'Half-decent amateurs': Ronnie O'Sullivan criticises snooker's next generation - video
Five-times world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan made some scathing remarks about the next generation of snooker. During an interview with the BBC he was asked about if he would have believed he and Mark Williams would still be performing at the top more than two decades later. The 44-year-old said: 'Probably not if you asked me then but when you look at the standard of play, I would say yes. People like me, John Higgins and Mark Williams, if you look at the younger players coming through, they are not that good really. Most of them would do well as half-decent amateurs, not even amateurs. They are so bad.'
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The modern world is losing great characters with great personalitys. Everything seems to be too safe and boring nowadays and everyone being offended over little things.
Exactly!
its true
On the other side, if someone is a character, they get called a try hard and receive more hate. Look at how Lewis Hamilton has been treated by the British public after his recent comments and his general extravagant persona.
See mardy selby for more info 🥳
it the only thing that i'm happy with that i live in the third world
LOL to they guy that deleted his comment saying he will laugh when ronnie loses hahahahaha aged like milk
How did you take it after the Mcgill match? Still went hahaha?
@@moshakes7040 who’s laughing now hater 😂
Interviewer:"well, it's not that bad'.. Ronnie: IT IS! Classic Rocket!
2022: ranked number 1, and 7th world title. What a legend.
October 2023 - still number 1
@@user-cd7vw1zf6c Starts 2024 #1 too after winning the UK
He's right. Absolutely bang on. And not only that, the new players are so tedious to watch.
Trying to watch McGill vs Clarke was torture.
Yeah, trump is the only younger player who’s great to watch, but he’s no Ronnie off the table.
And bad attitudes
he's not so much having a pop at the players here, He's using that to have a pop at Barry Hearns new system whereby it's not the top 16 are the top 16 for entire season no matter that seasons results but now it's ever changing ranking through the season and the top 128 played can and do enter qualifiers for every tournament. Some player are for it, others hate it and Ron falls into the latter and dunno y, he can and regularly does pick which tournaments he wants to play in and which he doesn't. Other players, even some of then top 16, don't have that luxury financially and even if they did wouldn't be allowed to do it cause they aint him. I still haven't forgiven him for that deliberate 146 he made vs Pinches. I was there in the crowd and couldn't believe when he screwed back for, then potted, the pink. He thought it was Hilarious, I thought it was time for A refund request lol. Cough up Wocket Won, u owes me £12.50 lol.
Judd Trump is 100 times more exciting than Ronnie!
“It’s not that bad” “Well it is”😂😂
Came back after Ronnie, Mark and John made up 3 of the 4 semi finalists this year lol
I hope we'd be still coming back to this interview in 5-10 years time)
@@heppolo That wwould be so hilarious
"Gracias" 😂
He's got a point. Final of the world championship last 4 years included:- John Higgins 3 times Mark Williams Ronnie O Sullivan All players in their 40s
Bingham 2015
He´s got a point there. But to be fair, Ronnie, Mark and John are among the greatest players of all time😅
My brother is 18 barely watches snooker yet watched the whole match where Ronnie beat Selby 17-16 and he was gripped lol and it all started after we watched this interview live.
There's not that many players now with flare and natural talent. You'll never see another Whirlwind, Hurricane or Rocket.
You will... just wait some decades lol
I would say, if a sport can boast only three exciting players in its entire history, it's safe to say that's not really what the sport is about.
@Joe Cool maybe you should mind your own business
@@Neurotik51 triggered?
He’s quite right. The standard outside the top 64 is poor. You’ve got guys supposedly having been professional for twenty odd years and never done anything. Career earnings equivalent to a postman!!
Can also be titled "What Federer, Nadal & Djokovic really think of the younger generation of tennis players"
Even thiem, medvedev, zverev and tsitsipas?
Ronnie just telling it like it is, he’s the Roy Keane of Snooker.
Roy Keane is far better than Ronnie
Helmy only at football 🔧
@@helmy4328 That’s his job
@@helmy4328 at what? U chump
Wot at snooker
Love Ronnie. Says exactly as it is, brilliant!
Aaron Hill? James Cahill?
Aaron Hill
he embarrassed himself
One thing... Ronnie doesn’t need snooker anymore but Snooker needs Ronnie
Says it how he sees it. Never change Ronnie
quite risky interview, but 2 weeks later nobody can argue with it :D
love it, so true. legend
Harsh but true.
James Cahill says wrong
@@LordCaedus-bl7wi Wigan beat City in a one off game but got relegated and now sit in division 3. Where is James Cahill now?
Call him arrogant but you can't deny he is damn right, isn't he?
Arrogant?
Lol what a legend
As a snooker player - yes he is. But as a thinking person, he's so far off being a legend. Boring as anything, and really not very bright.
moggs He is bright, and you know it!
@@MOGGS1942 a genius that's not very bright? That's a new one on me!😂
@@oliveroliver8720 What I know is what I see, and hear. O'Sullivan is barely coherent in anything he has to say. That you think he is bright, speaks volumes for you.
