Ronnie O’Sullivan said he’s enjoying his life but doesn’t care about winning the World Championship again.
The 46 year-old was speaking after his 5-1 victory over Nigel Bond in the European Masters on Monday in Milton Keynes.
World number two O’Sullivan compiled a high break of 132 en route to a comfortable early triumph at the Marshall Arena.
The World Grand Prix champion from December recently made headlines away from the baize after long-term partner Laila Rouass announced their split on social media.
But O’Sullivan, a winner of six World Championship titles, insisted that he’s content while not putting pressure on himself to add any more silverware to his bulging CV.
“I don’t really like talking about my performances, other than just leave it out there. It was what it was, and I’m happy to be through,” O’Sullivan told the World Snooker Tour after reaching the last 64.
“I’m pretty much in a good place all the time really. If I have a bad moment it affects me, so I focus on feeling good all the time and on doing the things I want to do.”
“It might sound selfish, but I love what I do. I love my life and I just want to enjoy every moment of it.
“Sometimes there are things that you’re not going to want to do, but I’ve just accepted that as long as that’s maybe 10% of my life, then I suppose we all have to do some things at some part in our life that we don’t want to do.
“I couldn’t give a monkey’s (about the World Snooker Championship). I’ll just go, have good fun, enjoy it.
“It’ll be a nice little road trip, I’m looking forward to spending 17 days in the great city and just having fun – come what may.
“I just don’t care. I’ve done so much in the game and won so much, I’ve hit the ceiling and I don’t want to keep going through the roof.
“It gets boring after a while and I just don’t get excited. I’m sorry, but if you’d won as much as I’d won, you’d probably feel the same.
“It’s just a way of life, I enjoy it. I take it for what it is – that’s why I was so excited at the start of my career, because you want to achieve.
“When you’ve broken every record and done everything there is to do in the game, you kind of think ‘why am I still doing it?’.
“I have to find other reasons to do it and winning is not one of them. I enjoy just doing what I do.”
O’Sullivan was one of four players taking part in heldover matches from the preliminary stages of the European Masters, with Mark Selby, Judd Trump, and Neil Robertson all safely negotiating their opening hurdles as well.
In the last 64, Scottish Open champion Luca Brecel and recent Players Championship runner-up Barry Hawkins were among those to advance on the first day.
But Jack Lisowski became the first notable casualty of the week after his indifferent campaign continued with a 5-3 reverse against Ashley Hugill.
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Featured photo credit: WST
