Ronnie O'Sullivan has angered some snooker fans for appearing at the inaugural Riyadh Masters, which features a 'golden ball' that increases the possible maximum break to 167.
Snooker has followed predominantly the same scoring format ever since it was first invented back in 1875.
There have been different object balls introduced to the sport in the past to try and change things up, including the 1959 Snooker Plus tournament that featured an orange ball and a purple ball on the table.
The format was quickly dropped due to a lack of popularity, but Saudi Arabia seemingly weren't put off.
Ronnie O'Sullivan makes his first appearance in Saudi Arabia today
GETTY
The World Snooker Tour announced an agreement had been struck with the Middle East to host its first invitational snooker event in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
But the biggest part of the announcement that caught everyone's eye was the plan to introduce a 'golden ball' worth 20 points to increase a maximum break to 167.
The first person to pot the 23rd ball, which is only active once the final black has been potted, will also take home £400,000 in prize money.
O'Sullivan takes to the green baize in Saudi Arabia for the first time today when he takes on John Higgins.
He gave fans a first glimpse of what the table looks like with the 'golden ball' on there too in a short clip of him practicing on Monday.
But some weren't impressed with O'Sullivan for taking up the offer to play in Saudi Arabia in the first place.
One fan fumed: "Pathetic, gold rails too."
Another moaned: "Not good Ron, you shouldn't be there."
A third wrote: "What a load of c*** this is."
One other person simply said: "Snooker is broken."
The golden ball has '167' emblazoned on it
X
Another posted: "What the F is all this about Ron??? Why interfere with a perfect game for this trash."
O'Sullivan has already admitted that he will be gunning for the top prize and attempt to pot the golden ball.
“It doesn’t matter where they put that Gold Ball mate, I’m going to find it," he said.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
- Christian Horner meets with Max Verstappen's manager as F1 star's father to miss Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Ronnie O'Sullivan sends fierce five-word warning to snooker rivals as Rocket goes for historic £395k prize
- Katie Boulter snub causes uproar as British No 1 punished despite biggest win of her career
Getting ready… pic.twitter.com/K1hgXhoyDX
— Ronnie O'Sullivan (@ronnieo147) March 4, 2024
“Maximums, we have all done them. But to try and pot this Gold Ball on top of that, and hopefully we can scoop up a big prize.
“I do like a challenge. I’ll certainly go for it because I think it’s great that the promoters put on such a great event.
“It will be nice to succeed in potting the Gold Ball and make that 167 break. A nice thank you to the promoters who have put on a good event.”
