SnookerFan wrote:If Ronnie does get paid extra appearance money, it shouldn't come from World Snooker, it should come from any sponsors Ronnie has. World Snooker sends out the wrong message if they pay somebody to turn up, just because he's popular with the fans. It's favouritism from the governing body, and is just wrong.
I don't think it should happen in tennis or golf, either. I just think it's a bad idea. (Just when I thought I couldn't dislike tennis any more than I already did.)
It's a competitive sport where you get paid based on what you win. Not for turning up. What if he turns up, plays badly and loses? Should Barry Hearn write him a fat cheque for popularity, but make other players earn it?
It's a ridiculous concept and Mark Williams is talking out of his bottom for suggesting it.
I don't really mind that the top tennis players receive appearance fees. They usually get this for playing smaller tournaments, not the Masters or Slams . If you look at the amount of tournaments there are, it's not so strange that a top player can pick and choose which tournament he wants to play and will go for the tournament that offers him something extra. These tournaments get the exposure of having a big name player and can use it to draw in big crowds. And it's the tournament that pays the fees, not the ATP.
Snooker tournaments don't need to pay appearance fees, because the top players will usually play all the tournaments. The calendar is not like in tennis where a player can just pick and choose between 3 or 4 tournaments in one week. However, when Ronnie O'Sullivan, 'the Golden Boy', can't be bothered to show up because he doesn't need it (financially) and it's hurting the tournament then I can see what Williams means. I agree that it shouldn't be World Snooker that pays him, it should be the tournament and sponsors. It would be wrong for a governing body like WS to treat him differently than the others by paying him to appear. That would be a slap in the face of the other players who work just as hard.
And they should definitely not pay him for an invitational, that's just wrong.