Snooker star Neil Robertson has slammed a ruling which sees players give away a percentage of their prize money
The 41-year-old is unhappy with the ruling made by the WPBSA, who have introduced a ‘levy’ of 2.5 percent, which is paid to the WPBSA to help fund the association's activities.
It is a move criticised by many on the professional tour, including Robertson, who claimed players need a solid platform within the organisation to contest decisions made. “I believe the sport desperately needs a Players’ Association, a proper one. So if they see something happening in the game, they will bang their fist on the desk and really fight for the players,” Robertson said.
“There’s a few things still lingering in the game that shouldn’t be there. The 2.5 percent levy for one is absolutely insane, in my opinion. For me it just has to go. It just doesn’t seem right. If there is a levy, it should be in a players’ superannuation fund or something when they retire - so the 2.5 percent they’ve been paying, they get that at the end of their career. It doesn’t make any sense for it to go back to the WPBSA when the sport is so well run and making a ton of money.”
Currently, every player outside of the world’s top 50 has earned less than £30,000 this season in ranking events. There has also been a reduction in tournaments since the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the opportunities for players to earn are limited.
Roberton is playing at the WST Classic, a replacement for the cancelled Turkish Masters, and won his first match 4-2 over Luke Simmonds, which included two trademark century breaks. Robertson needs to win the inaugural event to have any chance of qualifying and defending the Tour Championship in Hull at the end of the month, an event he has won twice over the past two years. The likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Mark Williams will open their accounts at Leicester’s WST Classic on Friday.
The tournament is crucial for the top players to find some confidence before next month’s World Championships. O'Sullivan will begin his title defence at the Crucible and has opened up on his plans for when he calls it a day.
He tasted success earlier this season, winning the invitational Hong Kong Masters and suggested he will play more tournaments in Asia before calling time on his legendary career. He said: “It’s all about priorities, I have always planned my year out well in advance.
"I cannot go to every tournament, I try to spread it about. I’d like to finish my career off in Asia because this is where snooker is more popular – like in China, Thailand and Hong Kong. My sponsors like to see me in Asia. When things (Covid restrictions) open up more I might play more in Asia and skip a few events in the UK. I cannot do them all.
“It’s always good to play a local favourite, whether that is Ken Doherty in Ireland, John Higgins in Scotland, Mark Williams in Wales, James Wattana here in Thailand or Ding Junhui in China. Those are fantastic occasions.”