@@83denzil Then you haven't been around too many intelligent people.
One he said this, he had to win. He should say something stupid every year.
Fckin hell Ronnie tell us what you really think 😂😂
The best young player to emerge in the last 10 years was Judd Trump...destined for absolute greatness...yet in truth he's only won 1 world title which puts him at the same level as Peter Ebdon.The players coming through now don't even show that level of promise.The standard has raised at the bottom of the pile but its also dropped from the very top.
Judd is only 30 and is already on nearly 20 ranking titles, this season alone he won six and made a 100 century breaks so if he keeps that standard up for the next decade he will be up there as one the best ever, plenty of time and it's not like there are many young players coming through on his or any of the current top players level to challenge him.
If Judd wud've played safe he cud've been on the top of the chart as well but he's been Flamboyant always. Love Judd🤘
@@shahbazsalam9798 Yes. It is true. But you can say the same about Ronnie. Where he would have been if he would have been more serious, as he is already considered top 2 ever, and for a lot of peoplea best ever.
dying sport
Ronnie is brutal, but he’s actually right 😂
Spot on Ronnie. Great comment. Sad but true.
Gracias
Love it ☺️ he's incredible
Ask an honest question get an honest answer 🤷🏻♂️
Who's here after Jimmy White made the UK Championship at 60 years old
It is true. I seen the standard decline the last decade and a half. I rarely watch snooker unless there is a match with a player from the class of around 92 that has some form. Otherwise I don't bother.
He could be talking about the state of tennis today.
He’s right that standard of the new players coming through today are disgraceful, it’s only because of Ronnie, Williams, Higgins & a few other that people are still interested in snooker, especially when ya see the likes of McGill get to a semifinal. So now Ronnie should go on & win at least 8-10 World titles. 👍🏻
The only difference between ronnie, john Higgins and mark William's is that ronnie says it to your face. I'm sure john and mark probably think the same thing.
Everything was better in 90s. Movies, music, sporting talent.
Ronnie winds that guy every time he interviews him
That generation hung around snooker clubs from 10 years old or earlier. Who's gonna do that now?
The past two decades, players that would have gone into pool or snooker are now going into playing Poker. Bigger $$ with less training and dedication.
no need theses days home tables are not rare as b4
It's the same in every sport. The golden age is over, welcome to the flossing era.
Not in football
@@leevihellman Henry, van Nistelrooy and their like are long gone, but if watching bums like Griezmann and Alli doing fortnite dances helps you cope, more power to you.
Whodyanikabollockov exactly...football nowadays is just filled with overpriced mediocre players
@@Whodyanikabollockov couldn't agree more. It's actually quite sad to see how the standard of players is on such a decline across so many sports these days
Would like to have heard what Jimmy White has had to say about Ronnie`s remarks. Jimmy has not been too big a fan of Ronnie`s this year, even suggesting that Ronnie should play more matches to get match fit and take back his mantle from JT. When Ronnie calls in Steve Peters you know his mind isn`t quite right
Personally, I enjoyed the rawness of what Ronnie had to say. It would be great if he could become the Roy Keane of the Snooker World. So tired of the drab John Parrott, Doherty, Davis and McManus. This sport needs an enema!
He's not wrong, in nearly every other sport the contestants get better and better with every generation but snooker seems to be one of the few that's falling off
I think it’s because snooker clubs are not attracting younger players like they used to back in the day. It’s such a shame!
Not tennis.Unreal bad players in topp tennis to day.Rune 19 win over Djock to day and me laufing how bad djock is.
Ronnie absolute legend
Ronnie now 7/4 fav to win worlds
In years gone by 40 year olds would be on the seniors championship as they would get pushed out by the young talent but John Higgins, Mark Williams, Ronnie are still on top form and also approaching 40 are other top performers Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire. Only Judd Trump comes close.
Spot on! Hendry and O'Sullivan dominating at 21 years old. Hendry for a decade, and now O'Sullivan for two decades. It is also a testament to the O'Sullivans, Higgins, Williams, etc to maintain a high level of play for so long. I compare O'Sullivan winning this year's World title to when Jack Nicklaus won the Masters back in 1986 at the age of 46. Are there any up and coming 20 year olds capable of doing what Hendry and O'Sullivan have done? However, many legends and all-time greats would criticize the current generation of their sport when need be. Maybe to try and light a fire under their backside to improve and play better.
I remember when i was young, i used to watch because of (still do only for ronnie), back in the day for stephen hendry, ken doherty, etc. Thers no new players that even NEARLY getting close to entertain us in these ways. I honestly think snooker will die iut in another 5 - 10 years when these players have retired but there must be a new young player otherwise snooker wont be much viewed anymore. We NEEED that talented player coming in to take over someone like ronnie, or even better or else it will be too boring and dragging to watch these fools picking up championship trophies, like yayy -.- lol ..Personal opinion.
It's true. How many sub-25-year-olds have we seen in ranking event semi-finals in the last 5 years? It's always the same 10-12. People getting offended by this are the ones who think attendance trophies should be a thing.
