'Ronnie is one of the best British sportsmen ever' – Jack Lisowski praises O'Sullivan, wants to end snooker slow play

ByEurosport

Updated 03/02/2023 at 18:18 GMT

Jack Lisowski says he is confused why the sport of snooker is not bigger across the world, but feels slow play is an obstacle to growth. "I’d say 90 per cent of the population wouldn’t want to watch a frame of snooker that goes on for an hour," commented the world No. 12 during his German Masters title bid. Stream the 2023 German Masters and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+

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'Jackpot' Jack Lisowski believes snooker should be bigger across the globe with natural born thriller Ronnie O'Sullivan as the world champion and undisputed biggest draw in transcending the sport.

Speaking ahead of his German Masters quarter-final against Xiao Guodong LIVE on Eurosport (7pm GMT) on Friday night, Lisowski believes 2,000 fans inside a teeming Tempodrom in Berlin illustrates snooker's popularity beyond its traditional televised origins in the UK.

Lisowski – who completed a 5-2 win against Jimmy White in the last 16 on Thursday from 2-0 behind – feels fellow crowd-pleaser and snooker GOAT O'Sullivan, Masters winner Judd Trump and Tour champion Neil Robertson are worthy of a bigger audience as the green baize bids to hit the jackpot.

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He is frustrated by unnecessary slow play in the modern day and believe it is a major turn-off for viewers, spectators and sponsors alike.

"There’s so many players that are amazing to watch," said Lisowski, who is chasing his first major title in the German capital. "Ronnie is one of the best British sportsmen ever, if he’s playing and it’s not bigger than it is now then there’s something wrong.

"People like Judd, Neil Robertson..these people are so good at what they do, so good to watch, so let’s just try and figure out a way to make it more appealing to the public and get more kids playing because snooker clubs are struggling. There’s not as many good juniors coming through as there used to be.

"We need to appeal more to the younger generation and for me it’s going to be making the sport better to watch."

Lisowski has floated the idea of a shot clock being deployed to encourage players to speed up a week after competing at the Shoot Out, won by fellow German Masters quarter-finalist Chris Wakelin, when shots were restricted to 15 and 10 seconds inside rapid 10-minute frames.

The six-time ranking event finalist believes snooker needs to get with the programme of modernising to maximise its reach in similar style to cricket.

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"It seems to be about faster sport these days, like Twenty20 cricket," he told reporters. "I don’t know about the Shoot Out, that’s a bit extreme, but let’s just find a way to make the sport a bit bigger.

"It’s such a beautiful sport. We can make it bigger, let’s all figure out a way to do it.

"It’s more about appealing to everyone and getting the game more in the 21st century. We need to try and make it more appealing to everyone because at the moment it’s a bit niche.

"Some people were saying they love watching hour-long, tactical frames, but I’d say 90 per cent of the population wouldn’t want to watch a frame of snooker that goes on for an hour, with people taking 30 seconds a shot and playing negatively.

"I don’t run the game, but I just feel the game could be way bigger because it’s a beautiful game."