The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Reprimand for O’Sullivan ‘out of order’, says Higgins
SNOOKER: Scot has ‘degree of sympathy’ for five-times champion over bullying claim
John Higgins has “a degree of sympathy” with Ronnie O’Sullivan’s complaints against World Snooker.
O’Sullivan took the spotlight away from the first round of the Betfred World Championship on Sunday when he followed victory over Gary Wilson by accusing World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn and his board of bullying and intimidation in a number of recent incidents.
Hearn sternly refuted the five-time word champion’s claims, but the 41-year-old’s comments are the talk of the Crucible.
Four-time champion Higgins addressed the issue after booking his own place in the second round with a 10-6 victory over Martin Gould.
“I have a degree of sympathy for him,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.
“If I am led to believe what I have heard about how he was reprimanded, it is out of order.
“He has a lot to take on his shoulders in this sport because he is the biggest name – along with Ding (Junhui), the biggest name in the Far East.
“The game would be a lot poorer without him.”
In a television interview with BBC2, Higgins elaborated on the subject of player contracts and the requirements placed on them.
“There are things in the players’ contracts that are too severe but the only way we can change that is if all the top players got together and stood together, tried to get things taken out,” he said.
“But I don’t think every top player is going to stand together.”
Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen said on BBC2: “I’m convinced (O’Sullivan and Hearn) sit in a room together and contrive these things.
“Ronnie sometimes gets on like a bit of a spoilt brat... Barry’s the big man shooting him down. I think it’s a clash of personalities, I don’t think there’s much in it.”
Higgins overcame a slow start yesterday to ease past Gould. The Scot held a commanding 7-2 lead overnight in the best-of-19 clash but lost three of the first four frames as Londoner Gould took the score to 8-5.
But Higgins, the world No 6, sent out a warning with an emphatic 127 break -–the third highest of the tournament to date.
Gould averted defeat with an 80 in the 15th frame but could not prevent the inevitable as Higgins sealed his win at the next attempt.
Ding also secured his progress, completing a 10-5 win over fellow Chinese player Zhou Yuelong.
He was unable to add to his three centuries from the previous session – which included the tournament’s top two breaks, 136 and 132 – but breaks of 67 in frame 12 and 68 in the 15th saw him through.
Judd Trump was pegged back by Rory McLeod as the veteran came from 4-0 down to lead 5-4.
Though a huge underdog, McLeod possesses the kind of dogged game that can knock Trump out of his rhythm and so it proved after the interval, with the world No 2 not helped by a long and ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of a snooker to rescue the seventh frame.