Ronnie O'Sullivan reveals future plan after snooker career following impressive wins on Heyball pool debut
Ronnie O'Sullivan has set his sights on enjoying success in another cuesports discipline when his professional snooker career comes to an end.
The seven-time world snooker champion - who turned 50 earlier this month - was talking immediately after his big stage heyball debut in Hangzhou, China.
An exhibition event titled as the "Battle of the Century" by organisers, O'Sullivan faced Chinese duo Zheng Yubo and Chu Bingjie - two of the biggest star names from the global Heyball circuit.
Heyball - also referred to as 'Chinese 8-ball pool' - is essentially a hybrid cuesport which is gaining popularity worldwide. It is effectively played on a small-sized snooker table that has a napped cloth and snooker-style cut pockets. American pool balls - which are larger and heavier than snooker balls - are used.
In simple terms, the object of the game is to pot either the 'spots' or 'stripes' followed by the 8-ball to win the frame.
O’Sullivan - who previously expressed his desire to get involved with the cuesport - was given little hope by pundits before his matches against the two highly-decorated opponents, but ‘The Rocket’ impressed in a number of departments as he adapted to the new challenge.
In his opening tie, O’Sullivan completed a ‘break and clearance’ in the final frame to defeat Chu, 7-5.
Earlier this year on the Duya Legends Tour, Chu - who comes from a 9-ball pool background - collected over £500,000 for winning the Global Finals, and over £200,000 in an event only a few months before that.
Against Zheng, O’Sullivan recovered from 6-2 down to force a deciding frame, and when his opponent went in-off from his break shot in the final frame, the record 41-time snooker ranking event winner cleared the balls in one visit for a 7-6 comeback victory.
In both matches, according to the flag graphic on screen, O’Sullivan was representing Hong Kong. Earlier this year O’Sullivan relocated to Dubai but he also possesses residency status in Hong Kong through the region’s ‘Quality Migrant Admission Scheme’ as an elite sportsperson.
Following the two heyball challenge matches, a best-of-9 frames snooker match was played on the same table with only 10 reds used as O’Sullivan faced both Chu and Zheng who teamed up as a scotch doubles team (playing alternative shots). This time, the Chinese combination scored a 5-2 win.
Of course, you have to take the above results with a pinch of salt with the action essentially being an exhibition showcase, but it was cool seeing superstars from different baize pursuits facing each other.
“This is going to be the future for me” says O’Sullivan
Immediately after the event, O’Sullivan was interviewed in the arena and asked how he felt about the matches. He said: “I enjoyed the pool more than the snooker; it’s a great game. I love playing snooker on this table with the pool balls, a new experience and I’ve had a great time.
On the World Snooker Tour, O’Sullivan is enduring somewhat of a trophy drought - for him, anyway - with his last title having come in March 2024. Following unrivalled career longevity, his winning desire has recently been brought into question, and he has lost his opening match at his last two tournament outings, including a 6-4 defeat to Zhou Yuelong at the UK Championship.
Looking to the future, it appears that the competitive heyball circuit is an avenue O’Sullivan wants to explore when his snooker career is over. He added: “I’ve never been that excited about a game. This is going to be the future for me once snooker’s finished.
“Obviously, using new equipment and bigger balls and the cue is a bit fatter....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 has previously dipped his toes into other cuesports alongside his snooker duties. He represented Team Europe at the Mosconi Cup in 1996 and 1997 - scoring a singles win over one of 9-ball pool’s greatest-ever players, Earl Strickland, at the ‘96 edition.
Several years later, the Englishman travelled across the Atlantic to take part in the International Pool Tour (IPT), a bold new series for American 8-ball pool that promised huge riches before the circuit unceremoniously collapsed.
Heyball has ambitions of one day becoming an Olympic sport. The far-reaching circuit features a plethora of events with hefty top prizes - although the overall prize fund distribution isn’t even, with the winner’s purse heavily weighted. One of which is the annual JOY World Heyball Masters which was won earlier this year by former snooker professional Niu Zhuang who claimed a first prize of just over £500,000.