Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Snooker, Ronnie OSullivan
Tom Jenkins
Mark Selby has admitted he is concerned about Ronnie O'Sullivan's mental health ahead of the World Championships in Sheffield next week.
There is still no confirmation on whether O'Sullivan will participate in this year's Worlds with the draw set to take place on Thursday, with the tournament getting underway on Saturday.
O'Sullivan has not played since January where he snapped his cue in anger at the Championship League in Leicester, where the 49-year-old admitted he needed time away.
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"I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that’s unplayable, so I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play and such a big tournament," the 49-year-old conceded.
Selby who was one of the few people to see O'Sullivan in Leicester, has spoken out ahead of the World Championships and admitted he was concerned about his rival.
"I was at the Championship League when Ronnie was there and I spoke to him afterwards," said Selby.
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"I could see that he wasn’t right. Knowing how I was you can sort of see it in people now and pick it up.
"Afterwards I just said to him, 'I just hope you’re ok, that’s the most important thing', Snooker is a game, at the end of the day, people’s mental health and wellbeing is worth more than just a game of snooker," he added.
Despite his concerns, Selby has insisted he hopes to see The Rocket in Sheffield as it would improve the quality of the tournament.
"I’m sure I’m one of many who hopes he plays in the World Championship because I think it will be a better tournament for it.
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"Obviously it’s got big exposure anyway but a tournament with Ronnie in is obviously a better tournament than one without him, for me."
Selby isn't the only pro who has publicly spoken out on the prospect of O'Sullivan missing the event, with Mark Williams addressing the topic in an interview with The Metro.
"It would be huge and it would be disappointing for our game," Williams called the prospect of a Worlds without O'Sullivan.
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"All the tournaments that anyone is winning, they’re brilliant and you’ve done well to win it, but when he’s in a tournament it’s different class," he insisted.