Antrim potter Mark Allen believes snooker must do more to promote the sport’s young stars.
The Northern Irishman fears the sport could suffer a drop in popularity once the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams retire.
He told Sportsboom: “We’ve got a new era of guys ready to take it on and I think that’s great for the sport. It’s up to the guys at World Snooker to really push us. I’m not saying that because I’m one of them, but they need to push us.
“If Ronnie decided to retire tomorrow, which he could well do, then what’s left? I don’t see much promotion of the top players outside of Judd Trump if I’m honest. They really need to take that on board. Things are getting better recently, but they could still improve.
“It’s up to World Snooker Tour now to make sure the other players get the warranted coverage so that whenever Ronnie does drift off into the sunset that the game doesn’t suffer because we have other stars too.”
Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled out of last month’s Northern Ireland Open, promoting fears that he may retire. The Belfast tournament was won by Judd Trump, who defeated world champion Kyren Wilson in the final.