Ronnie O'Sullivan admits to struggles as he reaches Tour Championship final

The Tour Championship finalist, Ronnie O'Sullivan, who is currently ranked as the top snooker player in the world, disclosed that he underwent a phase where he was frightened to play the game.

On Friday in Manchester, the man who has won the world championship seven times managed to score three century breaks while defeating Gary Wilson with a score of 10-7.

He disclosed that he's been experiencing the "yips" and has attempted to change his frame of mind.

The individual who has triumphed in five contests this year, aged 48, mentioned that they are making a great effort to avoid feeling negative about themselves.

O'Sullivan knocked in two consecutive breaks of 102 and 110 which helped him come back from a trailing score of 2-0 and take a lead of 4-2. However, his fellow Englishman Wilson managed to put together four impressive runs of 83, 84, 82 and 96 and tied the game at 7-7.

Nevertheless, he had limited opportunities to play as O'Sullivan managed to secure the victory by winning the last three frames, and was aided by impressive scores of 98 and 129 during his turns.

O'Sullivan will compete against Mark Allen or Mark Williams in the final on Sunday. During an interview with ITV4, he admitted that it's been a tough journey. He also added that if this had happened two weeks ago, he would have given up because he wasn't in a good mental space.

I simply had the mindset of persevering, not giving up, and concentrating on potential positive outcomes that could be just ahead.

According to him, he has been having regular conversations with psychiatrist Steve Peters. He further states that now he needs to dedicate himself to it for a whole year to get out of the mental hole he's dug himself into concerning his obsession with the game and constant fiddling.

I realize that I will always be experimenting with things, but I need to find a way to keep myself mentally strong enough to handle it without becoming too absorbed in the complicated and confusing abyss that comes with it.

All athletes, such as golfers, tennis players, and snooker players, are likely guilty of it. However, I became so engrossed in it that it feels like I need to purge myself of it.

It felt like I had the yips, both mentally and physically. I was afraid to even consider playing.

"It's an unpleasant situation to be in, and I have no choice but to focus on improving my mental state. Hopefully, this will lead to a better performance in my game."

The Tour Championship has completed five editions so far and was introduced in 2019. It is an event exclusively for the best players on snooker's ranking list, which reflects their performance in the previous year.

O'Sullivan has made it to the final for the third time, as he had previously won the first event by defeating Neil Robertson, only to lose to the same player in the event's final two years later.

The semi-finals of the Tour Championship will feature Allen from Northern Ireland and Williams from Wales. They are both hoping to win their first Tour Championship title. Their best-of-19 match will begin at 1:00 PM BST on Saturday.

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