Ronnie O’Sullivan claims snooker is ‘in the worst place it has ever been’ as World Snooker Tour responds

The World Snooker Tour has responded to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s criticism of the sport after the seven-time world champion said snooker is in “the worst place it has ever been”.

“It’s in trouble. Forget Turkey, this needs at least another £50 million a year just to make it a proper tour. When you look at the number, it’s bad. When you look at £10 million prize money for 25 events across the year for 128 players, it’s never going to be good.

“It needs at least to triple that to make it work. Maybe you do need some proper people like Liberty [in Formula 1] or someone with the vision to bring it up to date.

“You look at the people actually managing the game, they are not the brightest sparks either. So you can’t see them digging themselves out of it. But you don’t have to be Einstein. It is probably in the worst place it has ever been. The image of the sport, it’s a bit like a pub sport now.

“Look at some of the tournaments – The Shootout. Some of the venues we play at. It’s lost its charm of what it used to be. It’s cheap.”

In response, WST has said in a statement given to Eurosport: “Last week, we held a constructive meeting with the players – unfortunately, Ronnie chose not to attend – where we set out our vision for the future of snooker and addressed issues which are important to the players.

“The outcomes were positive, and players were encouraged by the progressive strategy set out by WST. WST is working diligently across many of the areas Ronnie has raised and is achieving considerable success as a result. We have smashed records on ticket sales for the majority of our events this season, and our global TV and digital audience is bigger than ever.

“Prize money for our UK events has increased since the start of the pandemic. Post-Covid, we are committed to returning to China in 2023 and optimistic about that prospect, which would put our tour in the strongest position it has ever been.

“We are working with the leading agencies in sports, whose clients include the Premier League, FIFA, Ryder Cup and The Masters. Our long-term strategy is based upon best-in-class analysis and driven by data.”

Earlier this month, Jack Lisowski called for the tour to be halved for financial reasons and Neil Robertson said the sport “desperately needs a Players’ Association, a proper, one”.

“There are a lot of players I know who are really unhappy and frightened to speak out because they will get fined. They are told that. I can’t do more. I have carried the sport pretty much for the last 20-30 years. It’s not one player. It’s the sport, it’s not a massive sport.”

If a player collects more than £20,000 over the season, the payment will be deducted from their overall prize money, meaning the system is in place to benefit those who are struggling at the lower reaches of the game.

But O’Sullivan has said there is not enough money in snooker compared to other sports, particularly for those down the rankings.

“At Wimbledon, it is probably £50 million for the one event,” said O’Sullivan. “You look at golf, minimum first prize of £1.2 million and the top players don’t even turn up for that.

“We are playing for the winner gets £80,000 most weeks and the runner-up gets £35,000. It’s bang in trouble.

“Mark Allen has done well this year, Judd Trump did well a couple of years before that. A few others do alright. But for the rest, there is nothing there.

“A lot of these players are tempted by crumbs. If you give them a few crumbs, and they say, ‘I will play’, keep them quiet, keep them on board. But the only way to get change is for the players to say, ‘we are not playing until you listen to us’.

“If you want us to play in this tournament for six days then this is what we expect. This amount of prize money. Two weeks for this amount of prize money. Nothing will change until the majority of the players go, ‘you know what, we are not playing’.”

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