Exclusive: Ronnie O’Sullivan on why he wants his kids to avoid snooker - 'You shut down emotions'

Ronnie O’Sullivan has repeated his claim that he does not want his children to pursue a career in snooker, saying “I just wouldn’t want my child to live that life”. O’Sullivan courted huge controversy after his comments last year – telling Eurosport he would insist his kids “don’t choose snooker” – with fellow Class of ’92 star John Higgins branding them “a disgrace”. Ad But speaking to promote his new two-hour Eurosport show Seventh Heaven, premiering on Saturday 15 October, the Rocket said that although he loved the sport, he believed the environment was not conducive to a happy life.

Snooker'I went on a wild bender' — O'Sullivan laments having to 'change the way I felt'A DAY AGO When asked if his opinion had changed, O’Sullivan told Eurosport: “No, absolutely not. I think being in a snooker room, a dark room, playing as most snooker players do for five-six hours a day… they don’t talk, they don’t communicate, it’s a lonely life on the tour. “I want my kids to be sociable.

I want them to be out in the fresh air. I want them to have a good life. “And I just look at snooker and I think that for all but a handful of players, it’s a real struggle.

When you see them at tournaments that’s the great side of it. But the actual day to day, in a snooker club, the nutrition isn’t great, the environment’s not great. “I kind of just think, would I want my child to grow up in that environment? Would I want my child to go through what I went through? 'I went on a wild bender' — O'Sullivan laments having to 'change the way I felt' O’Sullivan reveals his journey to snooker greatness in new two-hour show on Eurosport and discovery+ O'Sullivan compares 'incredible' Hong Kong crowd to ATP Finals tennis “Now if they went through what I