By Elliott West
“Beyond a crisis”.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Introduction
Dark clouds have been looming over snooker in recent months, firstly with match-fixing allegations and now as we build up to the highlight of the snooker season with the World Championship just weeks away, Ronnie O’Sullivan has waded into the debate about the state of affairs of snooker with a scathing attack, claiming that it is in “the worst place it has ever been”. O’Sullivan pulled out of the WST Classic with an elbow injury and can no longer play in the Tour Championship due to a shortfall of ranking points on the one-year list. So in a period of reflection, he decided to pour oil on the fire, highlighting some of the wrongs behind the scenes that he feels need to be addressed.
What’s Wrong?
In what some consider to be Ronnie O’Sullivan’s most explosive media interview to date, this highly gifted snooker player has decided to take a pop shot at snooker’s governing body, the WPBSA and its commercial arm, the WST. An attack that he knows will attract more media attention as it has been uttered during the lead-up to the World Championship, a the time when global eyes are watching. O’Sullivan is not content to take a swipe at one problem and goes the full hog tackling a number of issues that have long been mumbled behind the scenes.
Prize Money
With the ditching of the Gibraltar Open and the Turkish Masters this season has had a massive impact on the prize pot of money. The governing body has tried to plug the gap by creating the WST Classic but with the sport still having clipped wings post covid, unable to play any tournaments in China and only venturing outside the UK for the Hong Kong Masters and to Thailand for the World Six Red Championship, the game has provided in the region of £10 million in prize money for the 25 tournaments in the snooker calendar.
Ronnie is a keen fan of F1, golf and tennis and suggests that snooker needs to take a leaf from their book and provide a massive cash injection, another £50 million for the prize money to benefit all 128 players on the tour. O’Sullivan feels the current situation in snooker is making it look like a pub sport and it has to change if snooker is to evolve. Players don’t want crumbs from the table, they have to have the incentive to play and with some of the venues used for the tournaments, a raft of seats are not filled until the end of an event, claiming that the Snooker Shootout venue looks cheap.
A Vow of Silence
These views are not unique to Ronnie but players are scared to speak out because they will be fined for their media outbursts A recent players’ meeting was well attended but it is unclear whether any of these issues were discussed largely because they were told not to discuss what was raised outside the room, almost a gagging clause. WST stated the contrary, saying the meeting had been constructive, a forum where the future vision of snooker was set out and players were given to opportunity to raise their concerns. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle and as Ronnie didn’t even attend the meeting, it is easy for him to carp when he doesn’t know the full facts. WST also refutes the accusation by O’Sullivan that the snooker authority is doing nothing about it, saying these issues are being addressed.
A Changing of the Guard
Ronnie O’Sullivan doesn’t pull any punches in his latest media outburst saying that if things don’t change the players should go on strike to force change with direct at snooker’s management, believing they are clueless, stuck in a hole that they don’t know how to get out of. He feels that a new team should be brought in instead. WST refute his comments, believing that he should work with them and not against them. Advice is helpful but can be detrimental too and the governing body is already in constructive talks with a number of sports agencies including the Premier League, FIFA, Ryder Cup and the Masters with ticket sales and prize money rapidly increasing.
Afterthoughts
Ronnie O’Sullivan is entitled to his own views on the current state of play and the future of snooker. He has earned that right by being the most successful player in the history of snooker but and there is a but, he should perhaps do his research before getting on his high horse. Yes, there are problems with certain aspects of snooker and I know the governing body is working hard behind the scenes daily to resolve them. It is no good just because you are at a loose end to produce a scathing media outburst. That merely portrays snooker to the general public as incompetent and in turmoil.
Ronnie may have his own picture of what is happening but is the consensus of all the players on the tour? We will probably never know for fear of being fined for their comments. Change will happen but it will not happen overnight. Patience is a virtue but if the snooker authority doesn’t deliver on what they have promised, then they should rightly be held to account.
