Ronnie O'Sullivan comments 'humiliating' and 'damaging' says 'disappointed' snooker player Daniel Wells

Updated 21/02/2023 at 12:12 GMT

Snooker player Daniel Wells has responded to the comments made by Eurosport expert Ronnie O'Sullivan during the Welsh Open in Llandudno. The 34-year-old from Neath took exception to the views expressed by O'Sullivan that "he is never going to be a tournament winner, he is just not good enough" and "he should just stay as a part-time player, irrelevant of how well he does".

'You’re having fun and enjoying it’ - O'Sullivan tells Wells to remain a part-time player

Ronnie O'Sullivan's recent comments about him staying a "part-time player" were "humiliating" and "damaging", said a "disappointed" Daniel Wells.

Snooker legend O'Sullivan said on Eurosport's coverage of the Welsh Open that "I think for him he should just stay as a part-time player, irrelevant of how well he does, just play part-time snooker. It has taken the pressure off him.

"Next year, if he gets a main tour card and invests totally in snooker, I bet he goes back to getting beaten and not enjoying it again.

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"For him, he is better off as a part-time player. There are a lot of players on the tour that will play better if they play part-time because the pressure won't be on them. Every time they get a chance to play, they will enjoy it. But once you start to change it, it becomes like everything. They fall apart. There are a lot of them on tour who can’t mentally sustain it.

"If I was advising him, I’d tell him to stay as a part-time player, you’re having fun and enjoying it. That’s the way he’s going to play his best snooker."

When it was put to him that Wells' aim is to be a professional again, O’Sullivan added: "He has tried that and he ain’t at that level, never will be.

"At best, he will maybe make a few semi-finals now and again, but it is hard to invest everything into that when he can still do that as a part-time player - he can still get to the semi-finals of this, but he is never going to be a tournament winner, he is just not good enough."

Wells has taken exception to the remarks from The Rocket and suggested that he "should engage his brain a bit more and think about other people".

"I’m a bit disappointed that I have to be talking about that now,’ Wells told The Metro. "I’ve come off the back of a few decent results and I’d rather be talking about that, but if I’m asked for an opinion, I’ll give it.

"I think there was a better way of saying what he said. If that’s his opinion then he’s entitled to it, but the way it came across was as a bit of a personal attack. It’s not the first time it’s happened, not to me but to other players.

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"I didn’t take too kindly to the numpty business. I don’t think it needs to happen and it’s disappointing when it does because everyone loves Ronnie for what he does on the table and some stuff off the table. He can be funny, but there’s a line you can cross and I think he crossed it.

"After I beat Judd because I was feeling elated and instantly I was messaged about what Ronnie was saying. It was quite negative and quite humiliating because I’ve got family and friends watching who are trying to believe in me.

"What he says has a lot of power because he is the best player of all time, so when he makes a point people take it as gospel. It’s damaging.

"When he’s making these kinds of points, some people might not be in a fit state to deal with them," he continued. "I think he should engage his brain a bit more and think about other people.

"These people may be going through difficult periods, in snooker and in life. Then they’ll have people coming up to them saying, 'did you hear what Ronnie said about you, that you’re not good enough?' Having to deal with that… I wish he’d think about that a bit more."