14 April 2023 , 21:30
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Ronnie O'Sullivan is hoping to avoid getting fined at this year's World Snooker Championship, having found himself in hot water last year when he was caught on live TV making a lewd gesture.
O'Sullivan was visibly frustrated after missing a shot in his first round match against David Gilbert when he made the gesture, which was shared on social media by fellow snooker player Matthew Selt. The Rocket, who went on to win the tournament, was ultimately fined a total £4,000 for two transgressions, having also made an obscene gesture in a UK Championship match against Kyren Wilson.
And in a bid to avoid something similar happening at this year's World Championship, O'Sullivan has revealed he plans to let out his frustration in a different way. "I got snitched up," he said.
"I got well snitched up! But it won't stop me showing emotion after a bad shot. No, I have a new one now. I'll slap my bum. I'll slap my bum really hard.
"Because obviously out there, your emotions get high, sometimes you have to let it out. If another player is going to film it and put it on social media, then ring up World Snooker constantly trying to find out: 'Are you going to fine him?'…then obviously you have got 128 policeman watching me.
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"Now, I just slap my bum really hard. That's my thing. When you see me slapping my arse, you know I am really p***** off. My a*** is going to be sore by the end of Sheffield." O'Sullivan is set to face debutant Pang Junxu in the first round, but is nursing an elbow injury that means he has "got to try and win easy".
O'Sullivan is nursing an elbow problem (Getty Images)"My elbow is okay, nice – good enough to play snooker anyway, maybe not box or go to the gym," he added. "And so I think I have got to try and win easy. If I go too tough in matches it will catch up with me and I probably won't win.
"But if I can be efficient and play all right, it takes a lot less out of you. I do a lot of pilates now. There are players who have lost weight over the past year, but did they train? Anyone that had an operation is kind of cheating, I don't class that as getting fit.
"I have been in a good mental place the whole of my life – I am a survivor, I just get through. I might look a bit down sometimes down, but there is a resilience there for the last 30 years."