Sport

Ronnie O’Sullivan says he would ‘love to see’ a LIV-style breakaway in snooker

How does snooker’s future look and what’s on the table - explained

Ronnie O'Sullivan during his match against Stuart Bingham. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
Ronnie O'Sullivan during his match against Stuart Bingham. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
Tue Apr 30 2024 - 16:47

Ronnie O’Sullivan joked that he would “love to see” a LIV Golf-style breakaway in snooker if someone was willing to offer him hundreds of millions of pounds, but was not interested in contributing to the noise around what a possible rival could mean for the World Snooker Tour.

Leading players, including O’Sullivan, are understood to have been approached by Far East backers about the prospect of establishing a breakaway circuit from as early as next season.

O’Sullivan has already effectively ruled himself out of any parallel tour by signing a deal to play in WST events in Saudi Arabia for the next three years.

But he said if something on the scale of LIV – which has lured some of the world’s best golfers away from the established tours – came along in snooker, he would be more than happy to take the phone call.

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O’Sullivan, who is looking forward to a World Championship quarter-final clash with Stuart Bingham after overcoming Ryan Day in the second round, said: “I would love to see a LIV-style breakaway, gosh!

“I wouldn’t mind getting a phone call saying ‘here, do you want 600 million to play for three years?’.

“I’d love that phone call, wouldn’t you?”

Although the WST recently relaxed its rules allowing contracted players to appear in other events provided they do not clash with its own, the scale of the prospective Far East tour makes committing to both impossible.

When asked for his opinion on whether any players who leave to join a rival tour should be allowed to play on the WST, the 48-year-old said: “I don’t know. I don’t get involved in it.

“Each to their own. Everyone’s got to do what they’ve got to do. I try not to get involved in it.

“I know what I want from the sport and I know what I’m prepared to do. What I need in return from it.

“And as long as I keep getting that then I don’t mind playing. But everyone needs to make that up for themselves.

“We all have different positions in the game, different stages of careers. Working more might work for some people, working less might.

“It’s not just always about money. The most important thing is our time. For some people it’s money. It’s whatever really.”

Q&A

So, is snooker leaving the Crucible?

The venue’s current deal expires in 2027 – coincidentally, its 50th anniversary of staging the World Championships. Hearn has effectively delivered an ultimatum to Sheffield City Council to improve or rebuild the venue, or see the tournament taken away. Whilst there is a growing feeling that the Crucible’s facilities and capacity are not compatible with the sport’s ambitious future plans, many maintain that such concerns are trumped by tradition.

What are the favoured options?

Money talks as far as Hearn is concerned, and he insists he would not think twice about signing a lucrative deal to stage the World Championship in Saudi Arabia or the Far East. Another mooted possibility is rotating the tournament around a series of global venues. But his comments caused a significant backlash, with former world champions Shaun Murphy and Ken Doherty calling criticism of the Crucible “sacrilege”, and insisting the tournament would lose much of its uniqueness if it was staged elsewhere.

Surely it’ll end up in Saudi Arabia?

The Saudis are becoming increasingly big players in snooker, having staged the World Masters of Snooker – complete with golden ball – last year, and preparing to stage the first ranking tournament in the kingdom in August. Ronnie O’Sullivan has also signed an ambassadorial deal with the Saudis. If Hearn holds true to his talk that money is all that matters, there is no doubt the Saudis carry the biggest clout of all.

Presumably the Saudis are behind this proposed rival tour?

Funnily enough, no. The Saudis have thrown their lot in with Hearn and the World Snooker Tour. The rival tour is understood to emanate from China. Exact details remain sketchy, but a number of top players have admitted having been approached. They have been offered guaranteed six-figure sums to sign up to a new circuit which would effectively preclude them from also competing on the existing tour – and thus their ability to compete in the prestigious “triple crown” events.

Who is likely to jump ship?

It’s perhaps more pertinent to point out those who won’t: O’Sullivan has effectively committed to the WST by signing up with the Saudis, while Judd Trump has dismissed the prospective rival event out of hand. Without O’Sullivan or Trump, unquestionably the sport’s two biggest stars, it is hard to see how any rival tour could carry any kind of legitimacy at all. Some players, including Kyren Wilson, have indicated their willingness to consider their options. But it would seem a remarkably self-destructive career move to quit the main tour – just as Saudi money begins to roll in – in favour of a series of glorified exhibitions on the other side of the world.

Fast forward to 2028 – what is the state of play?

Right now it’s all too easy to envisage a World Championship in Riyadh, and even the possibility of a rival event taking place in China. But one would hope the reality is rather different. Saudi involvement may not please everybody but it will probably satisfy most players’ financial demands, which in turn may make them more amenable to the idea of continuing at the Crucible. Even its biggest critics must admit that a World Championship away from its famous home would lose much of its lustre. With enough vocal backers to drown out the money men, all is not necessarily lost.