King of Tweeters O’Sullivan not afraid to share his feelings

I HAVE a confession to make. I have been stalking Ronnie O’Sullivan for the last two weeks.

I know what he watches on television, where he shops, what he had for dinner last night, even who his doctor is.

But I am not totally fixated on Rocket Ronnie, I have also been following Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, Jimmy White, Mark Selby even last year’s world champion Neil Robertson.

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Now before you call the police and report me for hiding in bushes outside his penthouse apartment, it’s okay, this is all to do with the wonderful world of Twitter.

This is the online social website which allows people to post comments or updates about what they are doing, and you can become a ‘follower’, a voyeur of the stars if you like.

What started as a quirky website for the committed, Twitter has quickly caught on with sportsmen and women who have discovered an easy way to communicate and interact with their fans.

Now I have to admit before the start of the Betfred.com World Championship I was a Twitter virgin, dismissing it as a play thing for the self-obsessed.

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But when hearing Judd Trump had ‘tweeted’ – that’s what you call it when you go on Twitter – during a mid-session interval in his shock first-round win over last year’s champion Neil Robertson, I thought I should check it out for journalistic reasons.

Well, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if not, would I?

“Now that is a serious couple of twitches,” tweeted 21-year-old Trump, after a couple of wayward shots.

Trump, who complete with his striking hairstyle and youthful looks, seems more like he should be in a boy band, rather than a professional snooker player, adds: “What a venue! Loving every minute.”

Obviously, there’s often some mundane stuff among the nuggets. “Weetabix or Coco Pops?” asks Trump.

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But if you need some heavyweight tit-bits, look no further than Ronnie. Here we have the most naturally-talented player I have seen, but one who has often struggled to get his mindset right and has had a tempestuous relationship with snooker, falling in and out of love with the game.

O’Sullivan, pictured right, is a showman on the table, but more reserved and guarded when it comes to talking to the media.

Yet on Twitter, the three-times world champion opens up to talk to his fans and offers a porthole into his private life, including the way sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters – who worked with the 2008 Olympic cyclists – has helped him out.

“Dr Steve Peters. Has really gave me a new way of seeing things... it’s working progress.

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“If I do play on next year my main aim is to sort the head out. Hopefully the game will take care of itself. Enjoyment!

“Even though I have not hit top form, I’m happy with my attitude. It’s kept me in the comp up until now.

“I needed to see Steve 18 years ago, better late than never.

“Change of heart has been helped by Dr Steve Peters, amazing man. It’s early days but I’m enjoying the game much more.

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“Thanks for all your support, means a lot to me, I love my fans. I’m so lucky to have that loyalty.

“Depression? I get down when I play a poor (substituted this for a less friendly word) game. But hey who doesn’t? I suppose I could deal with my emotions later. Hahaha

“The key is to enjoy. As long as I enjoy playing I will continue to play. If not that I can’t carry on. It was killing me.

“I used to run to escape my demons, it was something positive. It kept me out of trouble. Hahaha. Gonna try and put snooker first now though.

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“I would recommend it though, it’s good for the mind. Not sure I need it as much now though.”

The way O’Sullivan interacts with his fans, answering questions from them and opening up, is a refreshing change to the sometimes limp comments that many sports folk utter under the glare of the media spotlight.

But it’s not all serious, O’Sullivan has become a huge fan of TV show The Only Way is Essex (towie in Twitter language), but he dismisses tabloid reports it’s helping him deal with his depression.

“Anyone tell me when the next episode of towie is on? I missed the last one because of snooker. Gutted. I’m getting withdrawals,” he tweets.

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“Saw the Daily Star today. Hahaha. True I love towie. But false that it is helping with my depression,” he says, putting the record straight.

“It’s noisy outside my flat, Sheffield is a busy place. Lots of action going on, love Sheffield. Good place to visit.”

And the Rocket is not afraid to talk openly about his Crucible rivals. “Nice to see Ding (Junhui) doing well. I love that boy. If I don’t win it, I would love for Ding to win it. He is my Chinese brother.

“(Mark) Williams is looking good, class act he is. Also (Judd) Trump doing what I thought he was capable of, great talent.”

Whoever lifts the famous trophy tonight will be crowned world champion but O’Sullivan takes my award as King of the Twitter from Crucible fortnight.

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