RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has vowed to continue playing a shorter form of snooker to keep his wife “happy.”
The Rocket, 50, has won a record-equalling seven Crucible titles but admits he struggles with the concentration and focus required during the 17-day World Championship.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan wants to keep playing more Snooker 900 events Credit: Getty
The uncertainty of the sport’s traditional longer form has made life hard for his family Credit: PA
On the professional circuit, there is no time limit to frames – at the recent Worlds, one farcical semi-final frame between Mark Allen and Wu Yize lasted a record 100 minutes.
In this late stage of his career, the sport’s GOAT has chosen to play more Snooker 900 events, where frames last no more than 900 seconds (15 minutes) and there is a strict 20-second shot clock.
A year ago, O’Sullivan got hitched to long-term partner Laila Rouass, an actress, and the pair have since relocated from Essex to Dubai.
While he is not going to quit playing the traditional form of the game, O’Sullivan will pursue more opportunities in the sport’s version of Twenty20 cricket.
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It means he can safely book a restaurant reservation for dinner or spend the night at home with his loved one.
Speaking on Pluto TV, O’Sullivan said: “For me that’s the biggest thing, it gives you structure.
“I know if I play at 12pm, I’m done by 2.30pm. Have a nice lunch. Get a time to sleep.
“I get time to come back, have a shower, get warmed up for the evening session.
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“I’ve already planned what I’m doing tonight. I know I’m going to be in Woodford probably around half past 10.
“If I was playing in a normal tournament, I’d go listen: ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen later. You’ll have to wait for me.’
“And the wife ain’t happy about that. But seeing I will be home at half ten, she’s like: ‘Cool, I can get on with my day.’
“Everyone’s happy. Happy wife, happy life. 900 brings a happy life. That’s what we want.
“We’re still going to work. Still doing our job. It’s 9-5. Even [Amazon boss] Jeff Bezos goes in at 9-5.
“He doesn’t go, I don’t know when I’m coming home love. They just want to know.
“You see it at Wimbledon, it starts to rain, the players are in there for six, seven hours. It must be awful for them.”
O’Sullivan – whose 35th consecutive snooker campaign starts later this month at the Shanghai Masters – was crowned the inaugural Global 900 world champion in Reading in May.
Yet he says he would advise his son to stay away from the traditional format as it takes too long to master.
He said: “With Snooker 900, everyone knows where they are – players, fans, TVs, whoever is involved – so it just makes it much more systematic.
“It puts a different dynamic on the game. It’s a great format. Snooker is a hard game.
“I’d never say to my son: ‘Play snooker.’ I try to take him away from it. But if he said ‘I want to play 900,’ I’ll go: ‘Yeah, fine.’
“You have got an hour, two hours of pain, of enjoyment, of fun, it’s good. Go for it.
“The players looked like they were having more fun playing Snooker 900 than they were at the Crucible.
“We all want to win the World Championship but at some point, you want to enjoy the game. I believe in Snooker 900. It’s enjoyable snooker.
“If you want painful snooker, go and play the WST tour. That’s F1. That’s hard and you’re really going to have to grind that.
“But if you want to be a Touring Car racing driver and you love driving, want to make a living, have fun and just have a good life – go play Snooker 900.
“And you can be the best in the world at Snooker 900.”
Watch Pluto TV for the latest Snooker 900 competitions. Download the Pluto TV app to watch on your Smart TV
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
1977 – John Spencer (2)
1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
1983 – Steve Davis (2)
1984 – Steve Davis (3)
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis (4)
1988 – Steve Davis (5)
1989 – Steve Davis (6)
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams (2)
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins (2)
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
2009 – John Higgins (3)
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins (4)
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby (2)
2017 – Mark Selby (3)
2018 – Mark Williams (3)
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
2021 – Mark Selby (4)
2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
2023 – Luca Brecel
2024 – Kyren Wilson
2025 – Zhao Xintong
2026 – Wu Yize
Most World Titles (modern era)
7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
2 – Alex Higgins
