Ronnie O’Sullivan prefers China snooker events to UK as ‘promoters do not abuse you’
- ‘The Rocket’ tells Stephen Hendry that UK events are often unenjoyable because of excessive media commitments
- O’Sullivan lauds Shanghai and Beijing – and would consider a return to Yushan ‘if they got their chequebook out’ despite it being a ‘nightmare to get to’
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan told fellow legend Stephen Hendry during an Instagram Live on Sunday that his fans can expect to see him play in more tournaments in China.
The Englishman bemoaned the demands placed on players by UK promoters and said that was the reason he pulled out of January’s Masters.
“It wasn’t playing in the Masters, it was all the stuff that goes with it,” O'Sullivan said about pulling out of the tournament. "‘There’s the press and the media, with Eurosport and BBC. After each match you have to do six or seven interviews.
“After last year’s semi-final they kept me there for three hours doing interviews for the next day’s match. I went, ‘You know what, I don’t really want it that bad, I just want to play in the tournaments I enjoy’.”
Chinese promoters, by contrast, “don't abuse you”, according to “The Rocket”.
“I know it’s a bit of a hassle getting there,” the 44-year-old said of travelling to China. “The flight and travelling, but once you get there, they look after you fantastically well. You might do one interview after the match, which is fine, but they do not abuse you.