Ronnie O'Sullivan confirmed that he will be leaving the UK for "a new life" in the Middle East after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship. The seven-time champion lost 17-7 to Zhao Xintong, with a session to spare, having made it to the semi-finals of the competition.

The 49-year-old was playing in his first competitive tournament since January, having snapped his cue at the Championship League, and was demolished by the Chinese hotshot after moving to the one-table setup inside the Crucible. And he intends to permanently relocate abroad this year.

"There's going to be a few changes in my life, so I'll see how that goes," O'Sullivan shared in Sheffield. "I think I'm going to be moving out of the UK as well this year.

"So I don't know how that's all going to pan out, to be honest with you. I'm going to start a new life somewhere else. I'll still try to play snooker but I don't know what the future looks like for me really."

O'Sullivan was granted residency in Hong Kong last year after coming through a migrant scheme, similar to Judd Trump, but he does not plan on living there permanently despite his affection towards events in the country and China.

When asked if his move cements plans to hang up the cue anytime soon, O'Sullivan replied: "Am I not playing again? I'm not saying anything. I've said it so many times. I'm not saying anything other than I'm moving away soon. There's a lot more important things in life to worry about than a game of snooker.

"For me, it's a big part of my life, but I've got to try and figure out what my future looks like, whether it's playing or not. I'll be moving away to the Middle East. See how it goes. I might be back in six months, who knows!

"It doesn't really bother me to be honest with you. I've never fallen into that thing of: 'Oh, I want to win an eighth.' I just want to come here and enjoy the snooker to be honest with you."

O'Sullivan opened up a snooker academy in Saudi Arabia last year and practised there before heading to Sheffield.

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