Ronnie O’Sullivan dismisses Shaun Murphy’s criticism of his attitude | ‘The game means so little to them!’ | Snooker News

Shaun Murphy said it is “frustrating” to hear Ronnie O’Sullivan talk about how little snooker means to them. His comments come after O’Sullivan convincingly beat Zhou Yuelong 6-0 to reach the last eight of the UK Championship in York.

Ronnie O’Sullivan dismissed criticism of his attitude towards snooker by Shaun Murphy

Ronnie O’Sullivan has dismissed criticism of his attitude towards snooker as “water off my back”, after Shaun Murphy said it was “frustrating” to hear players talk about “how little the game means to them”. 

Murphy spoke out after the reigning world champion said snooker isn’t “worth the stress and the hassle“.

The 40-year-old said: “It is very frustrating, but he’s not on his own as a player that talks about how little the game means to them, and it’s just one of the things they do with their life, and they have got other things and other interests, the game means so little to them.

“For a few that is even true, but for players like myself…I don’t have the CV of O’Sullivan, I don’t have what I assume must be an incredible amount of wealth.

“He comes from an incredibly wealthy background and grew up in incredible wealth. Most of the tour don’t come from that world.”

Asked about Murphy’s comments, O’Sullivan told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I am not interested in what anyone has got to say about me.”

The world No 1, who last month claimed he lacks the passion for snooker, added: “I absolutely vacated a long time ago.”

O’Sullivan, 46, continued his good form on Wednesday, beating China’s Zhou Yuelong 6-0 to reach the quarter-final of the UK Championship in York.

After the match, Murphy asked O’Sullivan if he had any advice for the 24-year-old Chinese player.

O’Sullivan replied: “None. I am not here to give advice. You watch the first time I was on TV. I never had a problem with crowds and big occasions. The bigger the occasion, the more I liked it. If you can’t handle it, you are going to struggle.”