Judd Trump hits out at Ronnie O’Sullivan as he accuses rival of ‘trying to get headlines’

Judd Trump has hit out at ‘selfish’ Ronnie O’Sullivan in an extraordinary eve-of-Crucible row between the defending world champion and arguably the game’s greatest player.

This week O’Sullivan, 44, said stars were being treated like ‘lab rats’ by allowing spectators into the World Snooker Championship, which begins on Friday, with asthmatic Anthony Hamilton withdrawing on Thursday for medical reasons.

But Trump says the five-time world champion should have also sat out the event — as he had earlier threatened — if he was not comfortable with crowds being back.

World No 1 Judd Trump has blasted Ronnie O’Sullivan on the eve of the world championship

World No 1 Trump gets the tournament underway at 10am against Tom Ford, with around 300 fans allowed into the 980-capacity arena as a Government pilot event for the safe return of spectators after the Covid-19 lockdown.

‘Everybody had the choice,’ said Trump. ‘Of all people, Ronnie is probably the only one who doesn’t need the money so I find it quite hard that he can enter it and have a go at what is going on. Just pull out and let someone else have a go.

‘I have been around the game long enough to know that if there is a World Championship coming up, he is going to try and get the headlines.

‘But for him to say he wasn’t going to play if there was a crowd, then change his mind, then slate it, just give someone else the opportunity if it doesn’t mean enough to you. I think it’s just a bit selfish.’

O’Sullivan has claimed players are being treated like ‘lab rats’ as snooker becomes one of the firsts sports to allow spectators back into venues following the Covid-19 lockdown

In what is thought to be a Crucible first, four-time quarter-finalist Hamilton, 49, has pulled out after reaching the tournament for the first time in 12 years. But Hamilton later said the ‘ridiculous’ decision to let fans in could lead to a person dying ‘for no reason at all’, even though he knew crowds would be allowed before qualifying began.

In a statement, he said: ‘Due to my health condition, after careful consideration I have decided not to play in the final stages.’

Hamilton gets to keep his £20,000 prize money and his first-round opponent Kyren Wilson has a bye into the last-16.

But his 11th-hour withdrawal was criticised by Trump and snooker supremo Barry Hearn.

‘There is a lot of money to be played for in this tournament. A lot of the low-ranked players struggle to put food on the table,’ Trump said.

Hearn added: ‘By getting through the qualifiers he has effectively stopped someone else from going and earning a living.’