Ronnie O’Sullivan says having a crowd at the World Snooker Championship final this weekend is irresponsible and a decision made to make as much money as possible.
The Rocket booked his place in the Crucible final with an epic 17-16 victory over Mark Selby on Friday, booking his place in the showpiece contest with Kyren Wilson after the Warrior beat Anthony McGill by the same scoreline earlier in the day.
Fans will return to the Crucible for the firs time since the opening day of the tournament when it was first being used as a test event for the return of live audiences to sporting contests.
The Government went back on the decision to allow fans in during the first day, but now have returned to the original idea for the four sessions of the final on Saturday and Sunday.
O’Sullivan has been vocal in his opposition of the Crucible crowd since the tournament was given test event status and he has not changed his mind as it is set to return.
The 44-year-old believes it is entirely a business decision and is irresponsible amid the global pandemic.
‘From a business perspective I’d be like, “let’s see if we can get 2,000 in there, cram in as many as we can, let’s get as much cash as we can,”” O’Sullivan said after beating Selby.
‘But really, when you look at other sports: golf, Formula 1, football, tennis, they’re doing the responsible thing, I think, which is playing with no crowds.
‘I think it’s a little bit irresponsible, but I get it from a cash perspective, there’s a few quid to make out there.
‘Maybe just cram the Crucible as many as you can, get a few more seats in there! Let’s take some cash!’
O’Sullivan had even threatened to pull out of the tournament over the issue before a ball was struck in Sheffield.
‘If they start bringing in crowds in, even if it is only a couple of hundred, I wouldn’t feel good about that,’ O’Sullivan told the Sun last month.
‘And I think to the point where it would even affect my willingness to participate. ‘I don’t think there should be any crowds in an indoor area until at least 2021 and, to me, it seems insane that we are even talking about it.
‘I just think it is obvious that is something we have to do in certain situations, to protect other people and lessen the risk.’
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