Ronnie O'Sullivan's awkward old tweet shows U-turn on Saudi Arabia Masters after crashing out
Ronnie O'Sullivan
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has had an old tweet of his resurfaces from 2017 as he crashed out of the Saudi Arabia Masters at the quarter-final stage.
The snooker legend, who has been critical of his performances of late, lost 6-4 to Si Jiahui in the inaugural tournament held in the Middle East nation.
But O'Sullivan has been quite praiseworthy of the Saudi's handling of the competition, which was not what he was saying in 2017.
Seven years ago, it was first mentioned that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) were interested in bringing the snooker over to the Gulf state.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has crashed out of the Saudi Arabia Masters
At the time, O'Sullivan appeared to be against the measures, writing on Twitter, now known as X: “Britain and America support Saudi Arabia cause there's a few quid in it for the lads."
The post was accompanied with a number of emojis with several monkeys before a follow-up post included three rockets, two guns and an axe.
Since then, O'Sullivan has been blown away by the facilities in Riyadh and has also appeared to have fallen out of love with the Crucible.
“Saudi Arabia has really raised the bar, this is the best event on the tour," he said as the tournament got under in full Saudi traditional attire.
"I’ve never seen so many happy snooker players, everyone is excited to be here, we want to compete, play well and put on a really good show for the Saudi Arabian fans.
"The tables, the facilities, the venue that’s been put together - this tournament deserves to watch the best snooker ever seen. It really is that good.”
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It comes after signing a three-year ambassador role with the Saudi competition that commits him to playing the Masters there throughout his contract.
The tournament is the most lucrative in snooker after the World Championship and offers a £2.3million prize fund - with £500,000 going to the winner.
O'Sullivan also said: “I think Saudi Arabia would be great [as a World Championship host]. They’ve got the resources and would do it great.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan was knocked out of the Saudi Arabia Masters
"If you’re going to take it to China, you’d have to take it to Shanghai. Or another major city like Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
“It’d be done properly. Courtesy cars will be laid on. Food will be there.
"Hotels will be great. Everything would be paid for. Prize money would be astronomical.
“The snooker becomes secondary. What are the facilities like? What’s it like for the fans?
"What’s the access like? You don’t need a 10 out of 10 venue. But everything else has to be right.”
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Ronnie O'Sullivan had criticised the Saudi Arabians before
However, O'Sullivan will not get a chance to see the Saudi Arabia Masters through after crashing out against China's Jiahui.
Prior to the match, Rocket appeared to be down in the dumps after admitting that it was 'no fun' the way he was playing.
It came after a comeback victory over Zhang Anda, fighting from 3-0 down to win 6-5.