Ronnie O’Sullivan reflects on ‘tough’ situation for fellow pros after World Snooker Championship protest

A man climbed onto the table and covered it in orange powder, while a woman was prevented from damaging the neighbouring table during the clash between Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi after a quick intervention from referee Olivier Marteel.

With the baize covered in orange residue, organisers were forced to pull the match from the evening programme and hastily find a gap in the schedule for the second session. The match belatedly concluded on Thursday morning as Milkins fought back from 7-2 down to win 10-9 and book a spot in the second round.

O’Sullivan praised tournament organisers for how they handled the aftermath of the protest, which environmental activist group Just Stop Oil quickly claimed credit for.

“I thought they [the organisers] did good,” he told Eurosport. “It’s hard to fit matches in – they have it at Wimbledon with the weather, so I suppose you can do it.

“I felt for the guys that were playing, Rob and Joe. You get ready for a match and then all of a sudden you don’t play, it’s tough. I felt for them.

“I guess we’re all experienced enough to just reset, switch off, that’s what you do as a player.”

On suggestions that he and Vafaei had been trying to make it more like a boxing fight, he said: “I wish I was getting paid boxer’s money, Tyson Fury’s money. We are not. I don’t think I have said anything to personalise things. I’m sure we will hug and make up at some point.

“If I don’t go on and win the tournament then I would love to see him go on and win the tournament. It would probably be the best thing for snooker and would do great for the game. It is his chance to make himself a superstar.

“I don’t want him to feel like there is pressure on him. I don’t want to put that on myself or anyone. He works hard and if he beats me then he deserves some credit.

“A lot of the players have said certain things about me or done certain things and I’ve just thought ‘that wasn’t very nice’ and it just inspires me to want to stay in the game longer. The more they want me to go, the more I want to hang around.”

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