Neil Robertson has revealed how taking up golf saved him from the “dangerous world” of online gaming. The snooker star, who begins his World Championship campaign at the Crucible this weekend, developed an unhealthy obsession with computer games.
The Australian cueist, 43, used to spend hours a day on games like FIFA Ultimate Team, League of Legends and World of Warcraft, which adversely impacted other parts of his life. Now, unless he’s in a hotel with time to kill, he barely touches them and feels better for it.
Robertson’s new, healthier passion away from snooker is golf, which he often plays with his son. The 2010 world champion explained: “Golf has been massive for my mental health, it’s been really good.
“I’ve quit all the video games at home. It’s been good to have that mental reset. Outside, fresh air, conversations with nice people, it’s a good thing.
“It’s become a hobby and I’m getting quite good at it. That helps because I see a few people on the course not looking like they’re having the best of times!
“It started when my son asked me to take him to a range. I started smacking balls around and thought, ‘This is nice’.”
Recalling how serious his computer game addiction became, he said: “It was FIFA Ultimate Team around 2014/2015. I quit that because it was a really unhealthy relationship, massively so.
“League of Legends, another online game. All these games are competitive; that’s the issue with them.
“In World of Warcraft, I became one of the best in the world for my specific class, which was crazy. But it shows you how seriously I take things when I do them – and that’s the issue.
“Whatever I do, I have to try and be as good as I can be at it. That’s a pretty dangerous world when it comes to video games because six hours can fly by in no time.
“It’s not a healthy thing to do. I get dragged into too much. I play them competitively and it gets serious. It’s one thing taking a Playstation with you to tournaments for when you’re chilling in a hotel, that’s fine.
“But gaming at home is something I would never do again, especially when you’ve got kids and responsibilities. You can forget things, like taking the bins out!
“That’s a big positive about golf, getting my son into as well. He absolutely loves it.”
Robertson, who is bidding to win his second Crucible crown 15 years after his first, has been drawn to face qualifier Chris Wakelin in round one, with the match beginning on Saturday afternoon.
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