Snooker FANS have been reacting to Ronnie O'Sullivan's rants in the media about the sport being like a car boot sale. The rant included O'Sullivan's, 40, views on why the BBC haven't included a snooker player in the short list since 1988 for the BBC's annual Sports Personality of the Year award for the best sportsman. He said it was an "insult" to the sport. Only Steve Davis from the snooker world has taken the title for that award. However, fans have also been commenting on the amount a player receives for achieving snooker's top break of perfection, which, anyone who has tried to play the game will vouch is incredibly difficult.
Rolling 147 prizes not enough
One fan on Facebook wrote; "I was on my way to town yesterday after watching Ronnie beat Georgiou at the UK Championship and I was laughing to myself thinking about the time when Ronnie turned down that £10,000 for a maximum at the Welsh Open, but then I started to think maybe he's got a point. A 147 is worth more than a measly 10K. It's a magnificent achievement - it surely deserves a 50K prize or something. They don't happen too often, but don't get me wrong, 10K is a lot of money, but for a 147 it would be nice if the snooker bosses gave a bit more dough all the same." At the UK Championship, O'Sullivan has earned the most in prize money from the highest break prize with £85,500 over four of the UK Championship tournaments.
World number one Mark Selby is second having earned over £60,000 from high break earnings.
At the World Championship in 1977, the high break prize on offer was just £500. In 2016, a "rolling" 147 was £20,000, plus the high break of £20,000, so in total, a staggering £40,000 was on offer. At the UK Championships first airing in 1977 in Blackpool, the year when snooker came to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the first time for the World Championships, the winner Patsy Fagan received £2,000 for beating Doug Mountjoy in the final 12 - 9.
Alex Higgins made the only ton of the tournament, the high break of 129. In 2016 edition the winner picks up £170,000. A high break is £5,000 and the £5,000 for the maximum which so far goes to Mark Allen.
Robertson's earnings in UK Champs last year
Neil Robertson last season in the UK pocketed a healthy £44, 000 in earnings from making his 147 in the final which included a rolling staggering £40,000 for the 147 and a £4,000 for the high break!
That was on top of the £150,000 he won for the first prize beating China's Liang Wenbo totalling just under £200,000 (£194,000). Instead of a "rolling" prize for a 147 maybe a set one would be better, so that players know what the prize on offer for a perfect break is rather than having to ask the referee what the prize is, as O'Sullivan has done a couple of times or so in his career.
