Ronnie O’Sullivan took a year out of snooker to become a PIG FARMER and could return after retirement
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN gave up snooker for a YEAR to become a PIG FARMER... and then claimed a fifth world title when he returned to the sport.
The Rocket, 47, is looking to successfully defend his crown at the Crucible as he faces off against Belgian Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
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O'Sullivan is bidding to win an EIGHTH world championship - a feat that would see him surpass Stephen Hendry as the outright most successful men's player in snooker's modern era.
And his superiority across more than two decades includes a brief stint away from the sport ten years ago.
The Englishman won the 2012 World Championships and then stepped back from the table, turning his attention to pig farming.
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Speaking to The Sun in 2013, he said: "The farm has got sheep, pigs, cows, goats, chickens, horses — and I've been getting the green wellies on.
"I've been cleaning out stables and pig sties, taking down fences, putting rubbish into barrels and clearing mud.
"It has been mainly manual work, also getting big bales of hay in to feed the animals. I was getting so bored I had to do something, and needed a goal to get out of bed in the morning.
"I didn't want stress, as that was what was made me pull out of snooker, so I decided to go and do something unpaid.
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"I get there about 8am, do my three or four-mile run first because it is right in the forest, then come back and do about six hours' work.
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"It has been kind of the opposite to what I was going through in snooker and I am really enjoying it."
He went on to add: "There are personal things I need to sort out before I can even think of a return. I have until February to make that decision about the Crucible, anyway.
"But I am still playing every couple of weeks at my mum's house."
Remarkably, O'Sullivan had played just one game all season leading up to the 2013 World Championships.
Despite the lack of match sharpness, he chose to defend his title and did so in emphatic fashion, beating Barry Hawkins 18-12 in the final.
That was his fifth triumph at the Crucible - adding to his victories in 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
Since then, he has also claimed the title in 2020 and 2022.
And an eighth championship this year would - in many people's eyes - cement him as the greatest player of all-time.
