Rocket's Thoughts on Snooker Payouts and Incentives for Lower-Tier Players

JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
I wonder what Ronnie O'Sullivan would have to say about pool payouts in 2022. If he thinks snooker payouts need improvement, what does he think about pool? As most know, only the top 1 or 2 percent can earn a decent income in professional pool.

The Rocket called for the sport of snooker to do more to encourage the next generation of snooker players. O'Sullivan, who picked up £500,000 ($638,375) for his seventh world title win last month, compared snooker to golf and said the WST needs to offer more:

"I'm not talking about the winners. I'm talking about the guys that are ranked 60, 70 in the world that are struggling. It's not good for them. If you compared the 125th golfer and what he earns and the 125th snooker player, then he'd make a million dollars on the golf tour. You can afford to miss a few cuts because you can make enough money to offset the losses you might make."

Ronnie O'Sullivan's idea to help players financially rejected by the WST.
🙁


Read more here: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/.../ronnie-osullivans-idea...

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The Rocket did have an idea as to how they could fix the situation.

"One way you could maybe remedy it is at least give the first round losers their expenses," he said.

"A lot of these guys have not got the money. It's unfair. Take it off the top. Winners don't really need that extra money, give it to the first round losers so at least it doesn't cost them anything. Then you can call it a job."

However, according to The Metro , O'Sullivan's suggestion has been ignored by the WST ahead of the new season.

Read more here: https://www.planetsport.com/snooker/news/ronnie-osullivan-financial-idea-rejected-wst

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I ordered a Ronnie O'Sullivan "You Saw Nothing" T-shirt and coffee mug from England, and it arrived a few days ago. When Ronnie speaks, the WST should listen and not discount his suggestion to help new blood get in the sport of snooker. If they don't get new blood, snooker will start spiraling a slow death, much like American professional pool has been doing. It is impossible to make ends meet playing pool with the payouts the way they are today. Only the top 1 or 2 percent can do it.

And here most pool people think snooker payouts are great. Well, Ronnie thinks differently and is trying to help the sport. :giggle:

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JAM said:
I wonder what Ronnie O'Sullivan would have to say about pool payouts in 2022. If he thinks snooker payouts need improvement, what does he think about pool? As most know, only the top 1 or 2 percent can earn a decent income in professional pool.

The Rocket called for the sport of snooker to do more to encourage the next generation of snooker players. O'Sullivan, who picked up £500,000 ($638,375) for his seventh world title win last month, compared snooker to golf and said the WST needs to offer more:

"I'm not talking about the winners. I'm talking about the guys that are ranked 60, 70 in the world that are struggling. It's not good for them. If you compared the 125th golfer and what he earns and the 125th snooker player, then he'd make a million dollars on the golf tour. You can afford to miss a few cuts because you can make enough money to offset the losses you might make."

Ronnie O'Sullivan's idea to help players financially rejected by the WST.
🙁


Read more here: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/.../ronnie-osullivans-idea...

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The argument lies in what revenues can Professional Pool bring to Advertisers.

Also within Snooker there is built in betting.

There’s a gambling house (think OTB) on every corner in London and throughout UK.
Perhaps those betting lines will become more pervasive in Matchroom’s pool events.

Matchroom provides the only (international) television outlets for pro pool, so once their additional events become a bonafide tour, there will be substantial value to sponsors and advertisers.

Caddies make 10% on a first place golfers winnings which is more than our players make in a year😒
Sux to be the best at your sport and make pennies comparatively…
 
Chicagoplayer said:
The argument lies in what revenues can Professional Pool bring to Advertisers.

Also within Snooker there is built in betting.

There’s a gambling house (think OTB) on every corner in London and throughout UK.
Perhaps those betting lines will become more pervasive in Matchroom’s pool events.

Matchroom provides the only (international) television outlets for pro pool, so once their additional events become a bonafide tour, there will be substantial value to sponsors and advertisers.

Caddies make 10% on a first place golfers winnings which is more than our players make in a year😒
Sux to be the best at your sport and make pennies comparatively…
Click to expand...
Very good points and logic. I think pool refs make more than the average pool pro.

The Matchroom tour will be attractive for sure. I wish them much success. I was imagining the cost overlay of the recent Matchroom event, and the equipment, staff, referees, cameras. and all the associated expenses. I hope they're able to turn a profit with all those expenses because they've very hefty. The venues are beautiful.

