Ronnie’s in the swim with typical masterstroke
AND HE SAYS AFTER MAXIMUM: I’LL BRING MY SNORKEL AND MASK NEXT TIME
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN made a magnificent 15th career 147 – before insisting he would take a “huge” pay cut to fund better venues.
The Rocket brought the house down at the Crawley K2 Leisure Centre in Sussex at the English Open with yet another brilliant break yesterday.
Five-time Crucible king O’Sullivan produced his superb feat to close out a 4-0 second round win over Liverpool’s Allan Taylor.
Defending champion O’Sullivan had caused a storm earlier in the week by branding the venue a “hell-hole” that “smelled of urine”. And the world No.3 (right) was irritated by having to brush shoulders with swimmers and indoor bowlers making his way in and out of the arena.
But O’Sullivan shrugged off the distractions to make his second 147 of the year and is set to share the £17,000 bonus with Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who made his on Tuesday.
He said: “I might pitch up for my next match in a snorkel and mask. The time to do that would be after winning, going up from the table to the press room through the swimming baths.
“So maybe I should get my snorkel and mask, flipflops and even a pair of Speedos to blend in with the rest of the crowd. All day long I would play in a better venue if the extra cost came out of the prize money.
“I don’t play this game for money, I play for the love of it, in great venues, in great competitions. I would take a huge pay cut if it meant investing in better venues and better scheduling. It is all about the environment – and you want players at their best. “There must be thousands or hundreds of venues and theatres around in the UK we could play in. But to house 128 players you need ones like this, so it becomes quantity over quality.
“I’d rather have the quality. But as Ken Doherty said to me once, if you feed people enough s***, in the end it starts to taste good.
“They have no choice, they are held by the goolies. “Maybe it has gone too far and it is too late to turn the ship, and you have to survive it without it breaking you.
“Look, I was probably a bit in shock on Monday about the venue. It is really hot in there, so no one is cutting corners on the heating bill.
“Maybe they are doing it deliberately just to punish us a bit more. Play in 100 degrees heat... someone has got some sadistic ways up there.
“Some venues are logistically great, some not so good and this one could be better.
“It was a bang-on break for me – and I fancied it after the first red. I thought I had to do something in the match to get myself excited, and I went for it.”