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Ronnie O\u2019Sullivan has warned he will quit snooker if he is restricted from playing in China.<\/p>\n
Exhibition events in the Far East are becoming increasingly lucrative, but often clash with World Snooker Tour events. O\u2019Sullivan and other UK-based players are contracted to play in WST tournaments and could face sanctions if they miss events to play overseas. The seven-time world champion says the sport is at a \u201ccrossroads\u201d.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan said in an interview with the BBC to promote his new documentary: \u201cIf I can\u2019t go and do what I need to do, which is play a lot in China, I won\u2019t ever play again. So, we\u2019re at a kind of crossroads now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that gets to the point where I\u2019m not able to do that, I\u2019m not allowed to do that, I probably won\u2019t play. I\u2019ll probably go and play Chinese 8-Ball because I still want to play snooker, I still want a cue in my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just not enough here in the UK for me to justify the effort that I put in. If someone\u2019s going to respect me and value me more, why would I not go there? It\u2019s like being in an unhealthy relationship with someone, why would you be in that?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to be able to just keep playing snooker for the next five, six, seven, eight years, but if I\u2019m going to be forced into a situation where that\u2019s not possible, then I\u2019m not going to just accept whatever 132 players do, which is to go and play tournament after tournament, week in, week out.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan has famously derided the standard on the WST in the past, suggesting he would need to lose a limb to drop down the rankings.<\/p>\n
He still adopts that stance, claiming he is \u201crevolted\u201d by mediocrity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s very hard to be a top-16 snooker player. I could probably get away with playing once a week for two or three hours a day,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan, 47, added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it hard to put myself in their shoes because I was in their shoes and I didn\u2019t accept top 50 as OK.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a great lover for mediocrity\u2026 I find it quite revolting in some ways, when I see people accepting that. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t hang around snooker people at venues because I just don\u2019t like seeing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough good matches. I think there\u2019s a lot of players that people don\u2019t know, that don\u2019t play the game in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n