World Snooker Tour chairman Steve Dawson has lashed out at Ronnie O’Sullivan for his “misguided and damaging” comments about the sport.
In a shocking outburst, seven-time world champion O’Sullivan said snooker was in the ‘worst place it’s ever been’, urging fellow players to strike to improve prize money.
The 47-year-old, who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, has also called for a leadership change on the World Snooker Tour, saying other “unlucky” players were afraid to speak out against the organisation.
WST Chairman Dawson has posted a lengthy response to O’Sullivan’s comments, describing them as “misguided and damaging” to the sport.
“Ronnie is a fantastic player and a legend of our sport, but sometimes his misguided comments go too far,” Dawson said in a statement. “I feel it necessary to respond to some of the damaging remarks he made to the press this week.
“Firstly, Ronnie has never attended a player meeting or spoken to us to discuss his views. There are three formal levels at which he can provide feedback: through the WST Board, through the WPBSA Player Board or through Player Meetings, and he has not applied through any of these channels. He also has my number and can speak to me directly.’
Dawson also urged O’Sullivan to “take the sport to the next level” and be a “role model” as Rory McIlroy and Roger Federer are for golf and tennis respectively, before commenting on the comments from O’Sullivan on prize money.
“He often compares snooker to golf and tennis, but I’d like to challenge him on whether he, for his part, elevates the sport and acts as a role model, like a Rory McIlroy or Roger Federer,” Dawson said.
“We aim to take snooker to the next level, but we need players to be public ambassadors and communicate their concerns through the right channels. Comments like Ronnie’s this week are detrimental to us as a sport – and they’re baseless.
‘In 2010 the commercial rights of snooker were awarded to Matchroom Sport. In that time snooker has grown exponentially all over the world. At the time there were six tournaments and a total prize pool of £3.5 million. There are 21 events this season. Prize money was £15m pre-pandemic and currently stands at £11m.
The dip since 2019 is mainly caused by the inability to host tournaments in China while the country was in an unprecedented lockdown. We are committed to resuming a full schedule of events in China in the near future, at which point our tour will be stronger than ever.
‘During the time we have run the tour, Ronnie has earned £7 million in prize money, including the £500,000 top prize at last year’s World Championship. No doubt, with his talent, it would have been much more if he had chosen to play in more events.
“Our long-term strategy is to increase the number of events and prize money and bring us closer to the level of the leading individual sports such as golf and tennis. We are working on this ambition together with world giants such as IMG.
“There are many individual sports, including popular Olympic sports, where the prize money is significantly lower than snooker. For now, we more than stand by the nature and scope of the sport.
“The fact is that our global television audience is bigger than ever before, as is our digital audience. In the UK we broke records at many events this season, including the Masters where Ronnie played in front of 2,000 enthusiastic fans in London. Despite the economic climate, fans in the UK are coming to our tournaments in greater numbers than ever before. This does not indicate a crisis!
“He also played in the Hong Kong Masters, a tournament we put back on the calendar this season, where he won the title in front of 9,000 fans. It is difficult to create new events during a global recession, but we have maximized the opportunities to keep the calendar full and we will continue to do so.
His comments are too often disrespectful to snooker’s dedicated management, the sport’s commercial and venue partners and his fellow players.
“In the past he has described lower ranked players as ‘numpties’ but they love the sport as much as he does and our role is to give them opportunities to compete. This season we have given each player an income guarantee of £20,000 to help them pay their expenses and develop their careers.”
Dawson also responded to O’Sullivan’s claim that players should strike, rejecting suggestions that other professionals are “afraid” to tell the truth at the risk of being fined.
He suggested players should strike, but why? That certainly won’t lead to new revenue,” Dawson added. He also claims that players are afraid of being fined for giving their opinion, but this is also not confirmed by the facts.
“The number of players being fined for media comments is small – in general they are given a lot more freedom than athletes in other sports because we want them to be more involved with the media and the fans.
“If Ronnie capitalized on his own huge global popularity to be a true ambassador for snooker then he could work with us to move the sport forward for his benefit and for the sport as a whole.
“Snooker is bigger than any player. The sport will continue to grow and we have no doubt that it will be more successful than ever before in the coming years.
My message to Ronnie – and all the players – is to talk to me and the team. Our door is always open.’
O’Sullivan will defend his World Snooker Championship title at the Crucible in Sheffield next month.
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