By Elliott West
“I don’t really have any regrets about not being involved in the Turkish Masters and playing in the qualifier”.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Introduction
The Covid pandemic prevented the much anticipated Turkish Masters from taking place last year but thankfully the green light has been given for the tournament to take place at the five-star Nirvana Cosmopolitan Hotel in Antalya in March. With a £500,000 prize fund and a £100,000 winner’s cheque on offer, this will be the second opportunity for players to travel further afield, following their first venture to the German Masters in Berlin in January.
However, the event has already received some negative press with Ronnie O’Sullivan refusing to play in the event after his demand for an additional appearance fee was refused by the Turkish sponsors. Jason Ferguson, the chairman of the WPBSA, described the decision as ‘disappointing’, adding in an interview with The Sportsman:
“Of course I am disappointed he did not enter and won’t be there. I know Ronnie has a huge number of fans in Turkey”.
Jason Ferguson
Pick and Choose
Ronnie O’Sullivan has long had a free reign in snooker, dating back to when Barry Hearn initially removed the cuffs and allowed him to choose which events he wants to play in. The main reason is the pressure that it has on his mental health. However, this rash decision to pull out of a new and frankly groundbreaking tournament does seem unreasonable.
Ronnie is the missing piece to the top 16 of the players travelling to Turkey but his agenda has created a chasm in this elite club. Perhaps this move has been hardened by his recent poor performance at the latest edition of the Championship League where he frankly underachieved and ended up with John Higgins beating Stuart Bingham 3-2 in the final.
O’Sullivan reportedly asked for a five-figure sum to see him appear. This over the barrel tactic has worked in the past when similar demands were issued in places such as China but on this occasion, the powers that be held their ground. This has frankly been a missed opportunity. With a country so large and a massive snooker fan base, the potential in Turkey is massive. If he had taken part in the Turkish Masters, he would probably have made a considerable amount of money from just appearance fees and promotional appearances. The box office winner has frankly thrown the toys out of his pram and may live to regret the rash decision. However, O’Sullivan remains defiant, defending his decision, saying:
“A five-star hotel on the beach isn’t going to entice me to get my cue out of my case and enter a tournament. I could probably go anywhere in the world and experience that – and not have to be surrounded by loads of snooker players and officials!”
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Ronnie O’Sullivan may change his decision in the second year of the tournament and is probably secretly waiting to see how the event pans out and its overall success. With Turkey on the cusp of Europe and the Middle East, the Turkish Masters has so much potential and could spearhead a whole swathe of new tournaments and investment in this region, maybe producing a future Turkish professional snooker player and perhaps even a champion.
“But Ronnie is different, it is an individual sport and he has got his own agenda. From the governing bodies it has to be a level playing field, so we will never and cannot afford extra money.”
Jason Ferguson
