World champion O'Sullivan to miss rest of season

World champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is set to give up his title without a defence after it was announced Tuesday he does not plan to compete in any World Snooker Tour events for the rest of the 2012/13 season. World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn, quoted by the BBC, said: "I have spoken to Ronnie and he has decided to withdraw from any events he has entered, and he will not be playing for the rest of this season. "He has some personal issues which he needs to resolve and we wish him all the best for the future." O'Sullivan, whose turbulent career has been punctuated by repeated threats he might quit snooker for good, announced after winning his fourth world title in May he intended to take a six-month break from the sport. Although the 36-year-old returned to play in a low-profile Players Tour Championship event in September, he withdrew from last week's International Championship in Chengdu, China, citing illness. However, the sport's surge in popularity in China and in continental Europe suggest snooker is learning to live without O'Sullivan. 'The Rocket' has played just one match in competition since winning the world title, losing to then world number 76 Simon Bedford at a minor tournament in Gloucester, south-west England, at the start of September. And in new world number one Judd Trump, the sport has the kind of long-potting fans' favourite who can help fill the void left by O'Sullivan. Hearn insisted the world champion had done the right thing in taking time out from snooker. "I've known Ronnie since he was 12 and I'd like to see him back to the bubbly character he used to be," Hearn said. "He needs total time away from the game. It's a good decision he's made. "He's got a lot of issues to deal with and he's not particularly well. He wants to take a complete break and see how he feels. "I'm very relaxed about it. He's got a lot on his mind, and of course he's retired more times than (Frank) Sinatra. "It's a sensible, mature call to say, 'I can't just play at it'. It just piles up on you, and it probably feels it's a release. "The game is in a strong place at the minute. We've had a strong start to the season and there's a new number one in Judd Trump." Meanwhile O'Sullivan's manager, Django Fung, who also looks after Trump, told BBC Radio Five: "At the moment he (O'Sullivan) wants to be away from snooker, see how he feels, see how he can manage his personal life, see if he can try to do other things, see if he can have a better life without snooker. "In six months' time, next season, he might decide he's 100 percent again, and we might see the best of Ronnie O'Sullivan again." O'Sullivan had sought help from sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters after previously losing motivation and his advice appeared to have been of benefit when the Englishman triumphed at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre to win this year's world title. "Deep down I'd love to play snooker, but I just got too involved. Wrapped up in it," O'Sullivan said back in May. "It's not when I'm playing, it's when I go home, I'm a nightmare to be around." He also had issues with demands being made of players in a professional circuit expanding under Hearn after years of stagnation. "There's certain pressures that I can't do with anymore," said O'Sullivan. "I asked for support from World Snooker and I never got it and I don't think I'll ever get it."