O’Sullivan decides to put family first but is far from finished

But the 36-year-old insisted his days on the tour treadmill are over and declared himself to be ready for the task of playing occasional qualifying events if a limited schedule means he cannot earn sufficient rankings points to stay in the top 16 and gain automatic entry to blue-riband tournaments. O’Sullivan had another London crowd right behind him as the Masters yesterday made its switch to the Alexandra Palace from Wembley, its home since 1979.

He rewarded their faith with a 6-4 victory over the man who beat Marco Fu in the 2011 final and who O’Sullivan defeated in the 2007 Masters final.

O’Sullivan led 4-1 but was hauled back to 4-4, before edging ahead and then sealing victory with a break of 125,, only a missed black denying him a total clearance.

As an invitational event, the Masters carries no world ranking points, so nothing O’Sullivan does this week will have an effect on his position.

He currently stands 16th and is in danger of being knocked out of the elite pack of players for the first time since the start of his career. He must be in the top 16 after next month’s Welsh Open, or face having to play a qualifying match to reach the Crucible.

“I know I’m not ready for the qualifiers,” O’Sullivan said. “I know I’m too good to be playing the qualifiers.”

But O’Sullivan will not put his personal life on hold for the sake of an automatic place in the World Championship, or any other tournament.

“I’m not prepared to travel 28, 29 weeks of the year, living out of a suitcase in hotel rooms.”

Referring to his two children, Lily Jo and Ronnie, O’Sullivan explained why he was fed up with life on the road. “It’s quite lonely, particularly when you’ve got these [children] at home,” he said. “I’ve decided that if I have to qualify, I have to qualify.”

The four-time Masters champion gave his backing to the new Masters venue, in which he will play either Judd Trump or Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals on Thursday. “I like it, it’s different to Wembley,” O’Sullivan said.

He admitted son Ronnie had been a slight distraction at one stage, explaining: “I missed a red in the second frame and he was moving, so I said ‘Keep still’.

“They were moving about and laughing and my mum was there and it was like a jolly day out.”