SNOOKER star Ronnie O’Sullivan said he ‘refuses’ to play matches in Barnsley again - two years after comparing playing in the town to Wimbledon.
The ‘Rocket’ is currently mounting a challenge for the Players Championship in Preston.
After beating Barry Hawkins 6-4 in the first round of the Players Championship at Preston Guild Hall on Monday, O’Sullivan praised the venue - and told broadcaster Eurosport he would never play in ‘dives’ like Barnsley again.
“I’m not going to compromise on standards,” said the five-time World Championship winner.
“I refuse to play in dives or in Cannock where it’s freezing cold with leaks coming out the roof.
“I’m not playing in Barnsley leisure centres, just drop me out. This (Guild Hall) is a great venue but it puts more pressure on because it’s one of the few good venues we’ve got. It’s the best venue we’ve got on the circuit by a mile, other than Sheffield.”
O’Sullivan has been openly critical of English venues in the past, memorably describing Crawley’s K2 Leisure Centre as a ‘hellhole’ that ‘smells of urine’ at last year’s English Open.
His comments about Barnsley come in stark contrast to his opinions expressed after winning the 2017 English Open, held at the Metrodome - which he said he would ‘absolutely welcome’ returning to, comparing the set-up of the tournament to Wimbledon.
Speaking to the Chronicle’s sports editor Doug O’Kane back in 2017, Ronnie said of the Metrodome: “It’s a different place. We come here for the qualifiers and it’s like: ‘wow, what’s going on here?’
“But they have got the set-up really right. They have got the two main tables then others tucked away somewhere. It’s like the tennis at Wimbledon. I am comparing Wimbledon to Barnsley, and you can’t get a better compliment than that.
“It should be a template for all the snooker tournaments and the UK Championships could learn a lot from it.
“I would absolutely welcome it coming back here next year. It has been great and it’s been supported fantastically well.
“South Yorkshire is the home of snooker, with The Crucible in Sheffield as well. Yorkshire people are so nice and it’s nice to come here and play in front of some great fans.”
Last week the snooker star took to social media site Twitter to state his opinion that most venues in England ‘would not pass the hygiene standards’.
