Ronnie O’Sullivan Reveals Next Sport After Retiring from Snooker

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed that he plans to play Chinese 8-ball pool at an elite level when he retires from snooker.

The 50-year-old snooker legend hasn’t won a ranking event since beating Judd Trump at the World Grand Prix in 2024. He has dropped to No. 8 in the world rankings, and he has hinted that he may hang up his snooker cue in 2026 or 2027.

However, his competitive spirit is undiminished. O’Sullivan is now looking to the future, and he hopes to lock horns with the best Heyball (Chinese 8-ball) players in the business.

“I enjoyed the pool more than the snooker,” he said in an interview after facing Zheng Yubo and Chu Bingjie in Hangzhou, China.

The Battle of the Century

The exhibition event was dubbed “Battle of the Century.” O’Sullivan was given little chance of success, but he began with a famous victory over Chu.

That was impressive, as Chu is arguably the best Heyball player in the world. He’s the only “Level 12” player in China’s elite ranking system, and he recently won the Global Finals.

O’Sullivan then fought back from 6-2 down to clinch a 7-6 win against Zheng.

“I’ve never been this excited about a game,” said O’Sullivan when he was interviewed in the stadium. “This is going to be the future for me once snooker’s finished.”

The Rocket followed it up by declaring that he will be the world Chinese 8-ball champion in two or three years. That would be quite the feat, as the likes of Chu and Zheng specialise in the sport.

Heyball is a fast-paced pool game, which is wildly popular in China. The action unfolds on 9-foot tables, with tight, rounded pockets. There are more than 1 million Heyball tables in China alone, and the sport is growing in popularity in other countries too.

A Major Challenge

O’Sullivan admits that adapting to the new sport will be challenging. “Obviously, using new equipment and bigger balls, and the cue is a bit fatter,” he said. “I just want to keep playing, keep improving, and hopefully one day I can play one of these guys in the final of a big tournament in China.”

O’Sullivan wouldn’t be the first snooker star to excel in a different cue sport. Mark Selby won the 2006 World 8-Ball Pool Championship in Blackpool, eight years before clinching his first World Snooker Championship title at the Crucible.

A few years ago, he joined forces with Gareth Potts – Selby’s brother-in-law – to win the Ultimate Pool Pairs Cup. Selby was also runner-up at the World Chinese Eight-Ball Championship back in 2015.

Ronnie O’Sullivan Plays Chinese Style Snooker!

However, O’Sullivan’s entry would give Heyball’s profile a major boost. He’s the most decorated snooker player of all time, and he’s always among the favourites in the snooker betting at BresBet.

O’Sullivan has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern era record that he shares with fellow great Stephen Hendry. He has also won a record eight Masters titles and clinched a record eight UK Championships.

The Rocket also holds the record for the most ranking titles in snooker history with 41. On his day, he can still beat anyone, but the titles have dried up in recent months.

Could Switching to Pool Lead to an Elusive SPOTY Award?

Despite his many triumphs, O’Sullivan has never won the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award. He won the World Championship in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2022, but he wasn’t even nominated for SPOTY until 2020.

O’Sullivan finished fifth out of six nominees that year – ahead of only Tyson Fury, who publicly declared that he didn’t want the award.

He was nominated again in 2022, but he finished fifth that year too. O’Sullivan said he feels snubbed by the BBC.

“If it was taken on your achievements for what you do in the sport, I would have probably won it a few times by now,” said O’Sullivan. “If I can’t win it at least three or four times with the career I’ve had, then it probably doesn’t matter what I do.

“I could probably win every tournament, not lose a match, make 12 maximums and they would still find a reason to not give it to me.”

He said other athletes may come ahead of him in the “popularity stakes” and suggested that snooker’s profile is too low. “If I was a golfer or a tennis player, I would probably have won it seven or eight times,” he said. “But I’m not, I’m a snooker player, so it probably doesn’t get the recognition as other sports do.”

Perhaps that elusive SPOTY title could finally be O’Sullivan’s if he switches to Chinese 8-ball pool and becomes world champion in another cue sport.