Taylor: Players wouldn't miss Ronnie

Dennis Taylor claims there would be no tears shed among fellow players if Ronnie O'Sullivan carried out his latest threat to quit snooker.

But 1985 world champion Taylor believes that, rather than quitting for good, O'Sullivan should at least keep showing up to the Crucible until he breaks Stephen Hendry's record of seven titles.

O'Sullivan, 37, will begin today locked in a tight semi-final with Judd Trump at the Betfair World Championship, after they finished the opening session tied at four frames all.

With 17 frames the target for a place in the final, they have morning and evening sessions ahead of them, with the match due to reach its climax tomorrow afternoon.

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The match began under a cloud, not only with a war of words breaking out between the players but also with O'Sullivan announcing this year would be his "swansong" at snooker's most famous venue, explaining he only returned from a near year-long break because he needed money to pay school fees.

O'Sullivan led 4-1 at one point yesterday with breaks of 65, 75 and 89, before Trump reeled him in, finishing the session with a break of 72.

Taylor said: "He loves playing the game still, as you can tell by the way he started against Judd.

"There'd be nothing wrong with winning the World Championship every year and playing in nothing else.

"And then when he's overtaken Stephen Hendry I'll say he's the greatest player that's ever picked a cue up, so maybe that's what he's going to do.

"He'd be sorely missed by some but not by the players. They won't mind if Ronnie doesn't want to play.

"It means more money, more titles for them."

Steve Davis, king of the game in the 1980s, was not impressed by O'Sullivan's pre-match comments.

Davis said: "We know full well that Ronnie O'Sullivan's interviews are a bit like the British weather: they're changeable.

"But there's a dilemma for the snooker fan. They love what comes off the end of his cue; they sometimes hate what comes out of his mouth because it is sometimes disrespectful to snooker."

Davis told the BBC: "The question to ask for every snooker fan is 'Is it better for Judd Trump to win this match rather than Ronnie O'Sullivan even though Ronnie is such a breath of fresh air when he plays great?'

"If he's saying he's not going to play on the table and that's true, what use is he to the future of snooker?"

Jostling for the right to take on O'Sullivan or Trump are Chester's Ricky Walden and Kent's Barry Hawkins.

Theirs is perhaps the most unlikely final-four pairing since Nigel Bond took on Andy Hicks in 1995, and Walden hit the front as he seized a 6-2 lead last night.

Hawkins had speculated that he might struggle with the pressure of the Crucible's semi-final set-up, featuring only one table in the arena.

So it proved, as he had a best break of only 19 in the opening four frames, one of which he somehow won, while Walden had runs of 91, 105 and 119 as he appeared at home on the big stage.