Ronnie O’Sullivan left his cue in the bin after smashing it on the table (Image: Getty)
Ronnie O’Sullivan was told not to leave his snapped cue in a bin after his angry outburst at the Championship League. The seven-time world champion says he “lost the plot” in his encounter with Robert Milkins last Thursday, which ended in his fourth defeat in five matches.
The Rocket was livid after during the 3-2 contest and swiftly apologised to the referee for smashing his cue on the table. ’s dreadful run of form saw his frustration boil over as he later disgustedly threw his cue into a bin in the players’ lounge, before it was reportedly retrieved by his manager, Robbie.
On Friday morning, the 49-year-old suddenly on “medical grounds”. He had been preparing to face fellow legend on Sunday afternoon, but was replaced by Neil Robertson.
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O’Sullivan, who won The Masters last year, broke his silence on the meltdown on Monday, telling Eurosport: “It [the cue] was in the bin, one of them wheelie bins, and then my mate said, ‘look, you can’t leave that there’, so he got it out and brought it with us.
“But I’ve got a couple of other cues that I’ve got to start practising with, because obviously there are some tournaments coming up, so I’m going to continue to play. So I need to get used to the cue now.”
Opening up on why he needed to withdraw from the triple crown that followed, the Essex potter added: “It was a tough decision to withdraw. It was a nightmare decision really to make. If you had asked me on Sunday ‘was I ready to play?’ I would have probably been okay to play.
The Rocket admits he “lost the plot” last Thursday (Image: Eurosport)
“It’s such a massive tournament and I have been on this three-week trip away. I think I just exhausted myself. A lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that, it just got a bit too much really.
“I mean I lost the plot on Thursday. Snapped my cue. So that is unplayable. I just knew at that moment in time, the right decision was not to play.”
O’Sullivan has struggled for form this season and sits 18th on the one-year list. He was beaten by eventual finalist Barry Hawkins in the first round of the UK Championship before losing to Mark Allen in the semi-finals of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.
Previously, he has also missed the German Masters to prioritise his “health and wellbeing” and pulled out of the Welsh Open due to anxiety. He also withdrew from last month’s Scottish Open one day before he was due to play.