Hearn comes under fire from Rocket
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN last revealed he has gone to war with snooker supremo Barry Hearn.
A snarling ‘Rocket’ reached the second round of the Betfred World Championship with a 10-7 win over former taxi driver Gary Wilson at the Crucible.
But O’Sullivan then launched into a defence of his media workto-rule, which has been in place since the Masters in January.
At Alexandra Palace a withering blast at referee Terry Camilleri and a photographer earned the five-time world champion a letter threatening charges.
And although they have been withdrawn, O’Sullivan claims he was “bullied” and “intimidated” by snooker chiefs and decided to get the lawyers involved.
O’Sullivan got rid of some of his frustration as he shouted out and punched the air following his win over Wilson. He said: “I ® phoned Barry Hearn four weeks ago and said, ‘I am done with it, you and your board of people’.
“I have a good friend who said, ‘Let my lawyers deal with it’. I am not being bullied any more and having people do that to me ever again.
“I want to play and have fun. I like Barry, but I am not being intimidated any more.
“I got a letter after the Masters and it ruined three or four tournaments for me.
Pushed
“I have no problem with the press but sometimes I say things I shouldn’t. I get in bother and get letters a day before an event saying I have to respond in 14 days.
“I have had it for five, six, seven years and I am done with it. They have pushed me too far.
“If I say something about the refs, about the players, about the venue… it’s too much. I don’t think I have done a lot wrong in my career. I don’t want it to happen again. I have some good lawyers dealing with it, making sure I am okay.
“I have tried being open and it gets me in trouble. I have to be in the right frame of mind to at least have a chance here.
“My fans want to see me do really well. I am coming to do a job, stay focused and keep out of trouble. I need to be in the right frame of mind.”
Masters champion O’Sullivan, 41, knocked in breaks of 57, 58, 63, 58, 122, 63, 124, 74, 83 and 90.
Meanwhile, former Shanghai Masters winner Kyren Wilson is through to the second round following a 10-6 win over debutant David Grace 10-6.
He will now play either Stuart Bingham or Peter Ebdon in the last 16.
Bingham leads Ebdon 5-4 after yesterday’s first session, while another former champion, Shaun Murphy, is 6-3 up on China’s 17-year-old star Yan Bingtao.