Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has hung up his snooker cue in favour of a set of darts. Temporarily, at least. But the four time world champion wasn’t considering a major change; he was raising money for Help for Heroes.
Some might consider him the most naturally talented snooker player ever to take up a cue, but O’Sullivan proved himself a pretty dab hold with the old darts, as well. He had some tough competition from professional darts players James Wade and Simon Whitlock, but still managed to clock up an impressive score of 620, raising £1,420 for charity.
O’Sullivan announced his intention to take a break from snooker last month after refusing to sign the player’s contract, describing its terms as “onerous”. Nevertheless, he vowed to continue his involvement with the sport in some way or another and was back in Telford – the site of his most recent UK Opens victory in 2008 – for the charity fundraiser.
Speaking at the event, O’Sullivan voiced his hope to one day return to professional snooker;
“I did not want to take a break, but things weren’t right and needed to be sorted out. I don’t expect it to be sorted overnight. My manager is dealing with certain stuff to make it possible for me to come back and play but I haven’t made my mind up yet.”
In addition to being four times world champion, O’Sullivan ranks second for both career earnings and most competitive century breaks. He does, however, hold the world record for the fastest maximum break; potting every ball in an astonishing 5 minutes 20 seconds.
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