Ronnie O’Sullivan details why he was ‘forced to give blood and guts’ at World Championship | Other | Sport
The 45-year-old won four matches on his way to the world championship final at the Crucible before beating Judd Trump 18-13 in the final. O’Sullivan said that playing at a ‘gladiatorial venue’ like the Crucible with the added pressure of a film crew made him go to dark places in the win.
Talking to Orla Chennaoui and Greg Rutherford on Eurosport podcast series ‘The Breakdown’, he said: “The only reason I did go to the dark places was because we filmed a documentary so I was forced to actually try because the cameras were following me everywhere. I just had to give it blood, guts and whatever there was, and that was what I had to do.
“That is why I hated it because I promised myself I would never go there. It just requires a lot of determination and lots of resilience. I’m not hard on myself because I believe in the snooker gods. I always know things are going to be good for me. It was just hard. Sheffield is a hard, hard venue. It is a gladiatorial venue. There is a lot of pressure in the build-up. When you are out there playing it is okay – that’s the best place to be.
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