O'Sullivan wants X Factor glitz

Trampas

So lets vote players out of tournments instead of beating the other person?

World snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan has called on X Factor judge Simon Cowell to revitalise the game.

O'Sullivan's frustration at what he believes is a "dying" sport was shown after he narrowly beat Joe Perry 6-5 in the opening round of the Masters.

"I feel like I'm in a sport that has had its good days and is on a downward spiral," he said at Wembley Arena.

"It needs someone with entrepreneurial skills like Simon Cowell who is in the modern world and more dynamic."

Cowell is one of the most powerful figures in the music business, thanks largely due to the success of The X Factor television show.


O'Sullivan suggested promoter Barry Hearn, the manager of former world champion Steve Davis, could also help revamp the sport.

"If someone like Barry Hearn came in and took over the game and started doing with snooker what he has done with darts and made it interesting and lively that might make coming to tournaments and [my] enthusiasm to play a little bit different," said O'Sullivan.

Arguably the most talented player in the history of the sport, O'Sullivan has frequently voiced his frustrations with the way snooker is run and has often talked of quitting.

Last year in a BBC interview the world number one said he lacked the passion and drive for the game to go on and equal Stephen Hendry's record of seven world titles.

The 33-year-old, who won his third World title last year, deliberately snapped his cue "for fun" before his clash with Perry and admitted he is struggling for motivation.

"It's quite uninspiring coming to tournaments," said O'Sullivan, nicknamed the "The Rocket".

"I still enjoy playing but sometimes I wonder do I want to go to Ireland for 30 grand or go to China for 40 grand or Bahrain and there are two people in the crowd. 606: DEBATE
Ronnie should quit snooker as his attitude is becoming tiring. I have paid good money to watch him play dozens of times but I will never pay to watch him again.

mikerainbird

"I remember the good days when it was fun going to tournaments and now it doesn't feel like fun.

"The people who are running snooker seem to be going backwards. Nothing seems to be happening and it just feels boring and the sport is dying.

"There are little rules brought in like penalising players for conceding when you don't need snookers.

"You can't help thinking that whoever is making these decisions are killing the sport and stopping the entertainment.

"I love the game and I'm in great shape physically and mentally, but I've got to the stage where I don't really care if I play or not.

Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory.

O'Sullivan gave a frank interview to Inside Sport in December
"I don't want to go through the rest of my life like that so I've got to make a decision on what I want to do."

In response to O'Sullivan's comments, six-time world champion Davis concurred that it was possibly time to look outside for promotion but disagreed with his assessment of the unhealthy state of the game.

"For the last 25 years our association and players have tried to run their own game a bit mo-town style, in-house, and also promote it," he said. "It could possibly be better done by an outside promoter or entrepreneur.

"Barry Hearn was mentioned who's been running the Premier League and that's been quite a successful event.

"Participation and sponsorship-wise a lot of sports are struggling but when you look around the world there are some places where snooker is quite popular.

"The game's not totally dying it just needs a shot in the arm occasionally."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/7823318.stm

Dave!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0lrbsIVmPA

Vince135792003

I completely agree and have been thought the same thing for quite sometime. They have a model with darts on Sky that they can broadly follow but the bottom line is, it's all about making more people care about who wins and who looses.

m83

Out of interest, what have they done with darts that has made it better?

Vince135792003

m83 wrote: »

Out of interest, what have they done with darts that has made it better?

In a sentence, make people care about matches.

Lots of interviews before the match, cartoon animations of those playing in the league, allowing the players to express their personalities in the clothes they wear, the music they use when entering for their match and giving them leeway to be expressive during a match.

I am not saying snooker should copy darts to a tea. But darts is now a hot ticket seller in big indoor arenas across the UK and is a ratings draw for Sky. It's not because the darts in terms of quality has gotten better. It's because through a hundred little things, it has made darts appealing again.

Bluetonic

The last six and a half hours of snooker was better than anything darts can offer.

Vince135792003

Bluetonic wrote: »

The last six and a half hours of snooker was better than anything darts can offer.

No one is saying one sport is better than the other. I prefer watching snooker too but if hardcore snooker fans can't see any problem with how poorly/backward snooker is being promoted, they are almost part of the problem.

irish147

Vince135792003 wrote: »

No one is saying one sport is better than the other. I prefer watching snooker too but if hardcore snooker fans can't see any problem with how poorly/backward snooker is being promoted, they are almost part of the problem.

Snooker will NEVER be live darts, Don't mind what O' Sullivan is saying -sometimes Ronnie talks alot of rubbish!-- But he is good for the sport, good for the media! and he gets his pic into all the newspapers too!

I was at the last few days of the Masters in London and it was great, This was the 35th Masters.
Ronnie had 8 Centuries (Two in final) with 32 Centuries in total (TV Stages)

(18 Centuries in the Qualifying stages).

velocirafter

i dont think the problem is with the bigger events that are covered by the bbc, its just that there are only a couple so you cant really keeps people interest throughout a season.

the premier league darts is a weekly event which keeps people interested.

celticfc

velocirafter wrote: »

the premier league darts is a weekly event which keeps people interested.

The Premier League Snooker is also on Sky Sports too and it's in a similar weekley format to the darts.

It's also run by the same crowd (Barry Hearn & Matchroom)

The PL Darts is shown in the spring and the PL snooker is shown in the autumn.

velocirafter

oh, i never knew about it, i dont have sky.

celticfc

http://www.premierleaguesnooker.com/