The top names in snooker, like John Higgins and Mark Selby, are leading a rebellion today because they declined to play in Northern Ireland in favor of a lucrative tournament in China.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, a Thai professional, Ali Carter, and world champion Luca Brecel have also opted to play in Macau instead of the Northern Ireland Open this month.
If they don’t compete for the Alex Higgins Trophy in Belfast between October 22 and October 29, they risk legal action according to the World Snooker Tour (WST), which is in charge of managing the sport’s main events.
The top player in the world, Ronnie O’Sullivan, who is participating in an exhibition in Shanghai this month, has supported the “Macau Five,” calling WST’s position “b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that.”
The athletes’ attorneys contend that WST’s threats are unfounded because their clients have not withdrawn from any WST events and are traveling to Macau on their own schedule.
Experts claim that because the top names in the game chose to participate in an exhibition in Macau, dubbed the “Las Vegas of the East,” the Belfast event has been “decimated.” The Northern Ireland Open qualifying rounds coincide with another event in Shanghai that Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, and other notable attendees are expected to attend.
Tensions between tour events and the enormous sums of money offered to stars only to play in China expose the problem at the core of the sport.
Five players are leading a players’ rebellion, and four-time world champion Mark Selby is one of them. Players like John Higgins chose to travel to an exhibition in Macua, which is being called China’s Las Vegas, rather than compete in the Northern Ireland Open.
Luca Brecel, the world champion, and John Higgins have both avoided the Northern Ireland Open.
Many of the participants are incensed over what they perceive to be coercive methods. Owner of a Sheffield academy and co-organizer Victoria Shi has also received threats of legal action.
Selby, who has had severe mental health problems recently, is rumored to have asked not to be contacted again about the situation.
This coincides with the fact that an additional highly compensated unofficial event in Shanghai later this month will feature O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski, and Ding Junhui.
With well-known celebrities openly challenging their authority, the player-power situation poses a significant challenge for the governing body moving forward—and attorneys are probably licking their chops.
WST had hoped for a more uneventful 2023–24 season, with Chinese competitions returning to the schedule this season after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid epidemic.
However, following those years of lower incomes, fresh prospects are emerging in the Middle East and Far East. Players’ desire to profit has led to the present row.
Furthermore, this week’s events have brought to light a divide between the top players and the game’s elite. Even whispers of a boycott of the prestigious Masters in January have been heard.
O’Sullivan has been among many who have been vehemently critical of the way the tour is run, the UK venues that are used, and the way the players are treated while they are not in Asia.
He has even previously raised the idea of a breakaway tour, which seems less ridiculous now than it was.
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