Ronnie O'Sullivan to treat time in Sheffield for snooker World Championship 'like a holiday'

The six time title holder, who opened up a shop at Meadowhall this week selling snooker memorabilia and clothing, said he intends to spend time at the store as well as running in the city, describing his time in Sheffield as ‘just like a holiday’.

O’Sullivan, known as The Rocket, claims he does not care about the prospect of equalling Stephen Hendry's record of seven Crucible crowns, as he prepares to begin the defence of his world snooker title, with the tournament starting today.

In a sign the 45-year-old might be falling out of love with the game again, he went on to admit he would prefer to adopt a non-playing role in the tournament and described how he would treat his time in Sheffield as a ‘holiday’.

O'Sullivan said: “Winning the world championship has always seemed an anticlimax to me, the same as walking out as defending champion. It is what it is, it either floats your boat or it doesn't.

“I wish I shared your excitement about going for my seventh (title), but I don't. It suits my lifestyle, and playing snooker is probably the one part of it that I like the least.

“If I could not play, that would be great, and I could just take the other benefits of snooker, but I suppose you're never going to love 100 per cent of what you do, so I just have to suck it up and get through some of the playing parts.”

He admits he is not looking forward to the 17-day grind at the Crucible

O'Sullivan blamed a ‘low boredom threshold’ for his dislike of the 17-day slog in Sheffield, but having opened a bespoke shop in the nearby Meadowhall shopping centre earlier this month, he said he plans to visit the store.

“I'm just here to enjoy it,” added O'Sullivan. “If I wasn't to do well in the tournament it's not the end of the world. I've got the shop and I've got some great running routes and it's just like a holiday.”

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