O’Sullivan brands English venue ‘a hellhole’

Ronnie O’Sullivan has branded the venue for the English Open a “hellhole” and claimed he could smell urine in the player interview area.

The five-time world champion says event organiser World Snooker is “cutting corners” because he feels the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley is not of a good enough standard for this week’s tournament.

O’Sullivan was speaking after winning his opening match against Kurt Maflin 4-1 yesterday. The 42-year-old said: “It’s such a bad venue, it demotivates you to want to play. This is about as bad as I’ve ever seen. It’s a bit of a hellhole.”

He added: “I don’t know what this gaff is, but I’ve just done an interview and all I can smell is urine.

“It’s just got no atmosphere in there. I’m practising and I’ve got wires all around the table. There’s no security, you’ve got people running at you left, right and centre.

“It’s not the fans’ fault. They (World Snooker) obviously haven’t got the budget to run it properly.

“I don’t know where their budget is but they’re cutting corners. I think they should invest in good venues. Players deserve better.”

World Snooker and the K2 were approached for comment but had not done so by the time of going to press.

O’Sullivan, the world number three, won the English Open when it was held in Barnsley last year.

He began his title defence in convincing fashion, needing just over an hour to see off Maflin.

His victory included a break of 104 in the second frame, moving him a step close to becoming the first player to record 1,000 tons.

Prior to the match, O’Sullivan said: “I’m going to get to 999 and keep you all waiting.

“I will get a right kick out of that.”