Ronnie O’Sullivan last night vowed “this is my last farewell” as he announced he would quit snooker for good before next year’s Betfair World Championship.
The four-time champion at the Crucible is firm favourite to land a fifth title, having marched through to a semi-final clash with Judd Trump in fine style, beating Stuart Bingham 13-4 in the last eight.
O’Sullivan has spent most of the last 12 months in self-imposed exile from the sport, but returned for another shot at glory in Sheffield.
He now claims that decision was motivated purely by money, explaining how he needed to cough up for overdue school fees that he had no other means of paying.
The 37-year-old said: “It’s nice to be in the semi-finals but I didn’t really miss snooker. But I missed having something to do and I was struggling for a bit of money.
“I’ll be honest, I still owe the school money for my children’s school fees. I haven’t paid the last two or three terms. I didn’t know what was going to happen here but I’ve made a little bit of money now so I can go and pay the school fees now for the next two years.
“But really I don’t think snooker is for me. This could be my last proper major event.Craig Smith’s blog: Ronnie’s return a big risk for a sport on red alert“As far as putting my heart and soul into snooker, I don’t think that’s what I want to do any more but I had to give it a go. I needed some money quick.
“I have signed a contract with my sponsor to play in 10 events so I’ll play in those.”
Trump said he is not scared of O’Sullivan and their clash promises to be a classic, just like Trump’s 13-12 quarter-final victory over Shaun Murphy.
Trump had clinched his final-frame victory over Murphy in the afternoon and came out fighting afterwards, saying: “There are only a certain amount of players who have got the self-belief to beat Ronnie and scare him and I think I’m one of them.”
O’Sullivan’s remarks overshadowed what had been a thrilling finale to the match between Trump and Murphy, and also came on a day when Ricky Walden and Barry Hawkins reached Crucible semi-finals for the first time.
They go head to head in the first of four sessions this evening, with Trump and O’Sullivan getting under way in the afternoon.
Kent man Hawkins ousted former UK and Masters champion Ding Junhui, turning a 9-7 overnight lead into a 13-7 victory while Chester cueman Walden saw off Welsh qualifier Michael White 13-6.