Ronnie O’Sullivan insists he has not moved to Dubai for tax reasons.
The Rocket, 50, quit the UK for the Middle East last summer with wife Laila Rouass, who he married in June.
O’Sullivan has barely been seen in Britain since, playing just one tournament here before returning for the current World Championship at the Crucible.
He has been splitting his time between bases in Dubai and Dublin in recent months and prioritises tournaments in China and Saudi Arabia.
The lesser-spotted star missed the pre-tournament Champions’ Dinner and Media Day, but was in fine fettle as he kicked off his quest for a record eighth Crucible crown with a 10-2 hammering of He Guoqiang.
Asked if he moved to Dubai for tax reasons, the seven-time world champion and current world No12 responded: ‘I’ve not moved away for any other reason than I’m happy where I’m living.
The Rocket, 50, quit the UK for the Middle East last summer with wife Laila Rouass
O’Sullivan has barely been seen in Britain since, playing just one tournament here before returning for the current World Championship at the Crucible
‘I love being in Dubai and I love being in Ireland. I’ve not moved away for any reason. I just choose to come when I want to come.
‘They’re my homes now so I just commute between them and obviously in China, Hong Kong.
‘I won’t be flying anywhere [during the tournament], I’ll be staying here.’
O’Sullivan has been plagued by his pursuit of perfection on the baize during his illustrious three-decade-plus career which has eaten away at him at times over the years.
Always in the limelight as the face of the game, the Rocket admits he sometimes wishes he played a sport where his team-mates could shoulder the burden.
The Chigwell-born star will renew a 30-year Crucible rivalry with old sparring partner John Higgins in the last 16 on Saturday night.
And O’Sullivan, who has skipped tournaments due to stage fright on occasion, added: ‘Snooker, you just have to do it all by yourself. I wish I was a footballer or playing in the NFL or something where you can ask the boss if I could have a month off. Or please don’t let me play against him because I don’t like playing against him.
‘But my whole career has been like, you’ve got to be here this time, play that person. And I’ve had to play all the best players of different generations.
‘Some of these fighters get hand-picked opponents for them, I’ve had to play the field. I always say, that’s why I fell out of love with boxing, because some people get the easy path, some people have to do the hard path.
‘I respect boxers that do the hard path, because you think, OK, at least they’re fighting the best out there.
‘And I think my career has been like that. I’ve had to just do it the hard way, if you like. I don’t want too many more years of that.’
