(Reuters) - Five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan said he was not good enough to compete with the world's best players after reaching the International Championship second round in Daqing, China.
England's 40-year-old world number nine, who won his sixth Masters title in January and the Welsh Open in February, added on Monday that he was nowhere near his 2014 level.
"I haven't had any good results but that tells you where I am with my game," he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
O'Sullivan was beaten in the first round of the World Grand Prix, the second round of the world championships in April, the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters and the last 32 of English Open.
He also lost to world number three Judd Trump in this month's European Masters final.
"I am not going to turn my back on the game yet," said O'Sullivan, adamant that he enjoys being a pundit more than playing these days.
"I enjoy playing but I am probably not good enough to compete with the best players in the world because they are at their peak.
"I will still keep playing and hopefully will get a result, and if I don't I am just enjoying playing."
O'Sullivan, who beat Xiao Guodong on Monday, next plays Kurt Maflin in the richest tournament outside the United Kingdom.