Ronnie 'The Rocket' O'Sullivan won a record equalling seventh Snooker World Championship crown last year but says he has to visit 'dark places' each time he competes for the coveted title.
The 46-year-old is current world number one and won the Hong Kong Masters last weekend playing some impressive snooker in the process. However, for the major tournaments O'Sullivan says he faces mental torment due to the pressure involved.
"If you are going to win the world championships, or win any tournament of that stature, whether it's golf, tennis, darts, whatever, it does take you to some dark places," said O'Sullivan talking to the Daily Mail.
"Even when I was in my prime in 2012 and 2013, there were some places where you think, that was tough, it was really, really hard to not sabotage and just quit.
"When I say quit, I mean give in mentally. In those dark places, it's where you have to push yourself beyond the comfort zone."
O'Sullivan turned professional in 1992 and has become a household name winning 39 ranking tournaments and seven world championship titles. His most recent world title equalled the record of seven by Stephen Hendry.
O'Sullivan said he ' wishes he hadn't won' his seventh world title due to the frenzy of interest following his win. He features in a new two-part Eurosport show called Seventh Heaven, which premieres this Saturday.
"I am less prepared to go to the dark places now because I am more interested in having a healthier, happier life," added O'Sullivan.
"I look at the bigger picture, having a family and friends, the other work I do are much more important than the game of snooker. So it's a trade-off, picking and choosing my battles."
Despite winning the tournament seven times O'Sullivan feels that there is more pressure on the world championships that any other tournament due to it being 'like a circus' due to the interest.
"I have a green zone and a red zone," O'Sullivan added. "I'm prepared to be in the green zone 80 per cent of the time for the rest of my playing days and step into the red zone only every now and again if the prize gets me excited.'
"'So that is why I hold my hands up to anyone who wins at Sheffield, anyone who wins a major at tennis or golf, or the World Championships at darts.
"With those events, it becomes a circus. You've got all the excitement from the crowds, Sheffield becomes a village, there's the press and media. The red zone is always the worlds and sometimes the Masters and the UK Championships. They are the biggest events to play in and the circus comes along with those tournaments."
