‘I’m lucky to be alive’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan on Charlie Sheen, addiction and chasing an eighth world snooker title.

Ronnie O’Sullivan says he might not be alive today, let alone chasing an eighth world snooker crown, if he hadn’t replaced heavy partying with long-distance running. The seven-time world champion admits his addictive tendencies and struggles with alcohol could have destroyed both his life and career before a turning point in rehab helped him change direction.

O’Sullivan reflects on a damaging six-year spell in his youth that nearly derailed his ambitions. Despite becoming the most decorated player in history with seven world titles, eight UK Championships, eight Masters wins, and a staggering 1,305 centuries, he says his early years were chaotic and harmful, both personally and professionally.

He regrets the period from age 19 to 25, when drinking and partying undermined his confidence, well-being, and form. Public support has always meant a lot to him, but he insists he doesn’t want sympathy for his past troubles. “Life throws things at you,” he says. “I didn’t always deal with it well.”

A recent documentary on actor Charlie Sheen made him recognise similar patterns. While Sheen spiraled for decades, O’Sullivan says he was fortunate to pull himself out after a few years but admits there were times when the binge cycles made him fear for his life.

Although he was not a “full-blown alcoholic,” he acknowledges he clearly had a serious drinking problem, one he had to confront away from the table. Rehab became the turning point that helped him rediscover happiness in sobriety. He stayed clean for months, stumbled once, and then finally accepted he could never return to casual drinking. Running became his “healthy addiction,” replacing the thrills alcohol once gave him.

Now, approaching 50 and settled into life in Dubai with a new cue and a renewed mindset, O’Sullivan says he has rediscovered his love for the game. With his seven world titles equaling Stephen Hendry’s record, an eighth at the Crucible remains the one major goal still ahead of him. More importantly, he says he now enjoys snooker more than ever and has learned to treat it like the hobby he loved as a kid—still competitive, still pressured, but no longer destructive.