Ronnie O’Sullivan discloses his new golden rule.

Although Ronnie O’Sullivan, 48, has now played in 16 straight games without losing, he has significantly altered his approach following a heated altercation with Ali Carter at the Masters earlier this season.

After his nasty altercation with Ali Carter during the Masters, Ronnie O’Sullivan feels “happier” now that he isn’t analyzing his performances and getting into verbal sparring with opponents.

The world champion who has won seven times has had a turbulent few months. Prior to pulling out of the Welsh Open and German Masters, he had won the Masters in January.

O’Sullivan returned to action earlier this week, defeating Zhou Yuelong in the Players Championship. He has not played for more than a month, and he has acknowledged that he has slightly changed his approach to the game.

O’Sullivan stated in an interview with ITV: “I truly don’t evaluate my performances; I consider it to be a golden rule. Take what I can from the trip, practice a little bit, and move on. I’m just trying to play as much as I can because it makes me happier.
For me, everything that comes from this tour is just cherry on top. My primary focus is on my ambassador job and exhibits; I fit in a few tournaments around that.”

It was not an easy path to get past Zhou in Telford. Held at 2-2, he came back to win four straight games and win the match 6-2.

When asked if Zhou would be regretting some of his chances from early in the match, O’Sullivan stayed silent and adhered to his new strategy of not talking about other players. “Yeah, I’m not going to comment on other players anymore,” was his response. I’m simply happy to be done with it, then.”

Refusing to discuss his opponents, O’Sullivan had a heated argument with Carter, his opponent in the Masters final, during his press conference after winning the trophy. Carter had accused O’Sullivan of “snotting on the floor” during the match at the Ally Pally, and O’Sullivan responded, “He needs to sort his f***ing life out.”