We love Ronnie O’Sullivan for his ability on the snooker table but it seems he is far from a genius off the baize.
The Rocket went a step or two too far yesterday by accusing the game’s organisers of “raping” him by forcing him to play in so many events.
“I feel like I’m being raped when I’m playing in them,” O’Sullivan said. “I feel I’m being blackmailed. They put these ranking events on and ranking points at these tournaments and it just feels like the winner’s prize is not great, the loser’s prize… most players are going there and losing money, but they’re putting ranking points on so it’s forcing the players to play in it, which is not great, but what do you do? You have to go.”
For years players were complaining that there were not enough ranking events but since Barry Hearne took over the running of the sport, a raft of new smaller tournaments have been created, each with some ranking points available.
“I have to play in them, there’s not a lot you can do, you’ve got to do it. But I don’t agree with them,” the three-time world champion added.
The ranking points are important to O’Sullivan this year as he was in danger of slipping out of the lucrative top 16 but he won one of these 12 new events, called the Players Tour Championship (PTC), earlier this month, securing his place. The next event on the calendar is in Killarney and they will hardly thank him for this unwanted publicity.
O’Sullivan won £10,000 for that PTC win, small money to someone who has over £6million in prize money in his career, but his comparison is just not acceptable.
O’Sullivan now joins Alan Pardew, Graeme Souness and David Haye in the gallery of idiots who compare anything in the sporting realm to rape.
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