Ronnie O’Sullivan has confessed he is ‘feeling old’ and hinted that retirement from snooker may not be far off.
Despite booking his spot in the semi-final of the UK Championship and being the World No 1, O’Sullivan has hypothesised leaving the sport behind to take up a new one.
Speaking after his narrow win over Zhou, he said: “I’m really hard on myself for my age. You feel quite old out there playing.
“I think shall I go and play Chinese eight-ball pool. I like being in China. I’ve got to see if my sponsors are cool with it, if they’re alright with it then it’s an easier gig for me.
“It’s a smaller table, the players aren’t as good so you can get away with it. You bring a snooker skill to pool then you’re ahead of the game as this is technically the harder sport.
“You get to a point, I don’t want to be a sad-case out there. You look at them and think ‘he’s done mate’. You see that with older players, you think ‘just stop’. It’s going to come at some point, I don’t want it to happen.
“I still love playing pool, billiards, all cue sports. It’s about making the decision at the right time. I love snooker but when you’re out there playing these young guys who are really hungry it just doesn’t stop.
“They’re like grand-children to me and it’s tough. At some point it’s done and dusted. I don’t want to be going on too long and flogging a dead horse.”