Features

This feature first appeared in early 2008.

Forget the politics of the WPBSA for a moment. Forget the fact there are fewer than half the world ranking events on the calendar there were ten years ago. Forget the impact of the tobacco ban. Even forget the fact that the overall standard is higher than ever and the television ratings are healthy. The reality is, snooker is on a downer.

Looking at the first few days of the 888.com World Championship, one thing, more than any other depresses me. With the best players in the world on show, in the most prestigious tournament of the year, the arena at The Crucible theatre, which is far from the biggest venue around, is less than half full. I have one simple question: Why?

The reality, it seems, is explained pretty well by the issues raised in the first part of this feature. To cut to the chase, the characters just aren’t around anymore, and the players of today, no matter how good they are, do not excite people to get off their backsides in large numbers and fork out good money to watch them play.

It’s not that people aren’t interested in watching snooker anymore- far from it. Ask Barry Hearn, he’ll tell you what the problem is. Yes, he is right when he says that the biggest mistake the snooker authorities made in the 1990s was discarding the established stars before the new generation had been given time to bed in.

Another thing Barry will tell you is that selling tickets for his Premier League events is rarely a problem. On those Thursday evenings in the latter months of the year, venues up and down the country sell out in no time. Why is this? Well, look at the players on show.

There’s Steve Davis, some fifteen years past his prime but still prone to moments of sheer brilliance. There’s Jimmy White, who is nowhere near the player he once was, and doesn’t seem likely to qualify for major tournaments again, but there’s no denying the regard in which he is held by most snooker fans. There’s Stephen Hendry, who many consider the greatest of them all. And, of course, there’s Ronnie. More on him in a moment.

Barry chooses the select players not solely on their ability, but on those most likely to attract people to the arena, an, more importantly, sponsors and television companies across the world to the event. For that reason, you can guarantee a player from the Far East will be invited every year, simply to get their TV audience. Even if they weren’t right up there with the best (which, of course, they now are), their invitations can be taken for granted. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see both Ding Junhui and Marco Fu invited next year.

So what do all these names have in common? They are all players you’d tune in to watch. Davis and White, the old timers. Hendry, the grey man of snooker who dominated the 90s. The Asian players, who will keep millions of fans glued to the edge of their seats back home every time they play, and Ronnie, no explanation needed.

In Britain especially, Ronnie seems to be the only player who can motivate people to pay good money to watch him play in the arena. TV ratings go through the roof every time he plays. Here is the man who has everything. Probably the most naturally gifted player of all time, everything about him is exciting.

The way he pots the balls with such natural ease. The speed at which he moves around the table, barely pausing to think about the shot he’s about to play. The way he switches from right to left hand and back again without a moment’s thought. And, of course, his off-the-table behaviour and sheer unpredictability. Ronnie might not know it, but all these factors make him a vital ingredient if the sport is to thrive in the future.

Because of his status, he has taken on a whole new set of responsibilities. The truth is, he stirs up emotions in people. I am well aware that a small minority of snooker fans hate him, but they really are a tiny minority. But even his biggest fans are beginning to lose patience with certain aspects of his behaviour. Let us first of all make a few allowances and accept a some facts:
Firstly, there is no denying that Ronnie is a man with problems. He clearly loves his father and it hurts him deeply to see him stuck behind bars, albeit for a violent and wicked crime.

Secondly, Ronnie suffers from depression. Make no mistake, this is not just a severe case of feeling fed up with life. It is a dark cloud that hangs over your head, and, at its worst, makes getting through each day extremely difficult. I would understand entirely if he just wanted to skip press conferences and interviews from time to time, that wouldn’t be an issue.

However, his actions, on occasions, have been inexcusable and have brought the game into disrepute.

His behaviour at the 2006 UK Championship, where he walked out midway through a match, were completely unacceptable. People had taken a day off work, travelled long distances and paid good money to watch him play, and deserved to see a full and competitive match, end of story.

He later claimed he was struggling to come to terms with Paul Hunter’s death at the time. Of course, all snooker fans were affected to a certain degree by this tragic loss, but didn’t it occur to him to think for a moment that the last thing Paul would want, or would ever do himself, would be to walk out on a match mid-way through a session?

There have been other instances before and since then, but his recent behaviour in the press conference after his defeat to Marco Fu in the China Open was a massive step too far.

If he thought the press conference was too much to handle, for whatever reason, he should’ve just not attended. He could have confided his reasons to a tournament official, or, in the worst case, accepted a fine for failing to turn up. Ronnie’s vulgar language and innuendo has left parents less willing to allow their children to use Ronnie as a role model, and sponsors less willing to be associated with a man, and indeed a sport, where behaviour like this occurs.

Eccentric behaviour is a good thing, individuality is wonderful and the current lack of it is a major reason why snooker is on such a downer at the moment. But lewd behaviour like this is bad news for all parties.

Ronnie has apologised for what he’s said, and I don’t doubt his sincerity for a moment. However, I don’t think he understands the impact of what he’s done. He says that he’ll voluntarily pull out of tournaments if that’s what it takes to put things right.

Of course, this is the last thing snooker needs. A tournament without Ronnie is a major turn off. TV viewing figures will be affected, sponsors will be less inclined to invest in the sport, and arenas will often be left half empty. What the sport does need, and fast, is a Ronnie who comes to appreciate the sheer scale of his power, and, even more importantly, the very serious responsibilities that come with it.