Ronnie O'Sullivan Says He's 'Not Bothered' by 2016 World Snooker Championship

Ronnie O'Sullivan claims he is "not really bothered" about the World Championships in April and will treat the tournament "like a vacation."

The outspoken 40-year-old has won the Sheffield-based competition on five occasions but insisted to the BBC recovering on sleep will be his priority after collecting his fourth Welsh Open title on Sunday:

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The most important thing for me is to get my sleep sorted. My body is just gone and I feel like I am overtired. I need a nice easy month now without any competitions and relax by filling the tank up.

If I get my sleep right then I have got half a chance. If I don't get it right then playing two sessions in one day will be too much for me. The most important thing is to get that right then everything else will fall into place.

You just have to accept it will be a long haul and you could get beaten in the first or second round and then you don't have a problem. I'm not really bothered about Sheffield, I am not bothered about any tournament. I just treat it like a vacation and enjoy the time that I am away.

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O'Sullivan has previously spoken about his difficulty with tiredness and provided further comment in Cardiff, speaking about his "boredom" during tournaments, per the Guardian.

He said: "These events leave you with a lot of time on your hands, waiting around for one match a day. Maybe they should stick an adult creche here to entertain us because I get so bored."

O'Sullivan's week at the Welsh Open was already fraught with controversy after he refused to attempt a maximum 147 break after deciding the £10,000 prize money was not enough. Per Martin Domin of the Daily Mail, O'Sullivan was on a break of 40 when he asked what the prize money for a perfect total would be, on receiving the news, he opted to pot the pink and completed a break of 146.

Watch O'Sullivan's controversial decision to avoid a maximum break at the Welsh Open:

Despite that bizarre moment, O'Sullivan did go on to lift the title and claim his 19th consecutive match win in 2016, per the Daily Mail's Hector Nunns.

Following the 2015 World Championships, where O'Sullivan was eliminated at the quarter-final stage following a 13-9-frame defeat to Stuart Bingham, the controversial player took an eight-month sabbatical from the game, per John Skilbeck of the Daily Mail.

And in spite of his candid and at-times odd nature, O'Sullivan remains a fan favourite for the right reasons:

His talent and success rate remains undeniable, but his temperament, patience and concentration is the key blockage to O'Sullivan achieving unattainable success in the sport, with Stephen Hendry's seven World Championship titles yet to entice the superstar to focus his attention.