After his second-round defeat by David Grace at the Northern Ireland Open, snooker has become like an emotionless-type job forRonnie O' Sullivan.
After building a 2-0 lead, the seven-time world champion lost to the world number 62.
I don't really want to do it. I give it what I think it deserves, O'Sullivan said.
I wouldn't do it. I don't bother anymore.
The job is not worth the stress and hassle, he said. Sometimes a loss allows me to do other things.
After losing in the first round of the British Open, O'Sullivan went on to win the Hong Kong Masters.
In the last three years, the 46-year-old lost to Judd Trump in the Northern Ireland Open finals.
Trump was knocked out of the tournament at the second-round stage, going down to Hill.
O'Sullivan raced into a 2-0 lead against his fellow Englishman but Grace fought his way back into the match with breaks of 57, 94 and 64 and although O'Sullivan took a crucial sixth frame, his opponent held his nerve to win the decider.
"I've got a rule, I don't talk about any of my matches, I leave it out there, it is what it is," said reigning world champion O' Sullivan.
I let others analyse and criticize while I eat lunch.
Cut the mediocre ones if I can play a good tournament a year. It's enough.
I stopped thinking about the sport about eight years ago. It gives me a lot of freedom and is a good platform for me to do other things.
There isn't enough good stuff in the game to get excited about if I want to win.
If I don't play a good tournament one day, I won't care anymore.
It's become like an emotionless-type job for me. It works for me.
The crowd at the Waterfront is "unbelievable" and the event is "brilliant", despite O' Sullivan's indifference about his own performance.
If I didn't work for Eurosport, I wouldn't play in the tournament. He wouldn't play and wouldn't do it at all.
The calendar doesn't interest me, the events don't interest me, and the game doesn't interest me at all.
I've got that right. If I don't win another match, I think I have the right to do what I want.
Mark Williams defeated Jimmy Robertson 4-2 in the third round, while Neil Robertson racked up three centuries as he beat John Astley.
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