Yesterday I reported about high profile lucrative exhibitions being scheduled in China, one of them clashing with the 2023 Northern Ireland Open. It triggered quite a debate on social media… and this debate is what probably triggered this reaction from WST as reported by Hector Nunns.
Snooker in CRISIS with Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel leading a player mutiny – as Ronnie O’Sullivan brands governing body’s stance ‘b****cks’
- Selby, Higgins and Brecel are among five players to have snubbed a key event
- The trio have shunned this month’s Northern Ireland Open to play in Macau
By HECTOR NUNNS
Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel are leading a player mutiny – handing an embarrassing snub to snooker bosses.
Four-time world champions Selby and Higgins plus the reigning Crucible king Brecel – along with Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – have shunned this month’s official Northern Ireland Open.
Despite threats of legal action from World Snooker Tour, the five decided not to enter Belfast and opt instead for a lucrative Macau exhibition.
WST bosses sent first emails and then strongly-worded letters claiming if the players took part in Macau they would be breaching contracts, harming the game and facing disciplinary action.
But lawyers representing the players reckon the threats are baseless since they did not enter the Northern Ireland event, and believe they are just doing what they want on their own time.
Both John Higgins (left) and world champion Luca Brecel have shunned the Northern Ireland Open
And world No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan, himself playing in a Shanghai exhibition this month, has backed the ‘Macau Five’ – describing WST’s stance as ‘b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that’.
Many of the players involved are furious over what they see as heavy-handed tactics. Part-organiser Victoria Shi, owner of a Sheffield academy, has also been threatened with action.
Selby, who has suffered badly with mental health issues in recent years, is understood to have requested he receive no further correspondence on the matter.
This comes with another highly-paid unofficial event featuring O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski and Ding Junhui looming even sooner this month in Shanghai.
The Shanghai exhibition takes place during the Northern Ireland Open qualifying event. Top-16 players involved could still appear at the final stages given their opening rounds are held over.
But WST were also unhappy with big names playing this event – believing it will leave the qualifiers in the shade. They originally banned the players from taking part – before softening their stance.
And they issued similarly threatening letters to players insisting they keep all involvement in Shanghai quiet demanding a social media and news blackout – and participation in Belfast, for which only Williams is confirmed.
The player-power situation presents a huge challenge for the governing body going forward, with big-name stars openly flouting their authority – and lawyers no doubt licking their lips.
With Chinese tournaments back in the calendar this season after three years following the Covid pandemic, WST had been hoping for a smoother ride in 2023-24.
But after those years of reduced earnings new opportunities are opening up in the Far and Middle East. Players want to cash in – leading to the current row.
And events of the week have highlighted a chasm between the best players and the game’s rulers. There has even been hushed talk of a boycott of January’s prestigious Masters.
O’Sullivan has been among those fiercely critical of some aspects of the way the tour is organised, the venues used in the UK, and the treatment of the players outside Asia.
He has even in the past suggested the possibility of a breakaway tour – which today sounds less fanciful than it did.
WST were accused earlier this year of attempting to gag players and bar them speaking to the media about a large meeting discussing the future of the sport.
But on this occasion it appears any similar attempts have backfired, with the players involved calling WST’s bluff over both Macau and Shanghai.
O’Sullivan, the sport’s biggest draw, has led calls for players to be able to maximise their earnings.
On the Shanghai exhibition, he said: ‘There is absolutely no reason to try and stop me and other players going to Shanghai during the Northern Ireland qualifiers.
‘That is a small event, we are not involved, and we could still play in the final stages with our matches being held over.
‘Players are just trying to earn money, it is their choice. And they are realising their value. They are trying to restrict us. Those involved in Shanghai were sent letters advising them not to play.
‘I know for the tournament in Macau players were also sent even stronger threatening letters telling them it was in breach of their contract.
‘That with an opportunity to play in an official tournament they were turning it down and choosing to go somewhere else, and it was damaging for the sport.
‘It is b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that. It’s wrong and I am glad they have taken a strong stance.
‘This is about players being able to earn what they can, and choose how and when they play. They can enter a tournament – but they don’t have to.
‘They used to try and tell me what to say, until I got a really good lawyer who kicked back at them. If they want to play silly games, we can all play silly games.’
WST were asked a number of pertinent questions, and given the opportunity to respond to the story. A spokesperson would say only: ‘WST does not publicly discuss private conversations with the players, or share contractual information.’
I’m not sure why this is seen as a “mutiny”. My understanding was always that players are not obliged to enter any event, and can play in what they want in their “free” time provided that it is not televised or streamed, unless they get permission from WST. After all they are essentially self-employed, although the guaranteed 20000 pounds may have changed that situation slightly. But, as far as I know, the players don’t get anything from WST/WPBSA, when they retire, so they need to secure their financial future whilst they still can. Higgins, Selby and Carter are all over 40 and in the last part of their professional career.
The streaming/television restriction was applied with sometimes ridiculous rigour in the past, notably when Paul Mount was forced to stop streaming the Pink Ribbon, a big charity pro-am, raising funds to support breast cancer research and care, that was happening in the middle of the summer when nothing else was on or even close to happen. But this is much higher profile and it does clash with a WST event.
What has changed of course in recent years is that, even if promoters do not stream or televise events, fans are now taking and sharing a lot of images and videos over social media providing huge exposure totally out of the control of the governing body.
“John put me under a lot of pressure early on and he didn’t look like missing,” said Trump. “He gave me a lifeline to go 5-3 and I felt I was still in it. I just went for everything and they went in. It helps when you have another tournament the next week because if you lose you know you have another match in two or three days. Early in the game I was tense and trying too hard, then from 5-2 I changed my mindset and relaxed. At 5-4 I went to the toilet and when I came back in the reaction was so loud, that inspired me to put on a show for them. That’s when I play my best.
Just three months into his professional career, promising rookie Liu Hongyu reached his first ranking event semi-final with a 5-2 victory over China’s greatest ever player Ding Junhui at the BetVictor English Open.
Shanghai Masters champion O’Sullivan looked on top of his game on Wednesday when he made three centuries to beat Jackson Page, but he had to battle to get past Si Jiahui on Thursday afternoon, before his run was ended by world number 57 Zhang. China’s 31-year-old Zhang is through to the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the fourth time in his career and will hope to reach his first semi-final when he plays Zhou Yuelong, who beat Ali Carter 4-1.
Man of the moment Mark Williams kept his hot streak of form going in the first round of the BetVictor English Open, beating Ian Burns 4-0 in just 49 minutes with a century and three more breaks over 60.
“I could see Mark was struggling a bit towards the end of his match this afternoon. But he’s a marathon man, he has won the world title four times and he has got more stamina than anyone else in the game,” said former world number 34 O’Donnell, who was relegated from the tour in 2022 but bounced back this year to regain his place.
Oliver Lines knocked out Kyren Wilson on Monday night, and followed up today with a 4-1 defeat of Martin Gould. “My confidence is growing in each game,” said Lines. “I learned a lot about myself last night when I beat Kyren, in terms of how I can handle those kind of situations.
Page, 22, first turned pro in 2019 and has made steady progress since, climbing to 51 in the world. He made a break of 109 in the second frame today and did enough to draw praise from his illustrious opponent.
