Ronnie O'Sullivan to miss UK snooker tournaments in 2023-24 season, prioritising Asian events
Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed he thought Luca Brecel would not beat Mark Selby in the World Snooker Championship final; O'Sullivan was stunned by the Belgian in the quarter-finals at the Crucible in April, after losing seven consecutive frames in the final session.
Last Updated: 11/05/23 7:10pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan says he will miss the UK snooker tournaments next season in order to focus on events in Asia.
O'Sullivan, who failed to win a ranking event last season, has played most events on the snooker calendar in recent years, but went through a period where he played a limited schedule.
Four Asian tournaments have been confirmed for next season - the Shanghai Masters, Wuhan Open, International Championship and Six-red World Championship.
- Jimmy White wins World Seniors Championship
- Dimitri Van den Bergh says Luca Brecel has done Belgium proud
- Luca Brecel beats Mark Selby in the Crucible final
"I've gone the other way now, I'm going to travel and play all the overseas tournaments and miss all the UK tournaments," O'Sullivan told TalkSport.
"I can't do it all. Before I used to say, 'I won't travel, I'll stay in the UK', which was sweet, but now I think at this stage of my career, obviously Asia's a big place to play, bigger tournaments, so I'll do them and miss the UK ones.
"If I don't do well in the Asian ones then I'll get home early and then I don't mind hopping on a plane and going to Scotland or Belfast but, if I do well, I want to have a week at home, chill out with the dogs and then get back on a plane and go back to India or wherever."
World No 1 O'Sullivan squandered a 10-6 lead to Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals of the World Championship in April, losing seven consecutive frames to the Belgian.
Brecel went on to make another comeback in the semi-final against Si Jiahui and beat Mark Selby in the final to become the first player from mainland Europe to win at the Crucible.
O'Sullivan admits he was surprised to see Brecel find a way past Selby in the best-of-35 final.
"I thought Luca was unbelievable," said O'Sullivan. "You talk about talent - [in football] you look at someone who does things with the ball and you think, 'How does he do that?' And Luca is that player.
"I know how he does it but trying to do it is another thing. I didn't think he'd beat Selby in the final because I thought over two days Selby would get into him but he just kept playing his game.
"It was phenomenal. He made that tournament, and the young Chinese guy [Si Jiahui] in the semi-final. Just pot, pot, pot, scoring, clearing up in one visit, and that's what everybody wants to see."
Dimitri Van den Bergh: Snooker star Luca Brecel has done Belgium proud
Former World Darts Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh revealed he had a tear in his eye after watching snooker ace Luca Brecel win the Crucible title.
Speaking to Sky Sports, 'The Dream Maker' said: "Brecel's success will put snooker in the highlights because he's done an incredible job. It was absolutely fantastic and all the comebacks, wow!
"I've kept messaging him saying 'believe in yourself, you're a beast, never give up' and he would say the same things back to me.
"I'm very proud of the young man and I just hope to do the same thing."
Van den Bergh first met Brecel in the midst of lockdown when they were both playing tournaments at the same venue in Milton Keynes.
"I was looking at him thinking 'I know you from somewhere' and he said the same thing to me, then I said 'you're that snooker player' and he said 'yeah, you're that dart player'. Then we exchanged numbers and stayed in contact so seeing him win that world title, I was on the couch all nervy. I'm really proud of that man and honestly I had tears in my eyes. I was full of joy."
