Champion Snooker Player Talks About How Video Games Impacted His Career

Australian Snooker champion Neil Robertson has opened up on his former video game habits and how playing games like League of Legends and World of Warcraft affected his professional career.

Speaking to EuroSport (via Kotaku), the Australian-born Robertson said games like League of Legends are designed to "to over your life."

"You find yourself sitting in front of the computer screen for six, seven or eight hours straight. Which is obviously not healthy," he said.

Robertson stressed that his time spent playing video games didn't necessarily stop him from winning more tournaments, but at the same time, he acknowledged, " I think I would have given myself more opportunities to go further in other events."

He also talked about how he became "addicted like hell" to FIFA 14, which cut into his practice time while managing his son's schedule as well.

"I was obsessed with winning the title against other players. I'd get up in the morning to take [his son Alexander] to school then turn on the Xbox, thinking, 'I'll just have one game with a cup of coffee to wake myself up,'" he said. "Before you know it, it is 2 PM in the afternoon. It is then too late to go to the club to practice because I've got to pick Alexander up from school."

Additionally, Robertson said he was part of a WoW raid group and how he didn't want to miss his team's raid even when he was in China for a Snooker event.

"When I got out there, the connection was so bad that I couldn't get access. I was furious for four or five days," he said. "All I was thinking about was getting back home for a connection from China. I lost my spot on the team, and all of a sudden that became more important than the snooker which is absolutely crazy."

The full interview is packed with more insight and strong quotes--read it here. On Twitter, Robertson said it was probably the "most honest" interview he's ever done.

He is now "hitting the [Snooker] practice table hard" to make up for his time away.