Ronnie out for the rest of the season

[0800]

.

[bobby1]

Please let this happen.

All we need to know about that guy is he got involved in TV poker 'coz I couldn't believe the players put up all the prize money, so I had to get involved'

He then created some of the worst TV poker ever and even charged the players the cost of the dealers in some events, yet made loads from the events himself.

The one thing he has got away with is making more money for himself than he is generating for the players yet has somehow managed to get an image of saving/improving the games for the players.

I  bet there will be a lot of old school darts players and fans hoping the snooker guys stick one right up him.

[Leatherman]

Ronnie O'Sullivan: Life Stories

Is about to start on itv4 should be a good watch.

[TightEnd]

What is the perceived problem with Hearn?

Hasn't he re-established a lot of interest in snooker? lots of new formats? lots more televised stuff? more sponsorship?

(I don't know, but that's the PR the random with a slight interest such as me is fed)

[horseplayer]

i get the impression he is very unpopular within snooker?

[Tal]

Bugger all chance of a breakaway rival code being successful IMO. Ronnie is an enigma and will do things his own way. At some point, Hearn will need to soften his stance to save face and Ronnie will be allowed to nip in and out as he sees fit.

He's cleaning up the sport, the standard of snooker is infinitely better than it was even five years ago and players are making more money.

That a handful of them don't like being told they should play 20 days a month like the rest of us is something for which I have little sympathy.

[The Camel]

Please let this happen.

All we need to know about that guy is he got involved in TV poker 'coz I couldn't believe the players put up all the prize money, so I had to get involved'

He then created some of the worst TV poker ever and even charged the players the cost of he dealers in some events, yet made loads from the events himself.

The one thing he has got away with is making more money for himself than he is generating for the players yet has somehow managed to get an image of saving/improving the games for the players.

I  bet there will be a lot of old school darts players and fans hoping the snooker guys stick one right up him.

Perfectly written.

Hats off for your involvement in the best televised poker tournament ever staged in the UK Phil.

[bobby1]

What is the perceived problem with Hearn?

Hasn't he re-established a lot of interest in snooker? lots of new formats? lots more televised stuff? more sponsorship?

(I don't know, but that's the PR the random with a slight interest such as me is fed)

But he is running these events for his benefit more than the players tho Rich, The players are getting more prize money to play for but he has taken the tour to so many far out venues that most are worse off because of the added expense yet he is selling a huge amount of extra tickets at the events, esp in Asia. He also benefits from the peripheral cash floating around some tournaments. The money from TV is mostly his too, the big benefit is all his.

At the Ally Pally for the World darts you did have to buy your beer tokens before you entered the venue, so you had to take a guess on how many pints you wanted and pay up front. If you wanted more you could buy more, if you wanted refunds it is tough shit. He has even found a way of selling more pints than are consumed. Guess who is in on the food and beverage money?

It is the same at other venues he is sending events to.

So the players exes have gone thru the roof yet he is filling out venues in Asia and other places, in the Brazilian event last year the players turned up to find there were no tables to play on, they didn't get a practice table until about 2 days before it started. That was an event he had arranged at a good place for ticket sales that nobody had managed to get snooker tables to. Imagine how you feel when you turn up to play there knowing that the guy that's raking it in cannot even be bothered to make sure there are tables there?

The new formats you mentioned I guess the one frame shootout event that has spawned another wave of iffy matches made him a good few quid. The championship snooker league he simply set up because he was asked by bookmakers to provide more events to increase turnover. They paid him decent money to arrange it, they are played in tiny venues with almost no fans and the players get a pittance per frame. Guess how many new bent matches that has given life to?

His security team for both sports is basically made up of his mates and is just a shambles, the only time any action has been taken is when it was unavoidable( Higgins) and finally after all these years Lee decided to go for another coup in the first TV event he played after getting off with blatant cheating almost 2 years earlier, the investigation seems to consist of making it last so long everyone has forgotten about it. Even other players were giving him grief on Twitter about having backed his opponents in games. Hearn had all the players warned when he took over that the slate was wiped clean there and then but any bent games from then were treated seriously.

How many bent games have seen players brought to task, the biggest ban has been Joe Jogia, who is so middle of the road it doesn't matter to Hearn who got 2 years for not playing in a game that he and his mates had tried to fix, he pulled out when he found out the cat was out of the bag. Higgins got caught red handed and got 6 months, serious money maker and kept his mouth shut and needed to make money for Hearn going forward.

The Premier lge was ridic for a few years when Jimmy White kept getting in, In 2011 they even decided that the world senior champion of 2010 would get in, after Jimmy had actually won it!

Kerchiiing ticket/beer/pie/burger/merchandise sales, tough shit on the guy that should have been in instead.

[bobby1]

Please let this happen.

All we need to know about that guy is he got involved in TV poker 'coz I couldn't believe the players put up all the prize money, so I had to get involved'

He then created some of the worst TV poker ever and even charged the players the cost of he dealers in some events, yet made loads from the events himself.

The one thing he has got away with is making more money for himself than he is generating for the players yet has somehow managed to get an image of saving/improving the games for the players.

I  bet there will be a lot of old school darts players and fans hoping the snooker guys stick one right up him.

Perfectly written.

Hats off for your involvement in the best televised poker tournament ever staged in the UK Phil.

tyvm Keith

[bobby1]

People think that Ronnie doesn't want to play snooker.  This is not so.  Ronnie wishes to cease playing snooker under Hearn.

A massive difference.

Its like George Michael performing a glut of classic songs he has written and letting Andrew Ridgeley make more money than him because he found them somewhere to sing, and then letting Ridgeley sell the TV rights and keep the cash and make chunks from all the programmes and refreshments.

 

[Skippy]

If you sell your sport to Hearn, you know what's going to happen. There's going to be a lot more money in the sport, you as a player are probably going to be a bit better off, but Hearn is going to keep most of the money.

The difference in snooker is that there is no Phil the Power.

[Tal]

If you sell your sport to Hearn, you know what's going to happen. There's going to be a lot more money in the sport, you as a player are probably going to be a bit better off, but Hearn is going to keep most of the money.

The difference in snooker is that there is no Phil the Power.

Have had no dealings with the man - and I respect the opinions of those who are better acquainted - but this, basically.

[class]

I had an immense amount of pleaseure calling Hearn a 'see you next Tuesday' to his face at Roots Hall once!!

[tikay]

Ronnie O'Sullivan: Life Stories

Is about to start on itv4 should be a good watch.

I really enjoyed that Rich. The fella is definitely an enigma, & struggles with his "demons", but it was refreshing to see & hear him talk so honestly & openly.

For all that, though, the best memory was that interview they showed, (was it with Danny Baker?) with the 10 or 11 year old Boy Wonder, sweeping all before him, maybe Local League Champion awaited, County Champion, even higher things in the world of snooker were aspired to.

So the interviewer innocently asks "How big can you be?"

He got an equally innocent reply.

5'-10" 

[Skippy]

Complaining the Asian Players Tour Championship contains Asian Players seems a bit silly to me.

------

If you controlled a sport, and that sport might be popular in China, you'd go for it, wouldn't you?