Snooker news - Barry Hearn: Ronnie O'Sullivan suffers from having too much time on his hands

ByEurosport

Updated 30/04/2020 at 14:24 GMT

Ronnie O'Sullivan should focus on ending his golden career in style rather than talking "rubbish" off the table, according to World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and World Snooker Tour chairman Barry Hearn.

Image credit: PA Sport

Hearn believes the five-times world champion is a "genius" who suffers from having too much time on his hands when he is not concentrating on potting balls.

O'Sullivan has endured one of his most forgettable seasons in recent years. He last won a ranking tournament at the Tour Championship in March 2019, failed to qualify for the defence of the eight-man event in Llandudno and has dropped to 18th on the sport's one-year ranking list.

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He also opted out of participating at the Masters in January, an event he has won a record seven times.

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Hearn says he makes allowances for O'Sullivan's eccentric behaviour because he is a "genius" in the same mould as former crowd favourites Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins and Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White.

"This might sound strange. Ronnie O’Sullivan is a lovely, lovely person, he’s also a genius, and therein lies the problem," Hearn told the Metro.

"A genius is not normal, they don’t say normal things and they don’t act normally, that’s one of the reasons they are a genius and we have to allow for that.

Ronnie comes out with some outrageous things and I allow for it, in the same way that I allowed for Alex Higgins because he was a genius, Jimmy White, genius, Phil Taylor (16-times darts world champion), I don’t expect normality from geniuses.

"The sad thing, for me, is sometimes the errant ideology of a genius is counterproductive to their own personal welfare.

For Ronnie O’Sullivan, I love him, I’ve known him since he was 12-years-old, I’ve been his manger twice, we disagree of lots of things fundamentally because he’s got too much time on his hands and he likes a column inch so he comes up with outlandish statements, most of which are rubbish.

O'Sullivan told Eurosport that he plans to play more over the next two years as he bids to make up for lost time, and admits the past year has been a "disaster".

O'Sullivan, 44, will have been playing professionally for 30 years if he continues until 2022, but Hearn has warned him that time and tide wait for no man.

Barry Hearn and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Image credit: Eurosport

"The over-riding factor is Ronnie O’Sullivan was born to play snooker and I don’t want him sitting in his armchair when he’s 60 with any regrets," said Hearn.

I’d rather see Ronnie O’Sullivan turn up and play with a smile on his face than almost anything in snooker. The fact he didn’t play the Masters this year or enough events to get into the Coral Championship, that’s called a mistake, a mistake made by a genius.

"Hopefully he says: 'I’m just going to enjoy my life, I really love playing snooker and I’m going to play a bit more, whenever I want.

"I want him to be happy, funnily enough, and I’m certain he’s happiest playing snooker.

"Sometimes, like this crisis, whether it’s sport, a relationship, whatever, complacency is a killer and the day you lose something, it’s quite good because you realise how much you miss it.

"We’re all missing sport and Ronnie sounds like he’s missing snooker and that’s bloody good news.

He might appreciate, both of us might, a bit more when we get back to normality. Sometimes we take it for granted and that’s not the right the way out of any relationship

Hearn also paid tribute to world champion Judd Trump, who has lifted a record six ranking events this season to establish himself as the sport's outstanding player.

The undisputed world champion and world number one has lifted the International Championship, World Open, Northern Ireland Open, German Masters, Players Championship and Gibraltar Open in an astonishing campaign so far that has seen him earn £978,100 in prize money.

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"I think Trump is an outstanding player. It’s going to be interesting watching his game and personality develop, which I think they both will," said Hearn.

"I think Judd Trump is going to be one of the all time greats. I’ve got a lot of time for him. He’s got a hunger which the best players have got.

You can enjoy brilliance at any time, I can watch Ronnie O’Sullivan play all day. Left handed, right handed, cue in his teeth I think he can pot them sometimes. But lets’ enjoy the moment, make the memories, they won’t be there forever, that’s why we should enjoy it and that’s why we shouldn’t take it for granted today.

"Would we miss Ronnie O’Sullivan? Bloody right. Would the game survive? Bloody right. Because that’s the nature of sport. People come through. Great fighters that looked unbeatable become normal and human after a while."