Following his dramatic win over Joe Perry today, world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan has now been speaking out about the state of the game and how he feels that it is currently heading in the wrong direction…
This article in the Guardian quotes O’Sullivan as saying:
On breaking his cue:
“It was fun. I really went to town on it,”
“I wanted an excuse not to play. After I’d done it, I thought: is this wise? I love the game but I don’t really care whether I play or not. I don’t want to feel like that for the rest of my life.”
On the circuit:
“I think it [the circuit] should be privatised. It needs someone like Barry Hearn, someone more up-to-date in the modern world.With the people running snooker now, it seems to be going backwards. There isn’t the buzz there used to be. It’s only the BBC holding it together. It’s dying unless something happens.. This isn’t the tournament it was when Benson & Hedges were sponsoring it. It’s not so much fun.It needs Barry Hearn to come in and do with it what he’s done for darts.”
And the BBC quotes go even further:
“I feel like I’m in a sport that has had its good days and is on a downward spiral,”
“It needs someone with entrepreneurial skills like Simon Cowell who is in the modern world and more dynamic.”
“If someone like Barry Hearn came in and took over the game and started doing with snooker what he has done with darts and made it interesting and lively that might make coming to tournaments and [my] enthusiasm to play a little bit different,”
“It’s quite uninspiring coming to tournaments,”
“I still enjoy playing but sometimes I wonder do I want to go to Ireland for 30 grand or go to China for 40 grand or Bahrain and there are two people in the crowd.
“I remember the good days when it was fun going to tournaments and now it doesn’t feel like fun.
“The people who are running snooker seem to be going backwards. Nothing seems to be happening and it just feels boring and the sport is dying.
“There are little rules brought in like penalising players for conceding when you don’t need snookers.
“You can’t help thinking that whoever is making these decisions are killing the sport and stopping the entertainment.
“I love the game and I’m in great shape physically and mentally, but I’ve got to the stage where I don’t really care if I play or not.
“I don’t want to go through the rest of my life like that so I’ve got to make a decision on what I want to do.”
Do you agree with him? Let me know what you think…