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Mike Chan

Ronnie O’Sullivan said he plans to open “many, many” snooker halls in Hong Kong and may yet make the city his home.
The seven-time world champion took up Hong Kong residency in October, under the city’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme – under which world No 1 Judd Trump this week also took up residency.
And O’Sullivan said that, once he is settled, he plans on making himself at home with plenty of facilities to work on his game in.
“I haven’t really looked for [a place to practise] yet but we’re going to open some snooker and pool halls here, so maybe I’ll have my own practice facility there very soon,” O’Sullivan said at the Macau Snooker Masters, where he is playing alongside seven other stars including Trump.

“I’m just enjoying getting used to the place, starting to spend more time, having lots of friends there.
“Hopefully once my snooker club is up and ready and open, it’ll be nice. I’ve got somewhere to go and practise and get ready for my tournaments.
“We’re going to have one in Kowloon and maybe one on Hong Kong Island as well, so we’re going to try and open many, many snooker and pool halls in Hong Kong … once the snooker club is there, that’ll really be much better for me.”
With 41 ranking tournament titles to his name – the most in world snooker history – “The Rocket” O’Sullivan said it may make life easier to move to the city given his coming plans.
“I haven’t really thought about it yet,” he added. “I’ll be travelling a lot [from now to the end of the season].
“I will be in Asia a lot, Hong Kong, [mainland] China, the odd trip to Saudi Arabia, and a little bit of time in the United Kingdom maybe.
“My friend is helping me to find [a flat], I think I quite like the Kowloon side. I’ve got some friends there, so I spend most of my time on the Kowloon side. I think once the season’s done, I’m going to make long trips in Asia, to China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau. So, yeah, I’ll be spending quite a lot of time here.”
O’Sullivan also said he did not choose to come to Hong Kong to escape from the looming tax reform in his home county.
“No, money doesn’t really bother me. I’m not really motivated by money or saving money. I’ve never tried to avoid paying tax,” he said. “So it’s never a money issue for me, [the tax] was never my reason for living abroad.”
Having flirted with retirement or initiated retirement talks several times in the past, O’Sullivan said last week he had enjoyed playing snooker the past couple of months as much as he did when he was 14, and he said “enjoying my practice” was the key to the change.

“It is a big thing for me [to enjoy practice] – I don’t know why I enjoyed it more, I just feel more comfortable,” he said. “If I feel uncomfortable, then I’m not good.
“[More comfortable] technically; vision, sight, seeing the ball good, timing, arm feel good, hands, everything cool, just connected … nothing to do with [where I am staying] – just the game.”
However, the 49-year-old suggested that it was still a year-by-year proposition when it came to deciding whether to play on.
“I just have a one-year contract with myself; the next year, we have another contract. I never think ‘OK, I’ll play for this long’,” O’Sullivan said. “Every year is one year, and then we decide after that year whether we want to do another.
“I have two options: last year I just focused on playing tournaments and this year I’ve been a bit busier with exhibitions. So I think next year maybe I’ll focus more on [the tournaments], just try and get that hunger back for winning and playing more competition.
“[As for the remainder of the season,] I’ll probably play the World Open in Yushan, I’ll probably play Hong Kong [March’s World Grand Prix] as well.”


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World Snooker

Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan plans to open ‘many, many’ practice halls in Hong Kong

Briton Ronnie O’Sullivan says he is not surprised to see his compatriot Judd Trump also taking up Hong Kong residency. Photo: Handout

Ronnie O’Sullivan (left) beat Jack Lisowski 5-4 in the first of his five matches in Macau. Photo: Handout

O’Sullivan says 2024 has been mainly about playing exhibitions, as he is doing this week in Macau. Photo: Handout

Sport

China

Hong Kong

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Having recently taken up residency in the city, the seven-time world champion says he is looking for a flat in Kowloon


Having recently taken up residency in the city, the seven-time world champion says he is looking for a flat in Kowloon.
