Snooker in Crisis as O’Sullivan Walks
Ronnie O’Sullivan said he walked out of the UK Championship in York after having a ‘bad day in the office’.
The 31-year-old conceded his quarter-final match against Stephen Hendry in mid-frame when he was 4-1 down.
O’Sullivan released a statement after the walk-out which read: “I wish I could have played a better game today, but I had a bad day in the office.
Snooker is in crisis. Falling prize money and the sport’s only real star decides he’s had enough and walks out of the UK tournament mid-match.
Personally, I don’t blame him for walking out. Playing Stephen Hendry would bore anyone to tears. The guy has about as much charisma as a white ball and is utter tedium to watch, even when he wins.
The robots are ruining the game!
I hark back to the days when Alex Higgins was having his tantrums and bucking the authority that was the game’s governing body. He would try (and often succeed) to play outrageous shots, thrilling the crowd with his antics and genius. When he wasn’t on the table he would often as not get into some drunken escapade where he would end up pissing in a pot plant at the venue or have to be peeled off the floor of some bar after getting into a scrape. He was entertaining.
Ultimately he went too far, punching match officials and threatening to have an opponent, Dennis Taylor, shot. What made him a star also destroyed him as a player.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, too, is entertaining. Perhaps not in the same way but anyone who is naturally right-handed and decides to play an entire match left-handed (and wins) is obviously taking the piss and he is adored precisely because of this. He is also a genius at the table.
Now all we have left are the robots. The machines who look like humans (mostly) who are unable or unwilling to even crack the odd one-liner. BORING!
The only entertainment left in the game is watching Michaela Tabb bending over the table and dreaming of the day when topless or bikini-clad women referees are introduced.
Add comment December 16th, 2006
