Ronnie O’Sullivan planning to leave UK for Middle East as he ponders his future

Ronnie O’Sullivan is preparing to start “a new life somewhere else”, revealing he will soon be moving to the Middle East after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship with a heavy semi-final defeat.

O’Sullivan’s bid for an eighth Crucible crown ended in a humiliating 17-7 loss to Zhao Xintong with a session to spare on Friday after the Chinese star won all eight frames in the morning before finishing the job in the evening.

Prior to his arrival in Sheffield, the 49-year-old had not played on the tour since he withdrew midway through his Championship League group in January – snapping his cue after losing four of his five matches.

And he struggled with his new cue during the World Championship, getting through three tips in all and changing both his tip and ferrule after the first session of the semi.

But although his run to the last four provides some cause for optimism, O’Sullivan admitted he does not know what the future holds, with a move from the UK to the Middle East on the horizon.

He said: “I think I’m going to be moving out of the UK this year. A new life somewhere else.

“I’ll still try and play snooker but I don’t know what the future looks like for me really.

“I’m moving away soon so I’ll just see how it goes. There’s a lot of more important things in life to worry about than a game of snooker.

“For me, it’s a big part of my life but I’ve got to try and figure out what my future looks like, whether it’s playing or not.

“I’ll be moving away to the Middle East but we’ll see how it goes. I might be back in six months, who knows!

“There are going to be a few changes in my life so we’ll see how that goes.”

When asked whether he’d like to throw his cue a long distance following his exit, O’Sullivan added: “I won’t throw it. The merchandise people want it so it’ll be up for sale.

“But I won’t be throwing it.”