Ronnie O'Sullivan speaking to the media at the Crucible

Ronnie O'Sullivan would defend players for joining rumoured breakaway snooker tour that John Higgins and Mark Williams have been linked with

By Chris Hammer

Snooker

Fri April 26, 2024 · 7M ago

Ronnie O'Sullivan defended the rumoured emergence of a breakaway snooker tour potentially featuring John Higgins and Mark Williams after storming into round two of the World Championship.

The Rocket, who is chasing an historic eighth Crucible title and a clean sweep of Triple Crowns in one season to take his record-breaking tally to 24, looked in ominous form as he brushed aside Jackson Page 10-1 but afterwards was quizzed on growing speculation surrounding his fellow 'class of 92' legends.

Leading players are understood to have been approached by Far East backers and Williams hinted that it could be his last appearance at the Crucible after crashing out of the World Championship following a 10-9 defeat to Si Jiahui.

He said: "The only plans I’ve got is three months of golf. I’m not retiring. Just treat every one as your last one really. Who knows? Fingers crossed you’ll see me playing next year. Who knows? I’m 50 next year, you can’t keep going on forever. I’ll be playing next year, let’s put it that way."

O'Sullivan told a press conference: "There's talk that they might be going to another tour, so maybe they will be playing but maybe not on the WST Tour. So I think they'll be playing, but maybe somewhere else.

"Every player has the right to do what they want to do like in golf. Each sportsman is a business, whether you like it or not and it’s just like any other job – if you get a better offer, you’re going to go.

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“What is a better offer? For some people it might be a reduced schedule, it might be more money. Everyone has a different idea of what is right for them and everyone has the right to make that decision for themselves.

"I’m just an open book, I’m here, best offer, come speak to me, you’ll find my contact details on Instagram.

"The bottom line for me is I just want to play and enjoy snooker but we all have families to feed. Each sportsman is a business whether you like it or not so you have to do what’s right for you, we live in a competitive world, so it’s great that there’s this choice out there.

"Every person in the world is like that, I’ve got a friend who works for the NHS but has been offered three or four times her salary to go and work in Australia so she’s going to go and do that. She’s just going for the better pay, that’s what happens sometimes.

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“I’ll go wherever I’m looked after and wherever I feel like I’m valued. For me, I just want to play snooker, I want to have fun, I want to be looked after and pampered. Anyone who wants to pamper me and look after me, I’m your man.”

Players are allowed to play in exhibitions if they don't clash with events on the World Snooker Tour (WST), who have linked up with Saudi Arabia to stage more lucrative events in the kingdom.

O’Sullivan, who has signed a separate promotional deal with Saudi Arabia, added: "The bottom line is, you’ve got to be prepared to walk away. If I didn’t get what I want, am I prepared to walk away from the sport? The answer is yes.

“I’m happy with my life. I don’t need the financial rewards that snooker has offered me. I’m playing because I want to play but I have a value. I’m away from home and my family need looking after. A lot of it is done for them really, so I have to value my time and that’s what it’s all about.”

"I have a deal with Saudi Arabia and it’s nothing to do with World Snooker. I’m booked to play in a couple of World Snooker events. That’s my policy around the world, if you want me to play in the event, the promoter and my agent get together and we discuss, and first come first served.

"There’s 128 players and each player has the right to decide how they operate. I’m excited by the future and the things I’m doing. There’s a lot of moving parts, who knows what it’s going to be.

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O'Sullivan opened up a bit more about his deal with Saudi Arabia and accepted he couldn't turn down the offer.

He said: "The Saudis are powerful outfit, same as China, they’re serious players so things get done pretty quickly and it’s hard to turn down. Look at the golfers, it’s really hard sometimes to say no.

In regards to Saudi Arabia’s concerning human rights record, the Rocket added: "I think we’ve got really serious human rights issues going on in the UK and the US. America bombing the hell out of countries. What’s going on in Israel and Palestine, I think we need to look a bit nearer to our own western policies rather than looking to what’s going on around the world.

"We should be looking at ourselves seriously, I don’t think we have the right to criticise anyone."

World Snooker Championship: Draw and round-by-round results

ROUND ONE

Best of 19 frames (April 20-25)

(1) Luca Brecel 9-10 David Gilbert
(16) Robert Milkins 10-9 Pang Junxu
(9) Ali Carter 7-10 Stephen Maguire
(8) Shaun Murphy 10-5 Lyu Haotian
(5) Mark Selby 6-10 Joe O’Connor
(12) Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
(13) John Higgins v Jamie Jones
(4) Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
(3) Judd Trump 10-5 Hossein Vafaei
(14) Tom Ford 10-6 Ricky Walden
(11) Zhang Anda 4-10 Jak Jones
(6) Mark Williams 9-10 Si Jiahui
(7) Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
(10) Gary Wilson 5-10 Stuart Bingham
(15) Barry Hawkins 8-10 Ryan Day
(2) Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-1 Jackson Page

ROUND TWO

Best of 25 frames (April 25-29)

David Gilbert v Robert Milkins (16)
April 25-26
Stephen Maguire v Shaun Murphy (8)
April 26, 27, 28
Joe O'Connor v Kyren Wilson (12)
April 27, 28, 29
(13) John Higgins/Jamie Jones v (4) Mark Allen
April 27, 28, 29
(3) Judd Trump v Tom Ford (14)
April 25, 26, 27
Jak Jones v Si Jiahui
April 26-27
Jack Lisowski v Stuart Bingham
April 27, 28, 29
Ryan Day v Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)
April 28-29

QUARTER-FINALS

Best of 25 frames (All matches April 30-May 1)

David Gilbert/Robert Milkins v Stephen Maguire/Shaun Murphy (8) (QF 1)
Joe O'Connor/Kyren Wilson (12) v (13) John Higgins/Jamie Jones or (4) Mark Allen (QF 2)
(3) Judd Trump/Tom Ford (14) v Jak Jones/Si Jiahui (QF 3)
Jack Lisowski/Stuart Bingham v Ryan Day/(2) Ronnie O'Sullivan (QF 4)