 10-7 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the World Open final on Sunday, admitted he had been struggling with self-doubt and technical issues.
O'Sullivan, 50, stormed into a 4-0 lead against his Thai opponent but was then outplayed as Un-Nooh made a 147-break and three consecutive centuries to claim the biggest win of his career. The Rocket has not won a ranking title since January 2024 and is currently ranked 10th in the world.
Speaking after the defeat, O'Sullivan said: 'I wasn't even going to play in the World Championship 10 days ago because I was too scared. I felt I was going to embarrass myself. But now I feel like I probably will go because I feel like I can at least pot a few balls.' He added that he is 'not in a great, great place' with his game but is better than he was two weeks ago.
O'Sullivan, who had beaten world No.1 Judd Trump in the semi-final, has decided not to play at the Tour Championship in Manchester but is now targeting the Snooker World Championship, which starts on April 18 at the Crucible in Sheffield. He described his game as 'one-dimensional' and admitted he cannot play certain shots, limiting the pressure he can put on opponents.
'I just have to accept that's how it is,' O'Sullivan said. 'If I can find that little bit extra, then I could have maybe made it a bit more tougher for him. But on the whole, I have to be in a much better place now than I was for the last three years.'
