Paul Scholes watched Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible last week and was blown away by the experience, describing it as ‘one of the best things I’ve ever done.’ The Manchester United legend was in Sheffield to watch the Rocket in his World Snooker Championship first round match against He Guoqiang.
He didn’t actually get to see a lot of O’Sullivan as it was the second session of the match and the 50-year-old reeled off the three frames he needed to complete a 10-2 win in less than an hour. However, it was more than enough to see Scholes fall in love with the place and wanted to stay for the entire tournament.
Scholes' Unforgettable Experience
‘I wanted to go and do it for years, go and watch Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Crucible,’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football. ‘I live an hour away so on my phone, had a look to see if I could buy a ticket – there was one ticket left in the whole thing and it’s three seats away from Ronnie – I’ve clicked on it, it was 450 quid, and I just thought “F*** it. I’m doing it”. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do.
‘I don’t really get excited about much stuff do I? But this was f***ing unbelievable! One of the best things I’ve ever done.
‘I had a coffee in the green room. All the TV people are there, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott, Joe Perry. Judd Trump and Neil Robertson were in there.
‘I’m three seats away from him [O’Sullivan]. Honestly, peace and quiet, I could have sat in that chair for two weeks. I swear to God, I could have watched every single game.
‘He only needed three frames to win. He did it in about 45 minutes, got two centuries – absolute genius. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, honestly.’
The Atmosphere at the Crucible
The 51-year-old is not known for losing his cool, but felt like he was getting carried away, such was the buzz of watching the Rocket in action. ‘The precision of it, it’s like art. They make it look easy. At one point I got a bit giddy,’ he said. ‘I was on a high for about three days after it. I’m still talking about it now, it’s one of the best things I’ve done in my life. Watching a genius at work like that, it’s unbelievable.’
O’Sullivan was asked if he knew Scholes was in attendance after the match, saying: ‘It was good to see him. He looks really well, fit, healthy, so good to see him come to the snooker.’
O'Sullivan's Future Plans
After a thrilling 13-12 defeat to John Higgins in the second round, O’Sullivan said of his plans for next season: ‘It depends, if my sponsors are on board then I’ll play, but I’m not two-feet in like pretty much most of the guys, I’m just grateful to be playing, and enjoying my playing and that’s it. And if I don’t enjoy it, I’ll take time out. We’ll see. It’s too hard to start speculating about next year.’
He added: ‘I’m just enjoying myself I’m having good fun, I’m just enjoying life and whatever I’m doing, so win, lose, draw, there’s always a safety net below. I’m not two feet in. I try my nuts off when I’m out there, but I also appreciate that I’m not a slave to the game. I have to take a result like that, and I can probably handle that a lot better than if I’m all two feet in, that would really hurt to lose a game, but I feel like I’ve had a good workout, I’ve had a good game and I’ve kind of surprised myself, and I can still play a bit.’
