Ronnie O’Sullivan is busy travelling the world with his cue over Christmas, returning to the UK in January ahead of a defence of his Masters title.
The Rocket has just played the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship in Saudi Arabia, where he was practicing in the academy named in his honour.
The 49-year-old was defending the title in that tournament but was beaten by eventual champion Mark Allen in the semi-finals.
From Saudi Arabia, O’Sullivan heads to Macau to play in the exhibition event starting on Christmas Day, the Macau Snooker Masters, which also features Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson, Jak Jones, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu , Stuart Bingham and Si Jiahui.
Then comes another trip to mainland China before returning to get set for his opening round game at the Masters against John Higgins on 12 January.
‘I get back maybe 3 or 4 of January,’ said O’Sullivan. ‘I’m here [Riyadh], then Macau for a week, then China for 3-4 days then I’m coming home.
‘I think it’s probably not an ideal situation coming here at Christmas and then going to China, but [last season] I did so well winning Shanghai, the UK Championship and I can’t remember what else I’ve done, but I really played a lot of snooker, so it didn’t matter.
‘But at the moment I’ve literally played hardly any matches since August, it is what it is. Take the long view, it might not happen at the Masters this year, or next year. Just keep on playing, enjoying it, having fun and see what happens.’
O’Sullivan beginning his Masters defence against Higgins will be a blockbuster start to the tournament in north London and one that the Scot is relishing.
‘I was in the house and had the family over and I said to the missus, “I fancy getting Ronnie coming out here” and it came out,’ Higgins told Eurosport of the eye-catching draw. ‘I’m looking forward to it. You don’t know how many more times you’ll get to play there. I’ve not played Ronnie in a while in London.
‘Obviously it should be a good occasion. It’s one in the memory bank to look forward to.’
O’Sullivan’s semi-final in Riyadh last week was his third of the season, although he only needed to win one match to make the final four in Saudi.
The Rocket remains without a run to a final this campaign, but is confident that a run to a title is not far away.
‘My game’s in good shape,’ he said. ‘As long as I apply myself, little bit of run of the ball, a couple of opponents don’t play so well against you, get on a run, win the tournament, then before you know it you’re back in a good spot.’
MORE: Judd Trump labelled ‘joint-sixth’ greatest snooker player of all-time
MORE: Ronnie O’Sullivan explains how he helped out Judd Trump early in his career
MORE: Stephen Hendry predicts which Class of 92 legend will retire first
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
