Inside O’Sullivan and Hearn’s tetchy relationship after fiery rant

Snooker sensation Ronnie O’Sullivan and Matchroom chief Barry Hearn have not always seen eye to eye and have had their fair share of back-and-forths over the years. The British entrepreneur has been highly critical of O’Sullivan’s nonchalant attitude to the sport and recently slammed the 47-year-old for a “bang out of order” rant over the prize money up for grabs in world snooker.

Speaking ahead of this year’s World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, O’Sullivan said: “Listen, snooker is in a bad place. It’s in trouble. This needs at least another £50million a year just to make it a proper tour.

“When you look at the number, it’s bad. When you look at £10million prize money for 25 events across the year for 128 players, it’s never going to be good. It needs at least to triple that to make it work.

“You look at the people actually managing the game, they are not the brightest sparks either. So you can’t see them digging themselves out of it. But you don’t have to be Einstein. It is probably in the worst place it has ever been. The image of the sport, it’s a bit like a pub sport now.”

In response, Hearn bashed O’Sullivan’s comments and labelled it as an attempt to “get on the front pages”. Hearn told Eurosport: “Ronnie is bang out of order saying snooker’s in the worst place it’s ever been. I never heard such a ludicrous statement in my life.

“It frustrated me. It’s typical Ronnie trying to get on the front pages and say something which is nonsensical, but journalists will report on it. Have a look at some other sports, we are right up there at the pecking order.

“We could have done with the China announcement a month earlier and we wouldn’t be having this conversation but at the end of the day there is a business world and a sporting world. One of the reasons why my partnership with Steve Davis was so successful over the years was he potted balls and I did the business.

“I couldn’t pot balls and I wouldn’t have the audacity to even comment on how to pot balls, and yet that respect is not repaid by certain people who do pot balls. They think they know the answer, but they are not prepared to do anything about it to contribute in a working environment way where they could be a massive asset.”

This isn’t the first time Hearn has spoken out against O’Sullivan. At the 2016 Welsh Open, O’Sullivan refused yet another 147 as he wasn’t best pleased with the £10,000 prize money on offer.

Hearn was not impressed by O’Sullivan’s actions and later tweeted: “It’s up to Ronnie as I don’t play his shots for him! If 10k doesn’t mean anything, then I’m sorry for him.” O’Sullivan also managed to infuriate Hearn back in 2018 when he threatened to form a breakaway competition from World Snooker due to, you guessed it, concerns over prize money.

“[I am] incredulous as usual with Ronnie,” Hearn told BBC 5 Live. “He gets headlines, I will give him that, but it’s a nonsensical thought. Ronnie needs someone to play and it’s quite clear there is not one single player on the 128-member pro tour that will ever trust Mr O’Sullivan and his rather cranky schemes.

“He’s a genius and a fabulous player but off the table he gets carried away and should be a little more mature with his comments.” And there’s a good chance O’Sullivan will further upset Hearn in the future given his outspoken nature.

Hearn became Rocket’s manager when he was a teenager playing in amateur tournaments. He’s since gone on to become one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

Speaking in greater detail about his relationship with O’Sullivan, Hearn told the Breakdown podcast: “I’ve known Ronnie since he was 12 years old. We don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. Because he’s got his own ideas. They’re wrong, of course. But it’s okay. Because I have ideas about brain surgery but I wouldn’t advise you letting me operate.”