Ronnie O'Sullivan only completes 147 after referee's 'guilt trip'

SNOOKER chiefs were left embarrassed on the day they announced measures to clean up the sport when Ronnie O'Sullivan had to be persuaded to pot the black to complete a 147 break at the 12bet.com World Open in Glasgow after learning there was no bonus prize for a maximum.

O'Sullivan shook hands with Mark King after potting the pink to take his break to 140 in the final frame of his 3-0 win. But referee Jan Verhaas convinced the former world champion to finish off the 10th maximum of his career, putting him in pole position to claim the highest break prize of 'only' 4,000. O'Sullivan said: "I wasn't going to pot the black because to make 147 and not really get a nice bonus was a bit disappointing because they are magical moments and deserve magical bonuses. But the ref played a guilt trip on me and said 'Come on, do it for your fans'. But I wasn't going to pot it because four grand, once you've paid the taxes..."

When asked whether he needed the money, O`Sullivan responded: "Twenty-five (thousand) would have been nice so I could have gone on holiday."

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn claimed snooker would lead the way in tackling corruption in sport as he promised a "zero tolerance" approach at the launch of a new integrity unit. Hearn has proposed instant lifetime bans for anyone in the game caught breaching his new rule of "no betting on anything".