Ronnie O’Sullivan has vowed to play more shots with his left hand after building a break entirely with his less dominant hand during an exhibition event in China. The 48-year-old habitually pots balls with his left hand these days but was branded “disrespectful” after initially deploying the tactic more than 25 years ago.
O’Sullivan is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished snooker players of all-time after also landing eight Masters and eight UK Championship titles.
And he displayed his unconventional talents during an encounter with Si Jiahui ahead of his first round clash at the Xi’an Grand Prix on Monday.
O’Sullivan took to Instagram after the match to post a video that showed him performing shots with his left hand.
And the star wrote: “Me playing in China. What can you spot that I’m doing differently?” He then explained in a follow-up post: ”A lot of you got it right. Gonna play more left-handed from now on. It makes me happy.”
The Rocket angered opponent Alain Robidoux at the 1996 World Championship after potting balls with his left hand.
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And after the contest had come to an end, the Canadian hissed: “Ronnie was being disrespectful to his fellow professionals and should save shots like that for exhibitions. I wasn’t playing well and he was rubbing it in. He shouldn’t be allowed to play like that in a professional tournament.”
But O’Sullivan hit back by exclaiming: “I’m good left-handed, I’ve made 90 breaks playing that way. In fact, I’m better left-handed than he is right-handed. If he wants to act like a baby that’s up to him. The crowd enjoyed it, that’s the main thing.”
And discussing the famous incident during an interview with Eurosport in 2020, the veteran explained: “I wish I had started playing left-handed sooner.
“I was playing so poorly with my right hand that I should have switched. I knew that I could pot balls with my left hand. But I was aware that people might have thought I was taking the mickey.
“It just got to the point where I wish I had done it sooner because it was relaxing me. Alain didn’t take it too well. I could understand that at the time. But once I started, it soon became acceptable.
“I beat Peter Ebdon 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Premier League in Kettering a year later playing with my left hand. People quickly realised that I could play as well at times with my left as my right.
“I won seven frames against Stephen Hendry playing with my left hand in a 10-8 win in the final. And he was world champion at the time. It was unfortunate for Alain, but he apologised to me a couple of years later and said he didn’t realise I could play as well as with my left. I accepted his apology. And we were good friends after that.”
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan came under attack recently after being told he “lacks respect”, with Antoni Kowalski taking aim at the snooker legend last month.
