Ronnie O'Sullivan 'is incorrect' - Shaun Murphy responds to The Rocket over state of snooker comments
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Updated 22/03/2023 at 15:12 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan's strong comments about the state of world snooker have made the headlines this week - now fellow top player Shaun Murphy has weighed in with his thoughts as a response. O'Sullivan had been highly critical of the direction the sport is headed, but Murphy has urged The Rocket to get much more involved in constructive talks and meetings inside the sport.
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Shaun Murphy has responded to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s criticism of the sport after the seven-time world champion said snooker is in “the worst place it has ever been”.
O'Sullivan made headlines speaking at the WST Classic in Leicester as he gave his perspective on the state of the sport. He began by saying "listen, snooker is in a bad place" before referencing the recent cancellation of the Turkish Masters for financial reasons.
“It’s in trouble," O'Sullivan told The Sportsman. "Forget Turkey, this needs at least another £50 million a year just to make it a proper tour. When you look at the number, it’s bad. When you look at £10 million prize money for 25 events across the year for 128 players, it’s never going to be good.
"It needs at least to triple that to make it work. Maybe you do need some proper people like Liberty [in Formula 1] or someone with the vision to bring it up to date.
“You look at the people actually managing the game, they are not the brightest sparks either. So you can’t see them digging themselves out of it. But you don’t have to be Einstein. It is probably in the worst place it has ever been.
"The image of the sport, it’s a bit like a pub sport now. Look at some of the tournaments - The Shootout. Some of the venues we play at. It’s lost its charm of what it used to be. It’s cheap.”
Murphy has given his response to the comments, and he took the opportunity to urge The Rocket to turn up to the important meetings that have been put in place by the World Snooker Tour for players to have their say about snooker's future.
“I don't see how players can't understand that," Murphy told The Mirror. "This isn't about gagging orders or restricting free speech. It's having the sense to realise some of these things are sensitive, and need dealing with in-house.
“We need to be a unified voice in snooker to grow the game and make it bigger and better – and there is very little of that going around at the moment. In simple mathematical terms, for prize money and number of tournaments, he is incorrect to say it is the worst it is ever been.
“I don't know where he is coming from with his comments. He wasn't at the meeting last week, neither were other players that have been vocal recently like Stephen Maguire and Ali Carter. They were no-shows as well.
"If players don't attend meetings and go through the proper channels, then WST and WPBSA won't take them seriously. There are a lot of criticisms flying around, but not many solutions. It's all well and good criticising from the sidelines, let's see some of these players get their hands dirty and get involved.
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“Help make the game better. Ronnie has carried a big burden on his shoulders for 20-30 years and is the biggest star we have ever had, there is no question there. He puts more bums on seats. But snooker was here before Ronnie O’Sullivan, and it will be here long after he puts his cue down.
“They said about Alex Higgins the game wouldn't survive him leaving, and that was wrong. The frustration with Ronnie is that there is the odd good idea in there. If he could be motivated to get involved, he would be a real asset. But I have no idea who can do that.”
In response to O'Sullivan's comments, the WST said in a statement given to Eurosport: “Last week, we held a constructive meeting with the players - unfortunately, Ronnie chose not to attend - where we set out our vision for the future of snooker and addressed issues which are important to the players.
“The outcomes were positive, and players were encouraged by the progressive strategy set out by WST. WST is working diligently across many of the areas Ronnie has raised and is achieving considerable success as a result. We have smashed records on ticket sales for the majority of our events this season, and our global TV and digital audience is bigger than ever.
“Prize money for our UK events has increased since the start of the pandemic. Post-Covid, we are committed to returning to China in 2023 and optimistic about that prospect, which would put our tour in the strongest position it has ever been.
"We are working with the leading agencies in sports, whose clients include the Premier League, FIFA, Ryder Cup and The Masters. Our long-term strategy is based upon best-in-class analysis and driven by data.”
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