Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan once verbally dismantled a fellow player and claimed he should never be a professional on live TV.
Given the fact that he’s secured seven World Championship crowns in his trophy-laden career, when O’Sullivan speaks, those associated with snooker usually listen.
The 49-year-old is widely regarded as the greatest of all time despite his at times controversial behaviour during and outside of matches.
The West Midlander has often been outspoken about the sport’s governing bodies and venues, having once described the iconic Alexandra Palace as “dirty and disgusting”, as well as criticising fellow players.
Advert
Meanwhile, he has also been open and honest about his struggles with mental health and his abuse of drugs and alcohol during his career.
Whether you love him or hate him, it’s difficult to ignore him, and one unlucky player has now admitted that he still uses some harsh comments from O’Sullivan as a source of motivation.
During the 2023 Welsh Open O’Sullivan suggested that Daniel Wells should stop chasing becoming a professional with the seven-time world champion branding the Welshman as “just not good enough”.
Following Wells’ victory over Matthew Selt, which saw him through to the last 32, O’Sullivan did not hold back while speaking on Eurosport.
After claiming that Wells should “stay as a part-time player”, O’Sullivan said: “He’s tried [being pro] and he ain’t at that level – never will be.
“At best, he’ll maybe make a few semi-finals now and again.
“He’s never going to be a tournament winner. He’s just not good enough.”
Wells later beat Judd Trump before losing to Shaun Murphy in the last 16 of the tournament.
The 37-year-old is currently ranked 41st in the world by World Snooker and has since claimed that he now uses O’Sullivan’s harsh words as motivation.
Speaking on the Talking Snooker podcast, Wells described O’Sullivan’s words as “perfect motivation” before he added: “People speak to me about how Ronnie said that, and yeah, it wasn’t very nice to be honest.
“While it wasn’t very nice, I am thick-skinned enough, and I’ve had a lot of people telling me I’m not good enough since my childhood."
The Neath-born snooker player even admitted that he’s got the quote on the wall of his snooker room.
Wells was also quick to note that if he hadn’t turned professional that he would have never achieved several accolades, including reaching the semi-finals of the 2025 Xi’an Grand Prix, which he lost 6-3 to Mark Williams.
The Welshman explained: “If I stayed an amateur, I couldn’t have got to the semi-final or I couldn’t have got to the Crucible.
“I’ve done okay, I’ve earned a decent living. I’ve earned a better living playing snooker than what I did cleaning toilets.
“I didn’t like it at the time, I’ve got to be honest. [From] somebody who I obviously looked up to, but it’s motivation.”
Topics: Ronnie OSullivan, Snooker
Luke Davies