Ronnie: I feel blackmailed

From the BBC Wesbite; http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/snooker/15360768.stm

Three-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan feels he is being 'blackmailed' by the game's governing body making ranking points available for smaller tournaments.

The 35-year-old won the seventh in a series of 12 Players Tour Championship events staged by World Snooker.

Valuable ranking points have been tagged to the events, created in a bid to address claims that there were not enough tournaments.

"I feel blackmailed," O'Sullivan said.

"They put these ranking events on and ranking points at these tournaments and it just feels like the winner's prize is not great.

"Most players are going there and losing money, but they're putting ranking points on so it's forcing the players to play in it, which is not great, but what do you do? You have to go," O'Sullivan, a five-time world number one but currently ranked 12, added.

O'Sullivan, who is one of the richest players on the professional snooker circuit with career earnings topping the £6m mark, he insists there are players lower down the ladder who are losing money by taking part in the tournaments.

"The lower-ranked players can't afford it and the top-ranked players don't really get rewarded for what they do, so no-one is a winner.

"But I have to play in them, there's not a lot you can do, you've got to do it. But I don't agree with them."

O'Sullivan beat Matthew Stevens 4-2 in the most recent tournament in Gloucester, earning valuable ranking points as he bids to stay in the world's top 16 for next season - which would mean he would not be forced to qualify for major tournaments.

World Snooker was unavailable for comment.

ronnie

In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true and/or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met.[1][2] It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats for the purposes of taking the person's money or property.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8] It is the name of a statutory offence in the United States, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Victoria, and has been used as a convenient way of referring to other offenses, but was not a term of art in English law before 1968. It originally denoted a payment made by English persons residing along the border of Scotland to influential Scottish chieftains in exchange for protection from thieves and marauders.[3][4]

Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion.[1] Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm.[9] It is the use of threats to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that tend to provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt.[4] Some US states distinguish the offenses by requiring that blackmail be in writing.

black·mail   /ˈblækˌmeɪl/ Show Spelled[blak-meyl] Show IPA
noun
1. any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations.
2. the extortion of such payment: He confessed rather than suffer the dishonor of blackmail.
3. a tribute formerly exacted in the north of England and in Scotland by freebooting chiefs for protection from pillage.
verb (used with object)
4. to extort money from (a person) by the use of threats.
5. to force or coerce into a particular action, statement, etc.: The strikers claimed they were blackmailed into signing the new contract.

Stephen Maguire last week complained about playing in such conditions, but O'Sullivan, despite sharing the Scot's contempt for PTCs, is not worried about the lack of people watching.

"I've played on my own in a room for the last 20 years, I don't need anyone to watch me," he added.

"I just love the sound of the balls. It's much better to play in a great atmosphere but the actual reality of it is that most of our time we play in a room where no-one watches us.

"I can get my head around that, but obviously they are two different games. You get people that perform better under pressure, which means cameras and crowds, and you get some that can't perform under that pressure, so the true test is at the big events where the bigger players will come through.

"But these other little events, we have to play."

World Snooker were not available for comment when contacted by Press Association Sport.

O'Sullivan was speaking after judging the winner of the Riley's Future Star of Snooker 2011. Jamie Clark was the winner.

http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/new ... ml&BID=663

Blackmale

Rory McLeod

So what ROS is saying is, that he has to attend the PTCs because they offer ranking points, and by not attending the PTCs he will eventually lose his top 16 ranking. By losing his top 16 ranking he will earn less, and will have to play even more snooker and will have to qualify for the bigger tournaments.

Let me translate this to normal everyday folk.

I need to put petrol in my car, food on the table and clothes on my back. None of these are given to me for free, so I trot off to work each day. In return I get paid and am able to put petrol in my car, food on the table and clothes on my back.

I understand this logic and do not feel blackmailed by the company I work for.

So how does playing snooker for a living equate to blackmail.

Me thinks another press conference cockerel up.

Blackmailed What is this guy on ? It's your job, get the fack on with it

Admittedly, the PTC tournaments are a load of the usual Barry Hearn-inspired rubbish. But no one is forcing him to enter them.

Ronnie Two Words

TOUGH TITS

He's entitled to feel how he wants to feel. In reality he's paying for last season with all the no shows as the points from the previous season drop off which is why for his own good he's making an effort in the PTCs because otherwise he'd have been out the top 16. You'd think he would be happy with topping the table and guaranteeing a nice ranking rise when last seasons points are scrubbed. Maybe he's not looked at it that way. Also as he was the one leading the calls for Hearn to take over snooker, he at least owes it to Barry Hearn to come up with positive suggestions about how the snooker season could be improved from his point of view instead of using the word "blackmailed" which is clearly not the case.

Black Mail: Mail in this sense was an old Anglo-Norse term for rent or tribute. During the time of border warfare between England and Scotland, freebooters extorted payment from farmers of the area in exchange for protection and immunity from plunder. As the inhabitants were generally very poor, the tribute was paid in "black mail," that is, grain, meat, or the lowest coinage (copper), as opposed to "white mail," which was silver. In time the word took on the meaning of any payment extorted by threat of exposure of an incriminating secret.

