Ronnie O’Sullivan first worked with Steve Peters in 2011. (Image: Getty)
has pinpointed the decision that helped turn things around for him. ‘The Rocket’ is widely perceived to be the greatest snooker player of all time, having won seven world titles and a record 23 Triple Crown tournaments.
But the former world No.1 has also had to overcome issues, having battled with depression and drug addiction during the early years on the professional tour.
O’Sullivan was also prone to erratic behaviour during matches, notoriously walking out and conceding his match against at the 2006 UK Championship, leading to a £20,800 fine.
But in 2011, the 49-year-old began seeing sports psychologist Steve Peters, with the pair working together ever since. And in a candid interview with , the star was in little doubt when asked what is the best decision he’s ever made.
“Agreeing to see Steve Peters,” he said. “I’d kind of given up on everything at the time. I’d had enough of playing snooker, but when I met Steve, he got my interest going again.
“At the time everyone else was just saying, ‘be positive, be positive’, and I was fed up with hearing the word, ‘positive’. Then Steve said, ‘I’m not going to tell you to be positive, because that doesn’t work’, which intrigued me and made me think there’s a science to it and I’m quite science based.”
O’Sullivan won the world title in 2012 after working with Peters. (Image: Getty)
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From there, the relationship between the pair became stronger, with O’Sullivan adding: “I’m not one to leave it up to the gods. I believe that if you get the right, it’s going to be good and that’s what I bought into with Steve.”
The change of mental approach from O’Sullivan paid dividends as he won his fourth and fifth world titles in 2012 and 2013. He’s since gone on to land two more, drawing him level with fellow icon Hendry.
And it was after his last Crucible success in 2022, that Peters revealed how the Wordsley-born star had intended to quit the sport when they first met. “He did say he was coming to the end back then but I think it was more to do with the fact that he wasn’t happy, wasn’t performing well and had lost his direction in the sport,” he said.
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“His strategy was then to leave and didn’t want to torture himself for another couple of years. But in discussion with him, all he wanted to do was be happy playing again and we’re still saying that 10 years on. Of course he wants to win but not at the cost of his happiness.”
Peters, 71, has also worked with the likes of British Cycling, UK Athletics, and . In 2014, he was recruited by the FA to work with the , and has written a series of books on psychology.