Ronnie O’Sullivan opens up on ‘worst time of my life’ when snooker legend felt like he had ‘let himself down’
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has opened up on the “worst time” in his life.
The snooker legend admitted that he felt like he had “let himself down”.
O’Sullivan, 47, has struggled with mental health problems and daily addictions during his trophy-filled career.
The seven-time World Champion revealed that he had issues with confidence and a lack of consistency.
He told The Overlap: “I had so many faults and I played players that could be ranked 30 in the world, but if he played to certain level I thought I could not beat him.
“I was just too in and out and he was consistent.
“That was a really bad low for me, I knew I could not win the big ones and that felt really bad for me.
“I knew if I could get some consistency together with my ability then that would not have been an issue.
“So that was horrible, I couldn’t handle that, but I was not prepared to really do anything about it.
“I just buried my head in the sand and it was not until I got clean and thought I have loads of time on my hands.
“I can’t get a drink in, I can’t go clubbing, I had been out virtually all the time, every day and every night for about six years.
“Every time I had a tournament coming up I would clean up. I would lock myself away at home. I couldn’t say no.
“It was the worst time in my life really. I let myself down.”
O’Sullivan was joined on the podcast by Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane.
He then lightly claimed that one “bad time” came in Manchester when he was in the back of a car with Neville.
This led to laughter from the panel. However, O’Sullivan insisted that it had nothing to do with the former Manchester United star.
He said: “It wasn’t to do with you, it was how I was feeling in myself.
“That was when I was really suffering, I can’t remember what year it was, a funny old time.”
O’Sullivan recently premiered his documentary in Leicester Square, London titled “Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything”.
He allowed a camera crew to follow him behind the scenes in 2022.