Why Ronnie O'Sullivan banned his own dad from attending the World Snooker Championship

Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan has banned his own dad from attending the World Snooker Championship.

The Rocket is widely regarded as the greatest person to ever pick up a snooker cue and is favourite to win a record-breaking eighth world title.

He is currently partway through his last 16 match against Welshman Ryan Day, and holds a slender 5-3 lead after the first session.

O'Sullivan has had a glittering career in the sport, and has also often discussed his battles with mental health.

His dad, O'Sullivan Sr, missed some of his son's famous career victories due to an 18-year stint in prison for the murder of Bruce Bryan.

Since his father's release, the 48-year-old opened up about how he has prevented him from attending his matches at the world-famous Crucible in Sheffield out of fear he will get stage fright.

In an extract from his 2023 book, Unbreakable, as reported by the Daily Express, O'Sullivan said: "I won’t let him in the venue, not until the match is done. It’s too much for me.

"I remember when I was a kid, eight years old and nine, and his presence at a competition used to put so much pressure on me. If I missed a shot I could hear his response - 'You’re throwing it away…'

"He loved watching me practice. He and his mates in the snooker club, him holding court as always but almost never taking his eyes off me."

It has been a remarkable season so far for The Rocket, who has already won two of the three Triple Crown events the UK Championship and The Masters.

If he wins the Worlds then it will be the first time in his illustrious career that he has lifted all three in the same season, and he would be only the fourth player in snooker history to do.