There’s a bit of a hoohar going on at the moment after Ronnie O’Sullivan got beaten by Peter Ebdon in the quarter finals of the Embassy World Snooker Championships. If you didn’t see the match, you can watch some highlights on the BBC Sport website.
There are two issues. The first is that Peter Ebdon is a blatant cheat because he was playing so slowly. 5 mins for a break of 12. 3 minutes for a single shot. This had the effect of frustrating Ronnie, who eventually lost. During the proceedings though, Ronnie was pretending to be asleep, asking the crowd for the time, and giggling when Ebdon missed a shot.
The second issue is that Ronnie is threatening to take a year out of snooker, and he might not even return at all. He says he is physically and mentally exhausted, and needs a break from the game to recuperate.
There are many divided opinions on the whole thing. Some people are saying that Peter Ebdon is boring, shouldn’t have played like that, and that they’ll never watch snooker again. Others (quite rightly) point out that Ronnie showed plenty of unsportsmanlike behaviour in the way he behaved. Others are saying that Ronnie could be the greatest player of all time, but if he quits now, he won’t receive that accolade.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with the way Ebdon played. Snooker is not all about the fast breaks, big shots and David Beckham hair do’s. Snooker is a game of skill and cunning, and you’re as much playing against your opponent as you are in any sport, where the object is to win. Ebdon did not cheat, he simply narrowed in one of Ronnie’s vulnerabilities which got him the win. It’s easy to feel that the tactics were somewhat underhand. And that playing like that won’t engage new people to start watching snooker and inevitably Ebdon is harming the game in general. I don’t want snooker to turn into football. I like the way snooker is played now, be it Ronnie/Jimmy/Paul Hunter firing in the big shots, or the Ebdon/Steve Davis manner, where it’s more about the cunning. And there’s plenty of new players coming through the ranks (Stephen Maguire/Ian McCulloch/Seann Murphy) who will inevitably twist the game even more. But that’s not a bad thing, it just shows the natural evolution of the game.
As for Ronnie quitting, well, to be quite honest, I’m sick of hearing the man whinge. He’s a fabulous player, and he’s certainly had a troubled life. But he’s no advocate of the game when he’s saying things like he’s sick of the game and he can’t be bothered with it all anymore. Snooker is definitely not the squeaky clean sport that many people think it is (Stephen Hendry f*ing and blinding after losing his quarter final match, or I remember vividly, a couple of years ago, around 7pm, an interview with Mark Williams after he lost an easy match, when asked what he was going to do, he replied “I’m going back to my hotel room, I’m going to drink a bottle of vodka and get pissed”. Not the best example to be setting to the younger viewers).
So what’s going on, then? To be frank, I’m happy just watching the snooker. It’s fun to see the the spats and the fallouts (the infamous Quentin Hann calling out Andy Hicks to name but one), but in all honesty, the level of snooker has elevated substantially in the last couple of seasons. The only thing that is missing is Jimmy White winning the world title. It’s getting quite embarassing now watching him struggle to compete.