A ‘horrendous’ artwork of snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan has been painted leaving fans in hysterics as they claim the mural looks like a ‘zombie’
A giant mural of snooker ace Ronnie O’Sullivan which looks “like a zombie” has had snooker fans in stitches. The 30ft-high artwork appeared on the side of Spot On Snooker & Pool Club close to snooker’s famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Club owner Dan Kirkland commissioned local artist Chris Ashmore to create the huge artwork of “The Rocket” which has taken more than six weeks – and is not yet finished. Social media users have dubbed it “Monkey O’Sullivan” due to how the star’s facial features have been depicted.
Others branded it “terrifying” and said it made the seven time World Champion look more like a “zombie”. One social media user said: “Didn’t know zombie snooker was a thing.”
Another quipped: “That’s absolutely horrendous, just looks like the corpse of Ronnie O’Sullivan.”
Meanwhile one fan joked: “I want a snooker player but I want him to look like he’s just returned from war.”
Others said the mural made 50-year-old Ronnie “look like a primate”. One said: “Monkey O’Sullivan hits a banana shot to hit a maximum 147!”
Despite the online comments, owner Dan says he “loves” the artwork.
The club owner stated: “Chris is a fantastic artist who has done loads of work for us inside, recreating the Crucible Theatre as well as pictures of John Lennon, Bullseye and Freddie Mercury which hang on our walls.
“We think some of the online comments are hilarious but we must stress that the artwork is not quite finished so it will look a little different by the time it is all done.
“We love the painting so far, it’s unique and is a talking point but then all good art should provoke discussion.”
The Daily Star previously reported on Ronnie O’Sullivan’s unshakeable determination to his sport as the world champ even trained throughout the evening after his World Snooker Championship triumph over He Guoqiang.
The Rocket’s devotion was plainly evident in the backdrop of the BBC’s broadcast and presenter Seema Jaswal remarked upon it in an interview back in April.
After a chat with 1991 world champion John Parrott, Jaswal discussed O’Sullivan’s upcoming match and noted: “It’s quite strange that we’re talking about him and he’s right there, but we have been talking to him about it.”
Supporters also spotted it, with a fan page posting on X: “Nearly 10:30pm and the Rocket still grinding away on the practice table.” A second remarked: “Means business.”