Ronnie O'Sullivan hoping that through psychiatry he has found a way to fall back in love with the game

Ronnie O'Sullivan hoping that through psychiatry he has found a way to fall back in love with the game

Ronnie O’Sullivan believes he may have found the cure for his snooker malaise but admits bringing in a sports psychiatrist is the “last throw of the dice” for his career.

Into the light? Ronnie O'Sullivan made short work of first-round opponent Dominic Dale Photo: ACTION IMAGES

By Telegraph staff and agencies 8:44PM BST 19 Apr 2011

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O’Sullivan delivered a 40-minute masterclass to beat Welshman Dominic Dale at the World Championship in Sheffield, converting a 7-2 overnight lead to a 10-2 victory with breaks of 115, 96 and 100.

The 35 year-old suggested the first match of his 19th World Championship campaign was the most satisfying he had played at the Crucible.

While O’Sullivan declined to go into detail about the conversations he has been having with Dr Steve Peters, who worked with Britain’s successful cycling team at the 2008 Olympic Games and currently helps Team Sky riders, his positivity after his opening victory was refreshing.

“I’ve been to see someone and let’s just say it was a positive thing for me to do, because obviously I want to carry on playing,” said O’Sullivan after his first victory in a ranking event match since September.

“It’s nothing to do with making me a better snooker player but just allowing me to be like 99 per cent of the other snooker players. I just want to be on a level playing field.”

Bringing in Peters is not the first move O’Sullivan has made to revive a dwindling interest in competing, but it might prove the most successful.

He said: “I’ve taken steps by employing new coaches, sport psychologists, just to try to keep the motivation to play there. One day it might click and this is the last throw of the dice as far as I’m concerned.

“If I can get back to enjoying playing again and being out there, that’s the most important thing for me.”

Dale, 39, will head back to his Vienna home knowing he did not do himself justice after coming through the qualifying stages to reach the Crucible for the first time since 2004.

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