In addition, World Snooker Tour (WST), which manages the sport’s official competitions, has threatened to take legal action against world champion Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, and Thai professional Thepchaiya Un-Nooh if they do not play for the Alex Higgins Trophy in Belfast between October 22 and October 29.
The top player in the world, Ronnie O’Sullivan, who is participating in an exhibition in Shanghai this month, has supported the “Macau Five,” calling WST’s position “b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that.”
The athletes’ attorneys contend that WST’s threats are unfounded because their clients have not withdrawn from any WST tournaments and are traveling to Macau on their own schedule.
Experts claim that because the top names in the game chose to participate in an exhibition in Macau, dubbed the “Las Vegas of the East,” the Belfast event has been “decimated.” The Northern Ireland Open qualifying rounds coincide with another event in Shanghai that Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, and other notable attendees are expected to attend.
Tensions between tour events and the enormous sums of money offered to players only to play in China expose the problem at the core of the sport.
Many of the participants are incensed over what they perceive to be coercive methods. Owner of a Sheffield academy and co-organizer Victoria Shi has also received threats of legal action.
Selby, who has had severe mental health problems recently, is rumored to have asked not to be contacted again about the situation.
This coincides with the fact that an additional highly compensated unofficial event in Shanghai later this month will feature O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski, and Ding Junhui.
The Northern Ireland Open qualifying tournament is taking place at the Shanghai Expo. Given that their initial rounds are carried over, the top-16 players may still make an appearance in the championship round.
However, WST was also dissatisfied with the presence of well-known athletes at this tournament, feeling that it would overshadow the qualifiers. They first forbade the players from participating, but then changed their minds.
Additionally, they threatened players in writing, requesting that they stop talking about their role in Shanghai, go dark on social media, and cancel their plans to attend Belfast, of which only Williams is certain.
With well-known celebrities publicly challenging their authority, the player-power dynamic poses a significant issue for the governing body moving forward—and attorneys are probably licking their chops.
WST had hoped for a more uneventful 2023–24 season, with Chinese competitions returning to the schedule this season after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid epidemic.
However, following those years of lower incomes, fresh prospects are emerging in the Middle East and Far East. Players’ desire to profit has led to the present controversy.
Furthermore, this week’s events have brought to light a divide between the top players and the game’s elite. Even whispers of a boycott of the prestigious Masters in January have been heard.
O’Sullivan has been among many who have been vehemently critical of the way the tour is run, the UK venues that are utilized, and the way the players are treated while they are not in Asia.
He has even previously raised the idea of a breakaway tour, which seems less ridiculous now than it was.
Earlier in the year, WST was accused of trying to gag athletes and prevent them from speaking to the media about a significant gathering that addressed the future of the sport.
However, it looks that this time around, any comparable attempts have failed, as the parties concerned have called WST’s bluff over both Macau and Shanghai.
The biggest draw in the sport, O’Sullivan, has spearheaded efforts for players to have the ability to maximize their income.
“There is absolutely no reason to try and stop me and other players going to Shanghai during the Northern Ireland qualifiers,” he stated in reference to the Shanghai exhibition.
We have nothing to do with that little event, and if our matches are postponed, we may still play in the championship round.
“Players choose to pursue their goal of making money.” And they’re starting to see their worth. They’re attempting to limit us. Letters were addressed to those engaged in Shanghai warning them not to participate.
“I am aware that players received even more menacing letters threatening to terminate their contracts in relation to the Macau tournament.”
They were declining opportunities to participate in formal tournaments and opting to play someplace else, which was detrimental to the sport.
“Try[ing] to scare players like that is b*ll*cks.” It’s incorrect, and I.
WST was given the chance to comment on the report and asked several important questions. “WST does not publicly discuss private conversations with the players, nor does it share contractual information,” a spokesman would solely state.
