Ronnie O'Sullivan could be denied chance at £790k prize for potting Saudi snooker golden ball
Share:
Ronnie O’Sullivan could miss out on the chance to win nearly £800,000 after a major call by Saudi snooker chiefs. The Rocket is set to take part in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship this month. It is his second appearance at the tournament. There is a tantalising £785,000 prize pot on offer for the 12 players taking part.
The winner will secure £250,000, with the runner-up scheduled to win £125,000. £75,000 and £50,000 is also on offer to those reaching the semi and quarter-finals respectively. But there is an even bigger prize up for grabs. Tournament organisers have promised £792,000 ($1m) to the star that manages to pot the ‘golden ball’ and secure a maximum 167 break - an offer worth double that of last year’s inaugural tournament.
But O’Sullivan might not even get the chance to even have a go. The 49-year-old will start his tournament last, tournament organisers have announced. O’Sullivan will play at 8pm on Thursday evening, by which time eight games will already have been played. As of yet, he still does not know who he will play.
By the time O’Sullivan’s go comes around, Shaun Murphy, Luca Brecel, Judd Trump, Mark Williams and more will already have taken to the table - and the golden ball prize could already be gone. And while that is the case, he has already laid out his intentions. Speaking last year, he claimed his eyes were firmly fixed on the prize. He said: “I’ll get that next year. Tournament this year, golden ball next year, you don’t want to take it all at once.”.
