Is snooker set for a big break? Why Ronnie O’Sullivan’s quit threats can help the sport future-proof itself
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s victory at the UK Championship could hardly have reflected his talent, personality and the state of snooker any better.
The 43-year-old eased past Mark Allen 10-6 in the final at York Barbican on Sunday evening, before pouring a bottle of water over his head in celebration and giving some lively quotes about entertaining fans like Bruce Forsyth and Tommy Cooper.
Yet less than 24 hours later he was withdrawing from the next event, the Scottish Open.
O’Sullivan’s seventh UK Championship title was his 19th major – a feat which saw him surpass Stephen Hendry’s record – and although he spoke passionately about playing for another 12 years and breaking new ground, it is clear his situation has changed.
Earlier this month he outlined his grand plan to reform snooker, sparking debate across the sport.
Openly defying World Snoooker chairman Barry Hearn – not for the first time – O’Sullivan said he was “ready to go” and form a breakaway “Champions League-style” tour with “seven or eight top-quality players”.
O’Sullivan is unhappy at the number of events on the current calendar, the state of some venues and the direction snooker is heading under Hearn’s leadership.
Is a breakaway viable?
As the sport’s biggest name, star attraction and arguably best ever player his ideas carry weight. But are they viable?
“Ronnie has the power to change the dial, whereas a lot of other players don’t, so when he says something like this there’s got to be some substance to it,” says Steve Martin, global chief executive of M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment.
“He has a point and there’s a general trend of the cream of sport – top-ranking teams and individuals – looking for more revenue, or a fairer share. It’s nothing new.”
O’Sullivan has repeatedly butted heads with Hearn, but having just scooped a £170,000 prize it’s hard to know if he would carry through with his threat and break out on his own.
“He knows that he wields a lot of power because he’s the star attraction so he’s flexing his muscles,” says George Gilmore, head of marketing at agency Synergy.
“And by doing this he will probably start the conversation that means that some of the changes he wants to see.”
Such changes could see the ranking system tweaked to find a happy medium and allow those at the top more leeway.
The amount of time when ranking points are accrued could be extended, or the top results taken to determine position instead.
However, what O’Sullivan wants must be accompanied by the caveat that he is in a completely different bracket to the majority of players – and not just on the snooker table.
He has won more than £8.5m in prize money over his 25-year career, while the current world No64, Craig Steadman, stands to take home just £16,500 in 2018.
One-man band
Hearn described the proposed breakaway as “nonsensical” and is confident “not one single member of the 128 on the pro tour will trust their future to Mr O’Sullivan.”
He added: “Snooker has never been in a better place. Prize money has quadrupled in the past few years and players are happy.”
Judd Trump, Ken Doherty and other players have echoed that sentiment, while beaten finalist Allen was blunt in his assessment on Sunday, joking: “Hopefully he pisses off to this breakaway.”
Were O’Sullivan to do just that though, snooker would be left with a big hole to fill.
“He tends to be seen as the sport because of his achievements and the lack of characters – he’s seen as a one-man band a lot of the time,” says Martin.
“When snooker was peaking there were 10 or 12 players, each with a different character and they would scrap against each other – there was a boxing publicity element to it. Whether it was contrived or not I don’t know.
“But the way they [Hearn’s promotions operation Matchroom] have looked at darts and made these characters, named and framed them well, marketed it and have been unapologetic about it – maybe snooker needs to be more bold.”
Hearn’s vision has helped to grow the sport in the passionate and lucrative Asian market, however. Perhaps O’Sullivan’s comments should be seen less as a realistic threat, then, and more as an opportunity to move forward.
“It might just be that by saying something extreme he’ll end up at a happy medium, much nearer to where we are already,” says Gilmore.
“Maybe Ronnie’s thoughts on a breakaway will just get everybody thinking again – to view where they are and think about the next five or 10 years,” says Martin. “They need to appeal to the audience. Snooker needs to future-proof itself again.”