Ronnie O’Sullivan ban demanded as snooker rivals ‘hate’ his chalk ‘destroying the sport’
Neil Robertson has called for Ronnie O’Sullivan’s chalk to be banned from the sport, claiming it ‘destroys the game’ and gives an unfair advantage at the Crucible
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been accused of ‘destroying the game’(Image: Tai Chengzhe, VCG via Getty Images)
Neil Robertson has called for Ronnie O’Sullivan’s ‘crap’ chalk to be outlawed and be banned from the sport completely.
The Australian star is convinced the Rocket’s favoured accessory is destroying the game. John Higgins beat O’Sullivan in their last 16 Crucible epic after admitting that a fresh cloth in the third session made a substantial difference, despite a major kick in the final frame. Robertson, who meets the Scot in the quarter-finals, is certain that the seven-time world champion isn’t using it to wind up fellow players, but he wants it banned from the sport.
O’Sullivan uses chalk made by Triangle, while most players on the World Snooker Tour uses the brand Taom. Robertson, the 2010 world champion, said: “Oh Jesus, ban that crap, please. All the players hate it, it just destroys the game. You get kicks, you get bounces, not only that, it makes an absolute mess of the table.
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“I know he’s good friends with Damien Hirst, but it’s like he’s doing artwork with the chalk all over the cloth. I don’t think he does it to kind of put off anyone, he’s not that way inclined at all, but it’s not great.
“It’s hard enough to play Ronnie O’Sullivan and also when he’s the only player just about on Tour left who uses that chalk, so, hopefully, they bring in a ban, but there’s only a couple of players that use it.
“Shaun [Murphy] and I just had a bit of a chuckle about it, we would love to see it removed from the face of the earth. Even snooker clubs are banning it, you know. No joke, they’re all banning it. It ruins the actual cloth and it comes with a health warning label as well, so why are we using it?
“I’ve had people come up to practice with me and they’ve brought it out and said: ‘You’re not using that.’
“And then they’ve had to get whatever little bit of Taom they had left in their case. No pro allows anyone else to use Triangle chalk on their table.”
When questioned whether the issue could be addressed by the WPBSA, Robertson continued: “It’s certainly something to probably bring up because it can really ruin the game and it’s not really fair for the players who aren’t using it, either.
“So it can be used tactically if someone wanted to, which I don’t think should be allowed in the game.”
Higgins received a lift from fresh cloth on the table after struggling during the opening two sessions against O’Sullivan, and remarked: “We all know he uses the other chalk and different things, so that’s what makes the table play a little bit bouncy, it’s all messy and different things, but you’ve just got to try and get it out of your mind.
“Listen, I know as players we speak about it. Why wouldn’t you take the advantage when you have got a better cue ball control than every other player?
“So why wouldn’t you have that advantage? Because if you’re going in at a level playing field, everybody’s using the same chalk, no chalk marks, everything, it maybe gives players more chance of beating them.
“Now, that’s what people do in every sport, they try to use the little advantage. I don’t know, you’d obviously have to ask Ronnie’s real feelings about that, about using old chalk. Who knows?”