Just searched this interview in 2023 cos it’s one of the all time greats.
sure
He’s definitely referring to me here I make 8 then miss 🤣
He isn't. He doesn't even know you exist.
GO ON RONNIE
Probably a lot less people playing snooker these days. Before social media we had hobbies to stop us being bored.
E. P. I. C.
You cant judge everyone by Ronnie's standard snooker is a very difficult sport to master the guy is a genius they dont come around every 5 mins but all these younger players only interested in pool now they cant be arsed to walk around a full size snooker table they have the attention span of a goldfish the sport itself needs to get more exposure to younger people you go into a snooker hall now they got 2 or 3 poorly maintained snooker tables and about 20 pool tables they dont have snooker comps anymore either like when I was young make it more accessible to young children then you may get more youngsters coming thru.
He's not wrong.
He is right (even if he did word it disrespectfully)
...it’s not that bad...Ronnie > ‘well it is’ lol 👌🏻👌🏻
Would love to win a round against Ronnie and say "Jeff bezos sent me a few cue actions M8"
He’s right there is so many rubbish players now days who miss so many chances
He's right. I personally could probably beat most players.
New players have way more distractions, players like Ronnie practised religiously with a laser focus.
Haha what? Th8s is ridiculous
"Youn knowww hhh what I mean " awkward silent followed ...
Its right long time ago they should have been froced to retired by new players but there arnt coming any more..
LMAO! Nice one!
Prove him wrong !! People shouldn’t be so offended all the time it’s obnoxious
Straight talker love it
Harsh but true to be a pro you have to be at the standard of likes of him
Cue action baby!!
They do get asked ridiculous questions a lot so why not say something silly. Is he really that old.
What do you expect when we've lost well over 10,000 pubs? ... and also working men clubs, youth clubs and snooker halls have become virtually extinct. All the lifeblood of snooker!
Probably shouldn't keep voting Tory tbh.
@@jackbeswick4662 was gonna comment exactly this
How does what’s happening now effect current players
@@adameverard2625 It's not just happening now, it's been happening for years.
@@jackbeswick4662 yeah cos labour would definitely improve things.....
He may right but still so disrespectful
After Roger Federer, He is the only Genius left in Modern sporting era. Wish to see him for at least 10 years
Messi
@@TheHui my Bad😀
Yeah there's more to life than tennis and snooker ffs
He is right. Ronnie retires, I stop watching. I'm probably not the only one.
he got so much slate for this, your not a loud an opinion these days.
Go on Ronny, say it how it is, All these hipsters off spring believing they’ve got talent when there just average, Long live the working man 🚀
He’s lucky I didn’t turn pro
That’s becsuse snooker declining big time in the Uk Only Chinese players are taking sport seriously
Let me know when a Chinese player win the WC…
It’s not that bad. Well, it is. 😂
Worst mistake theyd ever make been there done that
Si es que llegas a venir algún día a mi país mi querido Ronnie osuvillan a mi país qué es México pero no no creo primero apréndete hablar el español porque aquí manejamos mucho el manejamos mucho el español y si es que algún día voy a visitar tu país me tendré que aprender todo inglés by Elizabeth Vivanco de la Ciudad de México
I absolutely love this guy! Honestly Ronnie is speakinf facts and people don’t like it. There are no young children coming forward at all theyr brains work slower
He makes a bold statement. Why he don't name some of those players.
That would be a little personal don't you think?
He probably hasn't heard of most of the bottom 64.
Stan Moody
Snooker needs real characters and great players........ Ronnie ticks both boxs
Love it half decent amateurs 🤣🤣🤣
Not true the Standard is now much higher then in 1992. But when you are the best player ever, you can say what you want.
Yeah
It's a bit of both. The top 32 or maybe even top 64 of today are definitely playing to a much higher standard than those of the 80s, 90s or early 2000s. However the gap in quality after that is rather noticeable. Furthermore there's not many exciting youngsters coming through for various reasons.
@@boomxhaka-saka7711 I think the main reason is most dad's years ago used to take their kids down the snooker club where as nowadays they just sit at home on their phones. Kids are becoming more boring.
@@underneonloneliness2 spot on! they would rather be playing fortnite
@Oliver McCall kids will come through in areas where there's pro tables which are very few and far between , 16 year old jamie wilson just qualified from the q school .
looool
LMFAO
LMAO
Lol
Ronnie, the Roy Keane of snooker.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
there aren't any facilities for young players to get familiar with the pro game so i don't understand his comments at all , i don't think he wants you to understand either .
So wheres all the Spakers now?? You want some? Ill give it ya 😏 post below i beg
Only stating the facts 🤣
Lazy !
🤣 its not rocket science ! Everyone is amateur compare to Ronnie the 🚀
the interviewer let himself down by letting him get away with such disrespectful cpmments
If Judd wud've played safe he cud've been on the top of the chart as well but he's been Flamboyant always. Love Judd🤘
that's violent. Trump is there now.