Ali Carter calls for snooker tour to be cut for financial reasons - 'It just seems a little bit unfair to me'

Ali Carter believes the World Snooker Tour should be cut so that players are “guaranteed a good living”. There are currently 130 players on the tour this season and in recent years there has been a push from lower ranked players to earn more money.

Ad In September, WST and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) introduced a financial safety net which ensures players will be given £20,000 if they don’t earn more than that figure during the season. Welsh Open'The biggest upset of the Welsh Open so far!' — Dale whitewashes Robertson24 MINUTES AGO If a player collects more than £20,000 over the season, the payment will be deducted from their overall prize money meaning the system is in place to benefit those who are struggling at the lower reaches of the game «I think the tour should probably be cut [in numbers], to give a prize that if you do get your tour card, you are guaranteed a living, a good living,» Carter, who plays in the second round of the Welsh Open on Wednesday, said on the BBC’s Frame Podcast.

«They [lower ranked players] are earning nothing, 20 grand a year, 30 grand a year after expenses, maybe less than that. You could go and get a job stacking a shelf in a supermarket [for that], no disrespect to anyone who does that.

»But these boys have put their life into playing snooker from a very young age, so it just seems a little bit unfair to me, that's all." Ronnie O’Sullivan has been outspoken about the topic, stating he wouldn’t want his children to play snooker because of the lifestyle on tour. When WST announced the guaranteed £20,000 earlier in the season, chairman Steve Dawson said: «We recognise that these are tough times for many people given the cost of living crisis and that a