JUST NOW: Ronnie O’Sullivan has lost a contract of $100 million as he bitterly explained ……….
The second famous person to make threats to play Chinese eight-ball pool instead of the professional snooker tour is Mark Williams. Having reached a “crossroads” with the World Snooker Tour (WST), Ronnie O’Sullivan acknowledged last year that he would give up snooker if he was prevented from competing in Asia.
Williams, a three-time world champion, is still at the height of his game but has alerted snooker chiefs to a potential exodus to China. He does not, however, believe that many of his coworkers will quit their jobs permanently. The Welshman intends to skip out on snooker tournaments to play pool instead.
“Since I like playing in them all, I’m going to try to do so. It’s China’s most popular game. The amount of followers it has is enormous. A snooker player doesn’t really have a chance against the best Chinese lads, even though the prize money is substantial, unless they put in a lot of practice.
Five players chose to participate in a £150,000 exhibition in Macau last year instead of competing in the £80,000 top prize in the WST’s Northern Ireland Open. The exhibition was rescheduled, but O’Sullivan backed the “Macau 5” and threatened to resign in favor of pool because snooker players could face penalties if they turn down tour events for overseas competitions.
