'Definitely retire' - Ronnie O'Sullivan jokes he'd quit snooker if rule change to attract younger crowd was brought in

Ronnie O'Sullivan has announced he would immediately retire from snooker if the game decided to take a leaf out of darts' book.

The 48-year-old is snooker's most decorated player in history having won 41 ranking titles.

3 O'Sullivan is regarded as one of snooker's greatest ever players Credit: Getty

A seven-time world champion, O'Sullivan has also scooped a record eight Masters titles along with as many UK Championships.

While he is yet to win a tournament in the 2024/25 season so far, he remains in fifth place in the world rankings.

The Arsenal fan is repeatedly subject to questions regarding his own future in the sport, and speaking on the Sports Breakfast show on Monday morning, he revealed what would instantly see him walk away.

O'Sullivan was asked whether snooker needs 'jazzing up' to attract a younger audience.

Co-host Natalie Sawyer quipped whether the game needs to follow darts' suit and have players walk to the table with their own music.

Not having it, O'Sullivan joked: "I'd probably definitely retire!

"I'd be like, 'You know what? I'm out of here now."

Though O'Sullivan did acknowledge that the UK has a problem with youngsters getting involved in snooker, compared to overseas.

He said: "In the UK it is an older crowd, but in China and Saudi Arabia, they have a very young crowd watching it, I don't know why that is.

"I think it's always been that in the UK, a lot of the older people just love snooker, but I don't know why that is, I really don't have a clue.

3 O'Sullivan jointly holds the record for most World Championship triumphs with seven Credit: Getty

"I think when snooker is up against football and tennis and golf, when you're a parent, you're looking at, 'What shall I get my kid involved in?'

"Snooker is going to come really down at the bottom of the list I would imagine."

As for his own future, O'Sullivan remarked: "I like playing in China and in Saudi Arabia.

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"I would probably be spending more time playing in those events and doing exhibitions and stuff out there.

"I just like being out there, so any excuse to get me out there... I spend most of my time there as I can."

Unlike in many professionals sports where athletes tend to retire in their late 30s, there is no set age for when snooker players call it quits.

O'Sullivan became the oldest World Championship winner in 2022 at the age of 46 - two years after his previous triumph at the Crucible.

Meanwhile Mark Williams was 43 when he emerged victorious in the 2018 final - 15 years after his second world title crown.

And O'Sullivan has declared that success as players get older depends entirely on whether you still have love for the game.

He said: "It depends where you're at with it, Stephen Hendry [seven-time world champion], he was such a winner, that when he wasn't winning, he found it really difficult.

"I think Steve Davis was the same, Jimmy White seemed to be like, 'I don't really care about winning or losing, I just love the game.'

3 O'Sullivan is yet to win a title in the 2024/25 season so far Credit: Getty

"So if you love the sport then obviously [you can keep playing], but if it's important to you that you're winning and competing at the top end of the game, as you get older, inevitably these youngsters come along and they're really fantastic players.

"So it's hard for some of the older established players to keep going in many ways because these youngsters are very, very good."

O'Sullivan then declared he doesn't see himself as the best player in the world, insisting that honour belongs to Judd Trump, who is currently ranked number one.

But O'Sullivan will be looking to get one over Trump with the pair to be in action at the Wuhan Open in China next month, where the latter is the defending champion.

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