The payouts for the pro players will grow if Matchroom can keep elevating pool and bring in more mainstream viewers. Fingers crossed! :)
 
Well, American pool has no big sponsors and no big names as compared to Snooker & Pool in Europe and Asia. There is nothing there to grow the fan base for pool. In Europe, pocket billiards seems to be taking off for may players and countries. Snooker with their enormous table (which by the way maybe a lost art in installing them and making a living from that as well), well known players maybe starting to get pushed aside (slowly) for the rise of pocket billiard players. The games are much faster, shorter and easy to follow. In today's society of instant gratification and smart phones drawing our attentions away from live events (especially pool/ snooker)and to play pool / snooker in pool halls (many have closed in the US in the last decade) it is really tough to get new fans interested in the game. To play either with any comprehension is apparent by the game itself and from the commentators from the taped events.

Side note: To the everyday person (in the US), Minnesota Fats, The Miz (Steve Mizerak), Willy Mosconi and possibly Janette Lee are the only pool players known to a person off the street if asked. The age group would be 40+ years of age. In Europe, I am in no doubt that Pool and Snooker players are more well known to the general public. Thanks for reading my ramblings.
 
Been pondering this off and on for years. As well as another game I play that suffers from some similar issues.

The best I can come up with is just culture in the US isn’t “built” to care about any kind of billiards as a spectator sport.

Obviously in the UK and such, snooker doesn’t suffer from this as much. The culture there has enough spectators they can sell advertising.

At least snooker has the money to spread out a bit with Ronnie’s suggestions.

Pool still has to find the money to have the problem unfortunately. And it’s a bit sad. The amount of talent that either walks away or never even figures out they have the talent for pool…..because they have to focus on something else to financially support themselves.
 
Jeez Jen. When I read the title of this thread I expected it was something Rodney Morris had spoken about.
I must be getting old..

Nice pic of Keith but the sandals look kinda big!! Hope ur both as happy as he looks!
 
When I see the money that golfers and tennis players are playing for it makes pool players look like they are playing for the scraps that are left over. Sad, but true.
 
just for a perspective from a professional athlete
caroline wozniaki former #1 tennis player married david lee former NBA player
their combined net worth 100 million
i am a tennis fan and the french open is going on and wozniaki is a new commentator for the tennis channel and also just gave birth to a baby girl last year
they were asking on the set whether they want or think the baby will be a tennis player or basket ball player
and caroline said her husband wants her to be a golfer
good choice you can be less good and make more money
 
Noble thoughts form Ronnie, but in the end, it comes down to revenue. Pool players will make golf and tennis money when pool generates the same amount of revenue. Pool is not a first-tier sport and never has been.

The surest death of any pool venture is to pay out money to players before the revenue stream has been validated (we saw that in both the IPT and Bonus Ball experiments), so growing the sport will be the only means of closing in on the goals stated.

As for paying out expenses to those that finish in last (or tied for last), Matchroom is already doing this in its four invitationals (Premier League Pool, last place paid $2,500, last place at the World Pool Masters paid $1,750, last place at the World Cup of Pool will pay $3,600 (1,800 per player), and of course, Mosconi pays a lot more, as losers are guaranteed $15,000. None of these events have entry fees. My question is "why don't any American event producers do this?" Of course, the answer is that they can't afford it, and that's a perfectly valid answer, but giving the players a free roll a few times a year is important to Matchroom, pool's best bet going forward. Of course, all that said, the 60th ranked player won't get into invitationals very often.

Snooker does have an issue with grooming the next generation and, as we saw at the last World Snooker Championship, the next generation aren't yet catching the old timers, who captured three of the top four spots. In pool, it's just the opposite. The current generation of players is leaving the last generation in the dust and there are more formidable players emerging today than ever before. The talent pool has never been deeper. Number one and number two on the AZB money list for 2022, Gorst and Filler, are both under 25, and most of the titles these days are being won by the young players.

Like Ronnie, I dream of the day when cueists who are not among the most elite still earn a good living, but whether that day comes will come down to whether the sport grows.
 
Yup 12 guys. 10 players and 2 captains get a free roll for Mcup once a year. And how many people play pool?

Like everything, can’t pay employees what you don’t collect at the gate, online or ad spend.

Simple math.

We need another 45,343 threads about this topic.

Later
Fatboy
 
Snooker can do what Ronnie suggests. The removal of the absolute need of sponsorship for most all new players alone would draw the desired increase in new professionals. IMO
 
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