So Shock: 2009 world snooker” major shareholder” Barry Hearn gives cryptic true feelings on Ronnie O’Sullivan – ‘He’s a pain in the ass’ You can’t ignore the rules per se” Barry continues…
Barry Hearn has acknowledged that Ronnie OSullivan can be a real pain in the ass because of his talent for the baize. Despite being the World Snooker Tour’s biggest star, O’Sullivan is its most ardent critic, never afraid to criticize schedules, locations, or opponents.
On Thursday’s episode of The Barry Hearn Show, Hearn—who has been the leading snooker promoter for decades and is also the President of World Snooker—said he has accepted the fact that O’Sullivan will never toe the line.
As O’Sullivan aims for a historic eighth world championship next year a victory which would solidify his claim as the greatest player ever, Hearn insists that the man is different to all others: “I’ve been chairman of World Snooker for many, many years. I’m now president of World Snooker. But the one thing I’ve learned as I get older is that geniuses are different.
They’re a different type of person than you normally come across and the danger is you treat them the same as you treat an ordinary person.
I’m not being disrespectful to the other players, but geniuses are different. Alex Higgins was different. You can’t cater for them. In many ways, you have to give them that rope because they are your entertainment factor. They’re your wow factor.
If you got them saying, yes, sir, no, sir, they wouldn’t be the same animal. And by the way, there is absolutely no chance that Ronnie O’Sullivan is ever gonna say, yes, sir, no, sir.
