Ronnie O’Sullivan (48) and Alexandra Palace: it’s not a successful marriage. After almost being turned away by a valet earlier this week, ‘The Rocket’ has now complained about the state of the venue where the Masters will be held. “When I come here, I get nervous.”
I WAIT. O’Sullivan played at Ally Pally on Thursday
Sportingly, everything is going smoothly for Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Masters. The seven-time world snooker champion is in the semi-finals after winning 6-3 against his compatriot Barry Hawkins. Yet O’Sullivan was “not enjoying himself” after the match. This had nothing to do with his playing, but with the conditions in which he had to play at Alexandra Palace, the London venue where the Darts World Cup was held until last week.
“I just don’t like this place. It’s absolutely disgusting here,” O’Sullivan began his speech. “It’s dirty and cold everywhere. Now I also have to put on my coat because I’m shivering from the cold. This place really disgusts me. I’m a clean freak. Well, every time I come here, I get nervous and can’t wait to leave.
© Photo News
Since 2012, Masters snooker has taken place at Alexandra Palace, which also organizes other sports competitions and concerts. But if it depends on O’Sullivan, the tournament could easily take place elsewhere. “The crowd is great, but that’s about it. Take a tour here and you’ll see what I mean. I like to feel comfortable and this is definitely not a place I like to come to.
At Alexandra Palace they are obviously bored by O’Sullivan’s outburst. “We are working hard to give this great tournament the arena and atmosphere it deserves,” one of the spokesmen said. “We have already received a lot of positive feedback and it is a shame that Ronnie thinks differently.”
Parking problems
Earlier this week, just before the first round match, O’Sullivan had his first problems, then with a parking attendant. When he wanted to enter the Alexandra Palace car park on Monday afternoon, he was stopped by the valet on duty. Evidently he did not recognize O’Sullivan, at the wheel of his Porsche, and therefore asked the Englishman his name. That way he could check whether O’Sullivan was on the attendance list. “The name on your list should be Ronnie O’Sullivan. I’ll play right away at 1pm,” the snooker legend said with a smile.
The parking attendant initially wanted to deny O’Sullivan access to the car park. / O’Sullivan. ©Eurosport
When it was discovered that O’Sullivan’s name was not on the young man’s attendance list, the situation became even more embarrassing. “Oh, are you a gamer?”, the valet replied in surprise. This made O’Sullivan slightly nervous, but his touch of humor remained present. “I have to play in a few minutes. If my name is not on your list, can I park here? Will you let me in? If I’m not at the table in five minutes, I’ll lose the game and my wife will hate me. Then the world will end.”
After a final check, O’Sullivan was allowed into the car park, but the Englishman ended up having a good laugh. And even at the table everything went well for O’Sullivan: he beat the Chinese Ding Junhui 6-3. ‘The Rocket’ will face Shaun Murphy in the semi-final on Saturday.
I WAIT. The sensational incident between O’Sullivan and the valet
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2024-01-12 13:13:10
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