My view is as follows: I have no view on the subject. but I am amaszd at one thing: the speed at which BBC reported this, even though they've been ignoring snooker (esp PTCs) lately.

no hes not entitled to say its blackmail ffs hes playing snooker for a living so that what he does.

im slightly snake hissed the buck off with well payed pin ends talking utter bucking rubbish

just get on with it or dont.

moaning bucking minnies.

mishcka wrote:My view is as follows: I have no view on the subject.

Wild wrote:no hes not entitled to say its blackmail ffs hes playing snooker for a living so that what he does.

im slightly snake hissed the buck off with well payed pin ends talking utter bucking rubbish

just get on with it or dont.

moaning bucking minnies.

Are you hitler ronnie is emtitled to give his views as much as anyone

im just snake hissed off with bucking moaning they like victor meldrew on speed.

GJ wrote:

Wild wrote:no hes not entitled to say its blackmail ffs hes playing snooker for a living so that what he does.

im slightly snake hissed the little kitten off with well payed porcupine spikes talking utter little kittens playing with each other having fun donkey doo

just get on with it or dont.

moaning little kittens playing with each other having fun minnies.

Are you hitler ronnie is emtitled to give his views as much as anyone

So you actually agree with him that he's being blackmailed

If he went to other tournaments around the World he could really limit the number of PTC's he enters - he pulled out of other tournaments hence why he needs to enter the PTC's.

Also he says none of the players are winning as a result of the PTC's?

Ask Trump, Pinches, Higginson etc - Those guys might paint a different story.

Bourne wrote:

GJ wrote:

Wild wrote:no hes not entitled to say its blackmail ffs hes playing snooker for a living so that what he does.

im slightly snake hissed the little kitten off with well payed porcupine spikes talking utter little kittens playing with each other having fun donkey doo

just get on with it or dont.

moaning little kittens playing with each other having fun minnies.

Are you hitler ronnie is emtitled to give his views as much as anyone

So you actually agree with him that he's being blackmailed

NO but


I admire his honesty and isnt afraid to say what he thinks

Bourne wrote:

GJ wrote:

Wild wrote:no hes not entitled to say its blackmail ffs hes playing snooker for a living so that what he does.

im slightly snake hissed the little kitten off with well payed porcupine spikes talking utter little kittens playing with each other having fun donkey doo

just get on with it or dont.

moaning little kittens playing with each other having fun minnies.

Are you hitler ronnie is emtitled to give his views as much as anyone

So you actually agree with him that he's being blackmailed

what next GJ agreeing with Roland..

without PTC Ronnie would be out of the top 16 already

Cant Blame PTC For his Ranking Problems

Missed 2010 Shanghai, 2011 German Masters and 2011Aussie Open

Thats Why hes Strugling.

GJ wrote:

Bourne wrote:

GJ wrote:

Wild wrote:no hes not entitled to say its blackmail ffs hes playing snooker for a living so that what he does.

im slightly snake hissed the little kitten off with well payed porcupine spikes talking utter little kittens playing with each other having fun donkey doo

just get on with it or dont.

moaning little kittens playing with each other having fun minnies.

Are you hitler ronnie is emtitled to give his views as much as anyone

So you actually agree with him that he's being blackmailed

NO but


I admire his honesty and isnt afraid to say what he thinks

BUMPED for wild to read

honesty or not hes stil talking bullocks.

you can dress honesty up anyway you like but bullocks is bullocks

Wild wrote:honesty or not hes stil talking bullocks.

you can dress honesty up anyway you like but bullocks is bullocks

At leat hesbening honest though

Unlike a certain multiple World champion who talks BS as a snooker pundit

What do you think about it all Wild?

Wild wrote:honesty or not hes stil talking fluffy bunnies.

you can dress honesty up anyway you like but fluffy bunnies is fluffy bunnies

The 2 PTC's are the only tournees he won this season and kept him in the top 16. hes a bit daft isn't he?

Sonny wrote:What do you think about it all Wild?

they play snooker they get payed to play snooker all you get from ben etc is they looking forward to ireland or PTC all you get from top players they cant be bothered to play.

time to pull up their socks here mate its just one moan after another its boring.

The hunger of youth. They were all like that when they started out, including Ronnie. That's why I love the amateur game, because they're all young and hungry and competition between them all is friendly but fierce. The PTCs at least give them a platform to showcase to audiences who otherwise wouldn't get to see them.

yes but now its time to think of the future not moaning...the new up and coming players gets playing chances we need to adress problems in the PTC to help them get a foot hold on a career not worry if pre madonas think the PTC below them.

if you cater for top players in the PTC you ignore the future.

The PTC's are rubbish. I have said that from the start. However, O'Sullivan should have been banned from snooker a long time ago, so I have no time for anything that idiot says.