Murphy calls Ronnie "Offensive, Pathetic, Unprofessional"
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN has been branded 'offensive... pathetic... unprofessional' by rival Shaun Murphy.
The 2005 world snooker champ rapped The Rocket for refusing to complete a 147 at last month's World Open because of the meagre £4,000 prize money on offer.
Multi-millionaire O'Sullivan caused outrage for downing his cue just one black ball away from a maximum and had to be persuaded by the ref to return to the table and finish off.
Murphy blasted: "I thought it was pathetic, unprofessional. It was disrespectful to the public who had paid to come and watch him play. Four thousand pounds is a lot of money to a lot of people. It was bad taste."
O'Sullivan insists it was never about the money but admitted he gets no thrill from clearing up these days.
The Rocket has endured a flood of criticism for his actions from fans and players.
The three-time world champ suffers with depression and mood swings and his volatile nature has got him into several scrapes with the authorities, including a fine for a foul-mouthed outburst at a Press conference in China.
Murphy reckons the game's most gifted player gets unfair favouritism from snooker bosses.
He said: "I'm a bit tired of all this 'Ronnie's Ronnie' stuff. I don't subscribe to it, that he should be allowed to get away with it.
"There's no doubt Ronnie is the biggest draw in snooker and he is the person everyone flocks to watch.
"Snooker is better with Ronnie than without. He creates a buzz and I enjoy playing him.
"We play in the Premier League this week. As far as the players are concerned he is the benchmark even though he is not No1. But from a bloke's perspective, I watched what he did on TV and didn't like it.
"Some of my mates thought it was quite funny when I told them but for the people who saw it, it was quite offensive."
Murphy, 28, and O'Sullivan will meet at the inaugural Sun-backed Power Snooker one-day tournament on October 30.
Eight of the world's best players will slug it out for a winner's cheque of £35,000 at the O2 Arena.
World champion Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Jimmy White, Belgian whizkid Luca Brecel and Ali Carter join Murphy and O'Sullivan in the shootout.
Murphy said: "It's another example of how snooker has changed in the last 12 months. We were all feeling a bit negative about the future of the game 18 months ago.
"Now there's between 20 and 25 events. None of us thought this was possible a while back. It was like pulling teeth trying to get sponsors involved.
"It's a great time to be a snooker player and I'm delighted to be part of it. Snooker is at the best level it's ever been as far as potential is concerned."
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