Ronnie O'Sullivan plans to "retire" after three more World Championships and then tour the world for his fans.
文/Phil Haigh，《Metro》
O'Sullivan, who beat veteran World Championship champion David Lilly in the first round of the English Open, will be challenged by Michael Georgwu in wednesday's second round.
Even after winning the first round, O'Sullivan's mind is not on the game, he is thinking about retirement, the cycle of games has not been able to attract his attention, and his eyes have been set on the future.
O'Sullivan confesses that he feels he has been decoupled from the sport, that he has begun to consciously make arrangements for retirement seven years ago, and that he feels that he is now incomparably close to the "final moment" of retirement.
O'Sullivan said in an interview: "As long as you want to open, you can get out of the game. If you still have a desire, then every game is a life-and-death contest for you, and i wanted to win everything a few years ago, but now I'm completely detached. ”
"I'm not interested in playing, I just go there and play. I treat the competition as a vacation and enjoy myself wherever I go. ”
Asked if he would still be able to devote himself to the Tour, O'Sullivan said there was still a way but the prospects were slim. After being indifferent to the current tour, he has made plans for his retirement.
He said: "If the Tour can return to China, how exciting it will be. Every game in China will be a very, very good race, and if China can re-organize the tournament I will be patient for the next year and show my focus as a professional snooker, but it seems that I will not see the recovery of the Chinese race. ”
"So, I have a goal, let me play at least three more World Championships."
"Three years later, I'll be 49 years old, and that could be a good time. That way I can focus on my other things and just focus on them. ”
"When I'm able to stir up the storm in the race and have some results, that's okay. If I hadn't achieved anything, I probably wouldn't have played again. I don't want to embarrass myself, nor do I want to make myself so bad that I can cause others to criticize and dislike me. ”
The 45-year-old doesn't just think about the last years of his career, O'Sullivan also intends to play a global exhibition tournament for at least two years after retiring.
O'Sullivan said: "Once I decide to retire, I will probably do a two- or three-year farewell tour around the world. Under the watchful eyes of the audience, I will enjoy playing only for the fans. ”
"I do like to play, it's just that when you play you have to be ready to be tortured there and I don't want to be tortured. My love of playing wasn't enough for me to hold on to those tortures. I'm in good shape right now, and that's what matters most. ”
O'Sullivan believes he has downplayed his desire to compete with other top players and while he can still play at a great level, he will not have to waste any more effort on it.
O'Sullivan said: "My mind is no longer here, even if I play a few random shots, I am still enough to be a top eight player. ”
"I'm not going to be a player like Selby who would suck blood for snooker. I don't care that much. I don't want to be anyone else, for what they put in, what they get, I just want to say 'you keep it guy, I don't need it'. ”
When the passion is drained, the 37-ranked champion is more than ever willing to treat snooker as a job, motivated by more business opportunities than winning more titles.
O'Sullivan said: "I really don't care so much about the game anymore. I just walked around and treated it like an exhibition game, casually playing ball and doing what I had to do, which was fine. ”
"My agent told me that as long as I was playing professional games, my business activities were much easier to talk about, so I had to play, but I was already very 'Buddhist'."
"As long as I can play a little better from time to time, for an old guy like me, there are a few decent games that are worthy of myself, and that's all I need to do."
"There's nothing in snooker that excites and chases me, and my desire and ambition to win is gone. Seven or eight years ago, I knew that snooker wasn't the business I'd struggled for all my life. But I'm at least going to work hard for myself and treat playing as a job. ”
"If I lose, I'm not upset, and if I win, I'm not too excited. I'm not prepared to put more effort into snooker. If the game goes well, that's fine, and if it doesn't go well, then it's not bad to wash up and sleep early. ”