O'Sullivan: I'd walk away from snooker if I felt undervalued

Ronnie O'Sullivan declared himself open to offers amid rumours of a rival snooker tour and warned he would walk away from the sport if he believed his talent was being under-valued.

Leading players, including O'Sullivan, are understood to have been approached by Far East backers about the prospect of establishing a breakaway circuit from as early as next season.

And O'Sullivan, who polished off a 10-1 win over Jackson Page in the first round of the World Championship in Sheffield, insisted players were within their rights to consider any lucrative opportunities that came their way.

O'Sullivan said: "Every player has the right to do what they want to do. Each sportsman is a business, whether you like it or not and it's just like any other job - if you get a better offer, you're going to go.

"What is a better offer? For some people it might be a reduced schedule, it might be more money.

Everyone has a different idea of what is right for them and everyone has the right to make that decision for themselves.

"I'll go wherever I'm looked after and wherever I feel like I'm valued.

For me, I just want to play snooker, I want to have fun, I want to be looked after and pampered. Anyone who wants to pamper me and look after me, I'm your man."

World Snooker Tour (WST) chiefs have relaxed rules on player contracts since a high-profile row in October, when five leading players were threatened with legal action after indicating they would skip the Northern Ireland Open in favour of a lucrative exhibition in Macau.

Players are now able to play in exhibitions provided they do not clash directly with WST events - the number of which is set to increase following WST's high-profile and potentially-lucrative link-up with Saudi Arabia.

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