Former Masters champion and respected pundit Alan McManus has candidly admitted he has a “lifestyle problem” when it comes to analysing Ronnie O’Sullivan — one rooted not in rivalry, but in the impossibility of deciphering the most unpredictable figure the sport has ever known.
Speaking during a recent studio discussion, McManus reflected on O’Sullivan’s ever-shifting form and attitude, confessing that the seven-time world champion’s mercurial approach makes him uniquely difficult to evaluate. “Ronnie’s the only player in the world where you wake up on the morning of a match and genuinely have no idea which version of him is going to show up,” McManus said. “And that’s my lifestyle problem. You can’t prepare for Ronnie; you can only guess. His rhythms don’t match anyone else’s.”
McManus, known for his measured analysis and calm insight, explained that O’Sullivan’s personality and routine — or at times, his complete lack of one — creates a challenge for pundits, coaches, and opponents alike. “Most top players live in this very disciplined way: practice hours, structured days, routines before matches. Ronnie? He can play three hours of sublime snooker after barely touching a cue for a week, then have an off-day after putting in loads of work. He just doesn’t follow the normal rules, and that makes him both incredible and impossible.”
The comments came amid renewed debate about O’Sullivan’s motivation following a patchy run of performances that included a laboured early-round match followed by a dominant, razor-sharp display only days later. For McManus, that contrast raises the question snooker fans have been asking for years: does O’Sullivan still have the burning desire to dominate?
“He still has the game — more than enough of it,” McManus said. “But snooker at the elite level isn’t only about skill. It’s about hunger. It’s about the willingness to slog through the long frames, to stay mentally present in the scrappy battles. Ronnie’s had that fire plenty of times, but it doesn’t burn every day anymore. And that’s completely natural when you’ve been doing it as long as he has.”
McManus also noted that O’Sullivan’s complex relationship with snooker — oscillating between passion and fatigue — has been a recurring theme across his career. “He’s spoken openly about needing space from the game, about feeling drained by the tour. And then he comes back refreshed and plays as though he’s reinvented the sport again. That’s the paradox of Ronnie.”
Yet, despite his concerns about O’Sullivan’s fluctuating desire, McManus insists that the very unpredictability he struggles with is a key part of O’Sullivan’s longevity. “If Ronnie tried to live the way other players do — strict routines, rigid schedules — I don’t think he’d still be here. The chaos suits him. It’s what frees his genius.”
Ultimately, McManus’s “lifestyle problem” is less a complaint than an acknowledgement of the enigma that continues to define snooker’s brightest star. “Ronnie might not want it every day,” he said, “but when he does, nobody on earth can stop him. And that’s why we still tune in.”
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