Ronnie O'Sullivan has always been known to speak his mind, and the snooker legend has poked the bear with his latest comments about a potential breakaway snooker championship.
O'Sullivan was in action on Tuesday evening in the opening session of his World Snooker Championship quarter-final against Stuart Bingham.
The Championship at the Crucible has been overshadowed by whispers of a potential move away from the iconic venue in favour of a big-money location elsewhere.
Matchroom president Barry Hearn hinted at as much on the BBC last week. Hearn was asked by Ken Doherty about whether the historical value of the Crucible was more important than the potential big bucks of a move to the Middle East, to which he said,
No trust me money has the edge every time. We live in the real world. If there's deals out there that are going to change people's lives and increase money ten-times.
Snooker fans remain concerned that a move away from the traditional home of the sport could be on the cards. Ronnie O'Sullivan went even further on Tuesday, with a tongue-in-cheek endorsement of a LIV Golf-style breakaway series in the sport.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan jokingly calls for LIV-style breakaway in snooker
Ahead of his quarter-final with Stuart Bingham, Ronnie O'Sullivan said that the money on offer from backing akin to that enjoyed by LIV Golf would be hard to turn down.
I would love to see a LIV-style breakaway, gosh! I wouldn't mind getting a phone call saying, 'Here, do you want £600m to play for three years?' I'd love that phone call, wouldn't you?
Each to their own. Everyone's got to do what they've got to do. I know what I want from the sport and I know what I'm prepared to do, what I need in return from it. As long as I keep getting that, then I don't mind playing. But everyone needs to make that up for themselves.
This year's inaugural World Masters of Snooker, held in Riyadh, was the first pro snooker tournament held in Saudi Arabia. Ronnie O'Sullivan ultimately won the event, which utilised a controversial gold ball worth an additional 20 points.
The organisers of the Riyadh Masters have since partnered with World Snooker, leading to the concern that the World Snooker Championship could be moved to the Gulf state when the current contract with the Crucible expires in 2027. It certainly appears as though Ronnie O'Sullivan would be amenable to such a move.
O'Sullivan did not have an easy run of things in Tuesday's opening quarter-final session, fighting back from 3-1 down to finish the day level with Bingham on 4-4. In a particularly striking moment, the seven-time world champion smacked his cue on the table after a poor shot, leaving the BBC commentators stunned.
Ronnie O'Sullivan shows signs of frustration with a bad miss 🤦♂️ #SnookerWorldChampionship / #Snooker / #Sport
Smacks his cue against the table
🎱 pic.twitter.com/g5XEHwxzQV— ~ Luke ~ (@LJP1575) April 30, 2024
Play resumes at the Crucible at 10am with the quarter-final matchups of Kyren Wilson v John Higgins and Judd Trump v Jack Jones. Ronnie O'Sullivan's matchup with Stuart Bingham resumes at 1pm.
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