FILE PHOTO: Snooker – BetVictor Welsh Open Final – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales – 21/2/16
Ronnie O’Sullivan in action during the final
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Rebecca Naden
Livepic
(Reuters) – Former world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan has said a night in the cells was a more enjoyable experience than competing at the Championship League Snooker event in Milton Keynes, where he ran out of food while being stuck in his hotel room all day.
The event, which began on June 1, was staged without fans as part of strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Players had to arrive a day before their matches and stay at the on-site hotel after undergoing tests for the novel coronavirus.
“Got to be off my head coming here, haven’t I? I’ve been sat in my room for 24 hours,” the five-time world champion told Eurosport. “I’ve done 16 hours in a cell once, and it was better because I got to choose my own food.”
O’Sullivan had earlier said that he had run out of supplies at one point and was left “eating cornflakes for the rest of the day”.
The 44-year-old won all three of his opening group matches but crashed out of the tournament in the next stage after a 3-0 defeat by Stuart Bingham.
Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford