- Quote: ‘I’m like a new Willie Thorne – but with hair! I hope he is doing okay’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan
By Andrew Atkinson
Ronnie O’Sullivan has grown a moustache in respect to Villamartin based Willie Thorne who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for leukaemia at Torrevieja hospital.
“I set myself a challenge as soon as we were in lockdown. Initially I thought I’d grow a beard,” said O’Sullivan.
“But that got a bit itchy. Then my partner said: ‘Why not grow a ‘tache?’
“So I thought: ‘Why not for a giggle?’ I might keep it. I’m like a new Willie Thorne – but with hair,” said O’Sullivan.
“I hope he is doing okay,” said O’Sullivan, 44, fivetimes world champion, playing in the Championship League.
“A few people said I look like Mexican drug lord El Chapo and Freddie Mercury,” said O’Sullivan.
Snooker returned amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in mid-March with O’Sullivan winning his first competitive match since February, against Kishan Hirani, in Group 10.
Speaking from the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, O’Sullivan said: “We’re cooped up in this bubble here. That’s the hard bit.
“I’ve struggled not having the freedom to go out for a walk, get a coffee, grab a bit of fresh air.
“I was in the room for 24 hours. I’ve had a headache. I have started to get a bit of a cough. I cannot open the windows in my room. It’s important to be in good health at the moment.
“If every tournament was going to be like this and this type of bubble, I’m not sure I would be able to do it.
“There are no heating facilities here. I don’t mind eating cold food, but I have run out. It’s a bit of a nightmare.
“I’m eating cornflakes instead. That’s all I’m prepared to eat.”
The Coral Tour Championship, cancelled in March, moved from Llandudno, will take place on June 20-26 – without spectators – at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
