Even by Ronnie O'Sullivan's standards, his withdrawal from the Australian Goldfields Open is bizarre.
O'Sullivan actually flew to Bangkok for the connecting flight to Australia but refused to board the plane, citing back and neck problems.
If he had not intended to play from the off it is fair to assume he wouldn't have gone to Thailand.
However, snooker fans can hardly be blamed for treating his reasoning with scepticism because this is far from the first time this has happened for an event outside the UK.
Dominic Dale will now play Steve Mifsud, who will be excused the wildcard round.
Why? Surely Dale should receive a bye in the usual manner.
I doubt Dale will care, he would rather play Mifsud than O'Sullivan at any rate. Reminds me of the 2000 China Open when O'Sullivan suffered from back problems after visiting a, erm, "massage parlour". Do you know if visited a Thai "massage parlour" while waiting for his connecting flight?
ReplyDeleteIm a massive ronnie fan have been since he won the uk at 17,but this is getting annoying now.will he ever play outside the uk again ?.did he travel at all ?.it really is unreal cant wait to hear the excuse for shanghai.the worst thing is he needs the ranking points
ReplyDeleteThe massage that left his back hurting in Shenzhen was in the tournament hotel
ReplyDeleteThe boy who cried snooker wolf. This is a perfect example of a player who, in this regard, has lost all credibility.
ReplyDeleteI'll follow his every shot on the table but besides that it is becoming increasingly hard to take him seriously.
Dave its bizarre because you call it that. He flew to Bangkok so it seems to me a genuine case unless you have medical knowledge that may help to clarify the matter.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say it wasn't geniune
ReplyDeleteAgreed nor did I suggest such.However i do feel your journalistic energies should be directed to finding out the cause of o sullivans medical issues in relation to travelling overseas.Describing his decision as bizarre leaves a vacuum to opinion and a wall to reason.
ReplyDeleteDoubt the Australian fans will care much, it's Robertson they want to see, not O'Sullivan
ReplyDeleteDisappointing news. I fear O'Sullivans days of being a full time pro are finished. He'll probably play about half the events for a couple of years until he drops off the tour.
ReplyDeletegenuine or not its becoming a habit and people will be taking the piss out of him....
ReplyDeleteDott's neck pains left no 'vacuum to opinion'. Because he has not withdrawn again and again and again, citing various reasons. If Ronnie shows Dave Hendon a doctor's note it still wouldn't remove the doubt.
ReplyDeleteSuch is the case with Ronnie and cancellations. It will take years of perfect attendance to establish credibility regarding medical reasons given for withdrawals.
Bad back? - I do like a laugh myself! He definitely puts every body else's back up, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteWhy does snooker disappear off Eurosport tv on the weekend? Every other sport seems to take priority over snooker.I already pay Sky subs. so can't afford to lay out more money for monthly Eurosport subs. to catch the closing stages of something I'd been following live all week.It's really disappointing and keeps happening - so much so that it's become a joke in our house with us guessing how far we will be able to watch before this nonsense kicks in.
It's bizarre because he so often seems to get injured JUST before an overseas tournament.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4.28 i have a cousin living in australia for the last 12 years and he was mad to see the rocket play in the flesh,he reckons there was a big buzz about him playing there.
ReplyDeleteThailand is approximately half-way to Oz, so he would have had the same length journey back to UK as he would to Melbourne. A true professional would have made the effort to continue to OZ and sort out any niggles when he got there.
ReplyDeleteTime to start deducting ranking points for no-shows I think
It's a bit non-sensical, its about a 13 hour flight to bangkok and an bit less to get to Australia. I have no doubt Ronnie is genuine in saying he feels rough and doesn't fancy flying again, but he could get treatment in Oz and then have a nice weeks holiday in Oz, just turn up for the match, win or lose, everyone is happy. Of course he then has to to the 2 legs back but anyway. He's losing out on ranking points and he's an in form player. I suggest no reprimand cos its hurting him already. Noone really fancies flying long distances, but surely he's going 1st class or business where you can stretch out. I think a bit of sensible advice from a friend would have seen him carry on. Pity, Looking fwd to his next PTC.
ReplyDeleteat least now some of you can see the trees....
ReplyDeletehe is a joke and has been for many years
brilliant at the game. joke figure off it.
good ridance!
Was there a time recently when he never went to a PTC event or similar and then went to an exhibition the next night as if he was fit as a fiddle?
ReplyDeleteprobably used the flight to get there for other reasons.
ReplyDeletewas the flight subsidised?
btw the first sentence was a joke, honest.
It's equally as bizarre as Ronnie's antics how when an opponent withdraws another player gets the walkover.
ReplyDeleteHas Dominic Dale upset the WPBSA in some way?
Does ROS think Australia doesn't have any doctors?
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what Hearn does about this. I bet he's fuming.
