Ronnie O’Sullivan has confirmed he will travel to the World Snooker Championship from his new base in Dublin.
The Rocket, 50, will fly to the tournament from Ireland for tax reasons after leaving his UK home and relocating to Dubai with wife Laila Rouass.
The esteemed competition, one of three events in snooker’s Triple Crown series, begins on Saturday and runs until May 4 at the Crucible in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan, who won the inaugural John Virgo Trophy on Sunday after triumphing over John Higgins in Ireland, revealed he lives in Ireland ‘quite a lot now’ as he flies back and forth to the UK during the snooker season.
‘I started playing alright a couple of weeks ago,’ the seven-time world champion said. ‘For three years I have been very poor, pretty much every day. So I didn’t think I’d ever have another day where I’d feel good.
‘But the last month I’ve been feeling alright. So it was nice to feel comfortable at the table.
‘The crowd here was amazing. Any venue we play in Ireland, but especially here at Goffs, the atmosphere is electric. Amazing.
‘I mean I live here quite a lot now. I spend three months a year here. I’ve always loved coming to Ireland. It has always had a special place in my heart.
‘But having lived here the last year or so, it’s been great. I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
O’Sullivan declared his intention to relocate to the Middle East after his semi-final exit at the World Championship last year.
He later admitted that moving to Dubai had wholly transformed his wellbeing and made travelling around the world during the snooker season more manageable.
His new home in Dubai acts as a more convenient base for tournaments across the Middle East and China.
‘It wears you down after a while. It’s the jet lag more than anything. You never really recover,’ he said of snooker’s brutal travel demands.
‘I kept a diary and for about 90 days a year I was in, like, a zombie state. I put a lot of importance on feeling good, your wellbeing and being at your optimum level.
‘It went against all of my principles and values. I knew I could never play my best if I wasn’t mentally and physically in tune.
‘Although I do all right, I knew I wasn’t playing my best because it just wasn’t possible. I was so tired, I was smashed; I just wanted to go to sleep a lot of the time.
‘As a player you want to feel ready to play. It’s really hard if you’re going back and forth, especially if you’re doing well in tournaments. You have to try and manage it as well as you possibly can.’
The Rocket revealed his wife Rouass also played a major role in their decision to move to Dubai.
Speaking to the Sun about his new life abroad, he said: ‘It’s really good. I’ve got a great practice facility there, which was one of the main reasons for going.
‘I was struggling to find somewhere to play. It was either get a train up to Sheffield or try to move to Sheffield.
‘But my wife wasn’t too keen on Sheffield. So she said we either go Spain or Dubai. And I thought, well, Dubai is nearer China. Obviously it’s in the Middle East. All the tournaments that I play and all the work that I do is there. It just made sense to go to Dubai.’
