Ronnie O’Sullivan shares retirement thoughts after reaching European Masters second round

Ronnie O'Sullivan clashes with Mark Allen during tense game

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Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan has hinted towards retirement after he admitted winning is no longer enough of a motivation to continue playing. ‘The Rocket’ has advanced to the second round of the European Masters but has pondered why he’s still competing after claiming every major accolade in the sport.

Many fans will have been braced for the day when O’Sullivan takes his leave of the game, either due to talents waning or simply because of boredom.

The 46-year-old has cultivated a reputation for being one of the most divisive figures in snooker, infamous for his blasé attitude and candour.

And it was following O’Sullivan’s 5-1 win over Nigel Bond in the European Masters on Monday that the veteran gave mixed messages regarding his future.

Eager to not go into detail about the match itself, O’Sullivan said he ‘loves his life’ and just wants to ‘enjoy every moment of it’ before switching into a more ominous gear.

“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 actually want to keep going through the roof,” he told the World Snooker Tour after being pressed on his recent achievements.

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“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 just enjoy it. I take it for what it is [sighs] – 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 – and getting away from home, I suppose.”

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The Rocket turned back the clock to win his second World Grand Prix title in December, adding to a CV that also comprises six World Championships, seven Masters titles and seven UK Championships.

Snooker’s other top-four ranked stars—Mark Selby, Judd Trump, and Neil Robertson—also advanced from their held-over matches in Milton Keynes to reach the second stage of the European Masters.

O’Sullivan will face China’s Zhang Anda in the last 64 of the tournament, the same stage in which Irishman Aaron Hill knocked him out of last year’s competition.

Asked whether he could add a seventh world title to his credit, the most famous face in snooker told World Snooker Tour: “Possibly, but [I’m] not bothered.

“Six is alright. Didn’t think I’d get one at one point so six is pretty cool.

“Yeah. I’m not greedy.”

O’Sullivan’s six snooker world titles are enough to put him joint-fifth among the competition’s most decorated winners, while Stephen Hendry (seven) is the only active player with more to his name.

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