UK Snooker Championship: O'Sullivan quit threat as Trump wins

Former world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan again threatened to retire from snooker after his 6-5 defeat by Judd Trump in the UK Championship.

The 36-year-old, who spurned chances to win the last-16 match 6-4, has not won a ranking event for two years and is now down to 12th in the world rankings.

"I don't want to take the shine off Judd but I seriously can't see me having much longer playing," he said.

"I think there's more to life, or there is for me."

O'Sullivan, who turned professional in 1992, has made several threats to quit, the most recent of which was in March this year following his first-round defeat at the China Open, which was the fourth successive time he had lost in the opening round.

The three-time world champion, who has won 22 ranking titles, has battled with depression in recent years and has been seeing sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters in a bid to solve his problems.

"He'll kill me for saying this and opening up like this," O'Sullivan said. "I will talk to him and I think for my own peace of mind, my own life, there is life beyond snooker.

"I still want to work and I'm sure I'll find stuff to do but I want to share my life with someone."

O'Sullivan has reportedly been single since he split from girlfriend Jo Langley two years ago.

"I don't want to be living on my own, I don't want to travel around the world on my own feeling anxious, carrying these emotions. To be the real Ronnie, I need to get away from what's causing the problem," he said.

"I want to enjoy my life, I'm 36 and I would like to meet somebody and share my time with someone. When I'm feeling the way I feel between tournaments I find that very difficult to happen. I think there's more to life, or there is for me."

In October, O'Sullivan said he felt "blackmailed" by the game's governing body making ranking points available for smaller tournaments.

Last season he pulled out at late notice from both the Shanghai and German Masters, citing personal and medical reasons.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn has previously said the sport can cope without its biggest star if he is unable to halt his disaffection with the game.

Trump, who will play Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals, had a different view of the enthralling encounter, which featured nine breaks in excess of 50 in the 11 frames.

His 51 proved decisive in the final frame, with O'Sullivan failing to seize the chance to force a respotted black when he got a kick on the penultimate red and missed a thin cut on the black that followed.

"I think I got outplayed, my safety wasn't great and I let him in first in over half of the frames," 22-year-old Bristolian Trump said.

"I got a little bit lucky to still be in the match but it's always nice to be in the last stages."

Meanwhile, China's Ding Junhui edged Matthew Stevens 6-5. World number six Ding took a 2-0 lead before Stevens levelled at 2-2 with runs of 71 and 92.

Breaks of 69, 76 and 65 edged Ding into a 5-3 advantage before Stevens came back to set up a deciding frame, which Ding took with a 63.