Snooker’s head coach is celebrating his 35-years anniversary.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is free from the long-standing World Snooker regulation during the World Grand Prix.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been granted permission to be exempt from a long-standing World Snooker restriction for the current World Grand Prix.
On Saturday evening, the defending UK Championship and Masters champion faced Ding Junhui in the tournament’s semi-final, defeating him 6-1.
According to the guy himself, it’s been a mixed week in Leicester. Despite victories against Pang Junxu and Zhou Yuelong earlier in the week, O’Sullivan remarked that he was having ‘no delight’ from the way he was playing, citing his early cue ball strikes.
However, the seven-time world champion won five sets in a row to defeat Gary Wilson 5-1 in the quarterfinals.
He next played his best snooker of the competition against Ding, who really didn’t do anything wrong except come up against O’Sullivan.
That sets up a mouth-watering match against world number two Judd Trump, with the world’s two finest players facing off over 17 frames in Leicester.
Fans who pay attention may have noticed that O’Sullivan has been wearing black trainers during several of his recent matches.
According to O’Sullivan, the reason for this is that he has plantar fasciitis, which is tissue inflammation at the bottom of the foot between the heel bone and the toes.
Speaking to Eurosport, he explained: “I have plantar fasciitis, which is, the best way to explain it, it’s like
According to World Snooker’s dress code, players are often expected to wear sophisticated, black dress shoes when participating in matches, with athletic shoes among those that are judged ‘not suitable’ in normal conditions.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis said on commentary for BBC during the Masters final that, given O’Sullivan’s medical issue, he has been given permission to change his attire.
He commented: “He’s been struggling with some kind of foot injury so has been given permission to wear training shoes.”
That practice has continued during the World Grand Prix – and it remains to be seen whether he will need the trainers for the final against Trump.
World Snooker has faced various calls from players, including reigning world champion Luca Brecel, to relax the dress code for all circumstances – meaning we may eventually see the code changed.
In 2017, O’Sullivan suffered a sprained ankle before that year’s English Open – and posted on Twitter that wearing trainers had caused backlash from ‘someone’ behind the scenes.
‘The Rocket’ threatened to pull out of the event entirely, but World Snooker later granted an exemption to the usual dress code and allowed him to compete in trainers.
And if you were wondering, he did go on to win that tournament, beating Kyren Wilson 9-2 in the final.
Ronnie O’Sullivan made a concerning statement in his post-match interview following his 4-3 victory against Zhou Yuelong at the World Grand Prix.
O’Sullivan took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Chinese snooker great, making a century break in the second set. However, he required a final frame decider to defeat the number 15, who came back determinedly with a clearance of 76 to even the scores.
The Rocket will now face Gary Wilson, a former World Championship semi-finalist, in the quarterfinals.
The 48-year-old has previously indicated that he will take a brief vacation from snooker at the conclusion of the competition to prepare for a demanding end-of-season schedule.
And he alarmed supporters after the match with an honest statement about the status of his game, stating he isn’t ‘getting any happiness’ from playing like he is now.
O’Sullivan told ITV’s Rob Walker: “I’ve had to truly evaluate if I can keep feeling as I’m feeling out there.
“I just don’t enjoy the way I hit the ball.” I feel like it’s just hard labor; I have no idea where the balls are going, and most of it is guessing.
“The worst part is, you’re also winning bloody tournaments. If I was getting excited every round while playing like that, it would be an easy decision.
“It’s been happening like this for 25 to 30
Ronnie O’Sullivan has urged snooker officials to implement a regulation that would “get rid of boring players” who “drain the life” out of everyone.
The 48-year-old, who defeated Ding Junhui at the Masters despite his opponent’s remarkable 147 break, expressed his thoughts on the subject during an interview with Eurosport.
Former world number one Stephen Hendry said at the end of last year that matches should be called off when the trailing opponent needs snooker.
Shaun Murphy also advocated for frames to be stopped if a player required a snooker to win, but others disagreed. Eurosport analyst Mark Valledy predicted that the regulation change will have a negative impact on the sport.
“Ripping the heart and soul from the sport with this idea,”
