NEIL ROBERTSON has called for a ban on Ronnie O’Sullivan’s controversial choice of chalk.
The world No3 cruised past Brit Chris Wakelin in the second round of the on Monday evening.
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s chalk should be banned, says world No3 Neil Robertson Credit: Alamy
The Aussie has called for a clampdown on its use Credit: PA
But between enjoying his victory and beginning his preparations for his quarter-final clash with snooker legend starting tomorrow [Tuesday], Robertson had time to call for action to be taken to curb the use of this bit of Crucible kit.
, with the more popular Taom chalk having become the default choice for the majority of the tour.
But Ronnie’s use of the less popular brand has been causing quite a stir so far at the Crucible this year, which Robertson jokingly labelled “chalkgate.”
Higgins was the latest top star to claim the equipment choice affects the quality of the playing surfaces after knocking Ronnie out on Monday afternoon.
And now the Thunder from Down Under has gone one step further, as he blasted the effects of the chalk and claimed that .
When asked about the product, ranted: “Ah jeez, ban that c**p please.
“All the players hate it, it just destroys the game, you get kicks, you get bounces.
“Not only that, it makes a mess of the table. I know [O’Sullivan] is good friends with Damien Hirst, but it’s like he’s literally doing artwork with the chalk all over the cloth.
“I don’t think he does it to put anyone off, he’s not that way inclined at all.
“But it is hard enough to play Ronnie O’Sullivan, but then he’s just about the only player left on tour who uses that chalk.
Beyond snooker GOAT O’Sullivan, only has been known to use the chalk at the top level of the game in recent years.
The Belgian Bullet might well have been the subject of similar controversy if not for his .
And though Robertson did not suggest any ill will on the part of either of its high-profile proponents, the Aussie did suggest that the possibility alone of using the chalk tactically should be enough to consider a ban.
He continued: “Hopefully they bring in a ban, there’s only a couple of players that use it.
“It can really ruin the game, and it’s not really fair for the players who aren’t using it either.
“It can be used tactically if someone wanted to, which I don’t think should be allowed in the game.
“Even snooker clubs are banning it, no joke. It ruins the actual cloth and it comes with a health warning label as well, so why are we using it?”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
and share the record for the , with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 –
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 –
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 –
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 –
- 1991 –
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 –
- 1998 –
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 –
- 2001 –
- 2002 –
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 –
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 –
- 2015 –
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 –
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 –
- 2024 –
- 2025 –
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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