Ronnie O'Sullivan tells his kids: "Don't you dare go into snooker"

In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com, maverick superstar Ronnie O'Sullivan spoke of his love for snooker and the simple life, but has also dissuaded his kids away from following his career choice.

He said: "To be honest with you, I wouldn't encourage my son to play snooker. I would say take football up, or play golf, or play tennis, or Formula 1.

"Get involved in an industry where there's a lot of glamour. I've already told both my children 'don't you dare go into snooker'. It's bad for your health. Become a lawyer or an accountant or whatever, try and produce the next Amazon company, a bit more exciting than potting balls in some leisure centre.

"I like to play and I enjoy playing when I’m not preparing for anything and there’s no pressure and no big tournaments coming up. I love snooker. But once you start to think, ‘Is my game in good shape? Have I played enough? Do I need to do this?’ that’s when it becomes a job then."

O'Sullivan claims he practiced for around "six or seven hours" in total on a table during the enforced lockdown break, but spent plenty of time putting himself through drills to keep his technique in check.

Asked whether he missed the game during the enforced lockdown break, O'Sullivan responded in typically wry fashion.

"Yeah... for about three minutes. And then I got over it.

"Sometimes I'd just practice my bridge hand to see if that feels good. Sitting here talking to you, I'm practicing with my bridge hand!

"I don't need to go on a table, a lot of it is just drills, and if it's all drilled in, it's like a golf swing, the club's just an extension of your body, like the cue. If you get everything set up right, and you get everything going at the right speed and timing, in theory, you don't actually need to practice.

"All my life I've looked for the easy, softer options, I've always looked for a technique that doesn't need a lot of working on, it's reliable.

"Like an Audi car, it'll get you everywhere and do it very well, but it's not a Ferrari, it's not a Ford either, it's somewhere mid-range and gets the job done."

O'Sullivan still has a hunger to win the World Snooker Championship, but once again, if he is to do so, it will be on his own terms.

Live snooker returns to Eurosport and Eurosport app. Watch the World Championship and qualifying from 21st July – 16th August.

For the full breakdown of dates, times and TV details, check out our World Snooker Championship on TV guide.

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