ReplyDeleteIm a real huge fan of Ronnie's maybe this is genuine and maybe not but id hate to think that he is starting to wind his career down.
ReplyDelete1000/1 to go to brazil
ReplyDeleteslightly off topic
ReplyDeleteeurosport not showing in britain just now and snooker fans here now settling for live scoring on a website.
eurosport shooting themselves in the foot, just like ROS again and again and again
4.28, everyone wants to see ronnie and not boring robinson. first round points should not be awarded for no shows, doctors note or not.
ReplyDeletewill eurosport show the final this time or will they go for the hat trick? They seem to think the brits would rather see the warm up round of moto GP and aquatics rather than the final of a snooker tournament they have been following all week.
Why dont WS schedule some of Eurosports events from friday to friday instead of sunday to sunday?
ReplyDeleteThere would be less competition, i.e, no racing, football etc for the final.
That way fans would miss the first couple of days live play instead of the semi and final.
Maybe he IS winding down his career but at least he is finding ways to make us less sad about it.
ReplyDeleteI am saying that as a fan. I love him at the table but he has trouble getting to one it seems.
i dont agree they should mic up the players in the doubles, though i do think a "nominal" shot clock of 1 minute per shot should be in operation, with no time outs.
ReplyDeleteafter each players shot the ref resets via remote control, a la the ones at the cubicles.....
keeps the games flowing.
at 9 ball some players seemed to act up because they were mic'd
David
ReplyDeleteAppears that on lots of snooker forums and sometimes on this blog there are a lot of UK based people who have many issues with Eurosport and their lack of showing final plays of long transmitted tournaments.
Its good to blog good news, but it is also good to say when something is not right (no matter where one gets work)
I know its available on esp and in europe, but Britain has many many viewers who are once again let down by the no show (live) of latter stages. poor show!
Other sports exist and Superbikes and Tour de France easily out rate snooker
ReplyDeleteDisappointing for snooker fans I agree but a perfectly understandable decision
but this morning 7 to 9 they did show recorded highlights http://tvlistings.guardian.co.uk/text-only/?c=british-eurosport . Live Sport has to take priority over highlights surely.
ReplyDeleteI agree that didn't make any sense
ReplyDeleteDave H said...
ReplyDeleteOther sports exist and Superbikes and Tour de France easily out rate snooker
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i dont know what this has to do with my point.
my point was watching something all week and then not getting to see the finals live
my point was not "snooker should come before other more watched sports"
and then the highlights are pushed back until midnight in britain. 7 hours before average Joe is about to rise and shine.
ReplyDeletei know the football overran and even our sport does, but this was the icing on the icing on the icing on the cake of poor show from ES this week.
garbage!
Its quite simple really. Eurosport havent got a clue but until something better comes along we have to make do. Bad coverage beats no coverage.
ReplyDeletebad coverage, chopping and changing schedule, commentary miles off (except dave and sometime mike h).....
ReplyDeleteyou may think its better than no coverage but it wont be attracting new viewers with all the negative things about it.
you guys don't know your born whinging and whinging and whinging as snooker fans you should be appreciative they on board at all whats the alternative 3 tournaments on TV thats what.
ReplyDeletewho the hell cares about presentation and bollocks like that all you want is a green table and balls lets play snooker.
as for not attracting new viewers i have news for you it does attract new viewers that never seen snooker played before....you live in the BBC World of British coverage sod that the world is bigger than these shores and euro sport is working.
Snooker needs RoS more than he needs snooker. The game will go down hill when he leaves the sport. There are just no characters in the game any more like Ronnie.
ReplyDelete10.37, Dont forget Nigel Bond. Hes a bit of a character.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have always wondered is does O'Sullivan have a big issue with flying? Could be a reason for these withdrawals.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sperartion anxiety may be a factor, as going to foreign tournaments means he is apart from those he is closest too, and this then reminds him of the isolation he suffered when 15 of his dad being sent to jail.
The game has never revolved around one player. However, it would be a very sad day if O'Sullivan did call it quits.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteSnooker needs RoS more than he needs snooker. The game will go down hill when he leaves the sport. There are just no characters in the game any more like Ronnie.
10:37 PM
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i will just go to the circus to see similar once hes left!
jamie brannon said...
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have always wondered is does O'Sullivan have a big issue with flying? Could be a reason for these withdrawals.
Also, sperartion anxiety may be a factor, as going to foreign tournaments means he is apart from those he is closest too, and this then reminds him of the isolation he suffered when 15 of his dad being sent to jail.
The game has never revolved around one player. However, it would be a very sad day if O'Sullivan did call it quits.
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take your ros tinted glasses off
he never has a problem when hes doing exhibition or other stuff in asia
There are often underlying reasons behind people's behaviour. Not excusing all his withdrawals but it may not be just he can't be bothered as he wants to watch TV or something.
ReplyDelete