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Returning O'Sullivan feared Crucible 'meltdown'

'I loved being out there!' O'Sullivan charges into last 16

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

Ronnie O'Sullivan has said he was "worried" about returning to snooker, fearing he would "implode" and "have a meltdown" in his first competitive match since January.

O'Sullivan, 49, beat Ali Carter 10-4 on Wednesday in the first round of the World Championship, a competition he has won seven times.

However, his participation in the tournament was only confirmed late last week after he went three months without playing competitively following an incident at the Championship League in January in which he snapped his cue and threw it in a bin.

"I lost the buzz for playing because I wasn't able to execute shots," said O'Sullivan. "I was bailing out of shots. I was having to play a different game that I didn't enjoy and it didn't feel like I could express myself, so it got really tough."

Ronnie O'SullivanGetty Images

Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the World Snooker Championship seven times and is aiming to become the first man in the modern era to gain eight titles

Asked if there were times in the past week where he thought he had made a mistake about returning to snooker, O'Sullivan said: "Yeah, totally.

"I thought 'what am I doing coming here, exposing myself, [potentially] imploding out there, having a meltdown">