Ronnie O’Sullivan may have secured five major titles this season, but he thinks it has been a ‘technically terrible’ and possibly his worst campaign in terms of his technique.
The world number one has been able to resolve the issues with his cue action and win the UK Championship, Masters, Shanghai Masters, World Grand Prix and World Masters of Snooker in an impressive streak of victories.
The Rocket insists that he has not been playing particularly well and believes he has reached an all-time low in terms of his technique.
‘In some ways it has been a good season, in some ways it has been a terrible season,’ O’Sullivan told ITV at the Tour Championship.
‘I always compare it to the year I had five finals that I lost [2020/21], I was really enjoying my snooker, felt like I was playing well, cueing well. I didn’t get the wins but I wasn’t really that bothered, I was excited to play every match and felt like I was competing well and playing good.
‘This year I’ve got the wins but technically I’ve been terrible, probably my worst year technically.
‘I’ve had to grind out the wins and that’s never going to give me much satisfaction.
‘It’s a bit like ice skaters, they mark them for their technical and then for their dance routines. I’ve tried to separate the two and go, technically it wasn’t great but mentally I’ve done well to cope with that, still play and compete.
‘That’s the way I try and break it down to try and not beat myself up. Wins are not that important to me, because if they were I’d be sat here saying, “It’s been an amazing season! I’m so happy!” But I’m not, I’m genuinely not.’
O’Sullivan could still finish the season successfully at the Tour Championship this week and the upcoming World Championship, but he insists he is still searching for some form.
‘I’m proud that I’ve got what I’ve got and I’ve made the best of it,’ he said. ‘The only way to make the best of it is compete mentally.
‘It’s been tough because I’ve had to grind out stuff, I’m proud of that, but I can’t do that for three, four, five years. I’ll have to find some form at some point to think, this is coming easy to me now.'
O’Sullivan is playing Ali Carter over two sessions on Wednesday in the Tour Championship quarter-finals at Manchester Central.
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