TSB - O’Sullivan hints at retirement despite final berth

[ferret]

Ronnie O’Sullivan reeled off the two frames he required to book his place in the final against Ali Carter, then suggested this could be his last ever Crucible appearance. The Rocket lost the opening frame of the session after Stevens made a brilliant 116 but he responded with his own century and completed a 17-10 more .....

Click to read on TSB

[Masterdoctorgenius]

wtf

two legends retring in the same year and same tournament

i can understand hendry for retiring because he can win any tournaments anymore

but ronnie. he is thrashing everyone and thinks too retire. his close friends and familiy have to tell him he has to carry on

that would shadow the whole tournament for me no matter if he wins or not

surely one day he will retire, but not now as long as he, higgins and williams competing. should retire all together

[Rane]

In a tournament with lots of surprises I think this would be the biggest. But this season he has had a very realistic approach to his game so we´ll have to wait and see.

[Guy3103]

I think this is good news... and it's very good he made it public just before the final, not before, not after, which will give us all one great finish to a very special man/snooker player that will be remembered forever.

People think only about themselves and about their entertainment. So do I and I sure would love to see O'Sullivan competing and trying winning more titles as he showed us one more time he can. It's just that the guy is full, he's had enough and this is a great chance for him to finish big, just like Michael Jordan in 1998.

His pot success was 95% in this semi final and to be honest I have never seen play any better than this. It will be an easy final for him and I'm pretty sure he will try and give us something special (147).

[FerruleFox]

Ronnie is always trying to talk down expectations....whether his own expectations or the public's, who knows......but it's hard to believe he really would retire if he's finally learning to control his emotions and enjoy his snooker (his words).

I think he just wants people to stop putting so much pressure on him.

[JeeSe]

So this'll be his 10th retirement? That's some going.

I think we should consider that this time his attitude and mental approach seems to be correct, he seems to be happy in himself and confident. This is not depression or something else speaking.
It's funny because throughout this tournament I have been saying to people that if he wins it, I think he will retire. There is even a thread on here about it and many think the same.
But now that he has said it, the day before the final. I am finding it harder to believe... He is truly unpredictable, he loves a wind up, he loves to commotion. Who knows what will happen, come Monday night.

[montoya10]

Well, he was mentally good in 2008, as well, and right after winning the title, he suggested this could be the way he quits; on a high note.
In other words, I'm not sure how to interpret this. He has showed excellent matchplay snooker, had no mental collapses, never looked like he was going to let his opponents take the win away from him and hit the ball as well as he ever did, from distance or amongst the balls.
So, this may be it. I mean, what kind of a motivation will let him lean towards playing on after winning the title on Monday?

Ronnie O'Sullivan's entire career was filled with "What if"s. And his three-week long play was pretty much the answer of that question.
Now that everything is in peace, he may say "Okay, I've had enough." And who are we fans or snooker pundits to mull over his decision?

I really hope he continues to play. A decade ago, he pinned me to in front of my TV and make me watch a then-dull sport and he has been my favorite player until MJW dropped out of Top 32 provisionally (I have a tendency to support the struggling players from time to time (= ). And since MJW also returned to from, they have been my co-favorite players to root for.
It will be sad for me to see someone with real different perception compared to the majority.

[miscuehamburg]

I don't give much attention to his press statements anymore. We shall see what happens really...

[gem]

I love watching him but really can't be bothered with all his other stuff.
Might do us all a favour if he did retire.
I think he is just looking for sympathy and wants people to tell him to go on.
Usually things are fine when going well but his attitude is crap when things go against him.

He has been the best this year by a long way but I have not really been impressed by the standard from the others at all.

[gem]

I love watching him but really can't be bothered with all his other stuff.
Might do us all a favour if he did retire.
I think he is just looking for sympathy and wants people to tell him to go on.
Usually things are fine when going well but his attitude is crap when things go against him.

He has been the best this year by a long way but I have not really been impressed by the standard from the others at all.

[gem]

I think he should do us all a favour and stick to what he says and not go looking for sympathy.
Really can't be bothered with him these days at all.

It would be the best way for him to end his career.

[aderion]

I like watching him playing , he is a great great player , but he is too messed up emotionally too .
it would be a great lost for snooker if he retired , he brought a lot of fans and too many people are watching snooker just because of him. he is to snooker what ali or tyson for boxing.

[The Boss]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retire?s=t

1.
to withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion: He retired to his study.

Ronnie retires to his seat after a miss.
Ronnie retires to his seat after winning the frame.
Ronnie retires to his seat after playing the safety.
Ronnie retires from the arena at the interval.
Ronnie from the arena at the mid-session interval.

2.
to go to bed:

Ronnie retires every night.

3.
to withdraw from office, business, or active life, usually because of age:

Steve hasn't retired because his ranking is higher than his age.
Ronnie is too young to retire.

4.
to fall back or retreat in an orderly fashion and according to plan, as from battle, an untenable position, danger, etc.

Ronnie retires the white into a safe position.
Ronnie retires to his hotel away from the cameras.
Ronnie retires to the couch because he is tired.

5.
to withdraw or remove oneself:

Ronnie retires from the tournament as the winner.
Ronnie is retired from the tournament by his opponent.

:friendly_wink::confused-new:

[cueman]

I've always felt that Ronnie will go out with a bang. He wouldn't want to do a Hendry and retire simply because he can't win anymore. Winning this title in the manner in which he has played would be the perfect end to his career. Playing arguably his most consistant stuff will be a great way to remember him as a player. It would give him a great feeling too, to finish on the ultimate high note and I'm sure something that would put to rest his demons within the game.

[The Rook]

I think it would be far classier for ROS to retire and then tell everyone about it (like Hendry), rather than "suggest" leaving the game yet again. This can only work to the distraction of his poor opponent before the big final.

Hopefully this won't lead to the usual outpouring of pre-emptive eulogies, followed by yet another false alarm.