Ronnie O’Sullivan ready to skip UK snooker tournaments in ‘really difficult’ leisure centres after seeing Saudi luxuries
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN plans to appear in a minimum of ten tournaments a season because he cannot be bothered to play snooker in UK leisure centres.
The Rocket, 49, is not a fan of some of the venues that are chosen by the World Snooker Tour for their ranking titles, particularly the Home Series events.
In 2023, the seven-time Crucible King claimed the standard of leading UK events and choice of locations reminded him of “car boot sales”.
Famously, O’Sullivan labelled the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley a “hellhole” that “smells of urine” during the 2018 English Open.
It is all a contrast to the wealth and luxury he is enjoying whenever he goes to Saudi Arabia where money is no object and players are treated like VIPs.
Essex-based O’Sullivan – who pulled out of the Scottish Open in Edinburgh last week because of fatigue – said: “I’m not being harsh. It’s really difficult when you go to a leisure centre.
“You’ve got 50-100 people all standing outside. You’ve got to get through that, play a best of seven frames.
“Then you’re not sure when you’re going to be on. They say you could be on at 8.30 but you get on at 11.
“It’s a nine-hour journey from my house to Edinburgh. You weigh it all up and think you can’t be bothered.
“Ten to fifteen years ago I’d probably have been fine but I can’t play every tournament or every week.
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“I’ll try and play a minimum of 10 and I’ll pick the best 10 to play in. After that, if I feel like I need to play in a few more I will.
“I still want to play snooker but I want to spend time at home as well.
“I enjoy practicing at home, going down the club, spending time with friends. I love being on the road as well. But it’s about getting that practice.
“In Saudi Arabia, the events we’ve had there, it’s been brilliant. Food, dressing rooms, shower rooms, loads of practice tables, courtesy cards, it was amazing.
“Same in China. With these tournaments they have 8-10 practice tables.
“Some of the events in the UK, there’s 3-4 practice tables in a leisure centre, it’s not the easaliest.
“They have bigger budgets in China and Saudi Arabia. Maybe in the UK not so much.
“They do the best they can with what they’ve got. It is what it is.”
Mark Allen beat O’Sullivan 4-3 in the semi-final at Riyadh Season Snooker Championship and £250,000 on Friday afternoon.
The Nothern Ireland ace went onto outplay Belgium’s Luca Brecel in a 5-1 final.
The rules of snooker
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
- Yellow – two points
- Green – three points
- Brown – four points
- Blue – five points
- Pink – six points
- Black – seven points
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.