The World Snooker Tour have responded to Ronnie O’Sullivan after his scathing criticism of the English Open. The Rocket did not hold back as he laid into chiefs who nominated the Brentwood Centre in Essex as the tournament’s venue, with O’Sullivan insistent that the sport would be better off if the whole tour was moved to Asia.
The 47-year-old enjoyed a successful few days in China last month, defeating the likes of Mark Selby and Luca Brecel en route to winning the Shanghai Masters. O’Sullivan was back in action on Monday, when he breezed past Andrew Pagett at the English Open.
The match was played at the Brentwood Centre – a leisure centre used by the World Snooker Tour. And in the aftermath, O’Sullivan called on bosses to ‘be accountable’ and advised them to learn from their Asian counterparts.
“If tournaments are like this, have every tournament in Asia, have every tournament in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “It’s just a different level. Have the whole tour in China, keep us out there.
“They don’t care anymore here. Every event used to be like a special event. Now it’s like a car boot sale, and it hasn’t changed or got better in 12 years.”
In response to O’Sullivan’s eye-popping rant, a World Snooker Tour spokesperson noted various metrics to suggest the Rocket’s comments are misguided. “Our UK events have grown massively over the past decade,” read the statement.
“At the Masters in London for example, ten years ago we were selling less than 500 tickets for certain sessions, while now most sessions are selling out the 2,000-seat arena. We are a global tour and in the UK it’s important that we bring events to many different regions so that fans across the home nations have the chance to see live snooker.
“Our choice of venues is based on many factors including size and backstage facilities for the players. The facts speaks for themselves as our overall ticket sales have increased by 300 per cent over the past ten years, or if we discount the World Championship then that figure is 700 per cent.
“We are setting new records for sales at every venue year after year. Today the arena in Brentwood was sold out well in advance. We have focussed on the fan experience to make it a great day out for people of all ages.
“And for the players, overall prize money has increased and is set to hit record levels this season. We always listen to feedback from the players but we feel we are making significant steps forward as a global sport.”
