The world of snooker is in turmoil after several top players refused to turn up for the Northern Ireland Open. Instead, they want to take part in a showcase event in Macau, which has angered snooker bosses to the core.

Mark Selby, John Higgins, Luca Bresel, Ali Carter and Tepchaiya Un-Nooh refuse to play at the Northern Ireland Open

The Dailymail reporters are talking about a real snooker war after some of the best players such as Mark Selby (four times world champion), John Higgins (also four times world champion), Luca Bresel (reigning world champion), Ali Carter and Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nu. refused to play in the Northern Ireland Open.

The WST (World Snooker Tour) has announced that it will not accept this and refusal will result in heavy fines and even disqualification if necessary.

Officials governing the sport say it would be a “breach of the player’s contract” to take part in the exhibition in Macau instead of the Northern Ireland Open (October 22-29 at the Waterfront Hall).

The reason why those mentioned above want to participate in the demonstration in Macau is simple: they are offered higher sums of money.

When asked about this, Ronnie O’Sullivan criticized the WST, saying it was a mess and trying to scare players away from playing in Macau with threats.

In fact, a few months ago Ronnie sounded an important alarm about the difficult moment that world snooker is going through.

Then Ronnie spoke of the need for a long-term project in snooker and to increase the prizes at least three times. There are many players who won’t win anything anymore and the costs are high.

“You have ten million pounds in prize money for 25 tournaments. 128 players participate in these competitions. So you understand how well they’re doing financially,” O’Sullivan told The Sun this spring.