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O'Sullivan criticises snooker for letting down Higgins

Ronnie O'Sullivan feels that snooker could have done more to help Alex Higgins © Getty Images

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Ronnie O'Sullivan has criticised snooker for not looking after Alex Higgins after his career had finished.

Higgins was found dead in his flat on Saturday following a ten-year battle with throat cancer and three-time world champion O'Sullivan feels the sport should have done more to help 'The Hurricane'.

When asked by talkSPORT if snooker should have done more for one of its legends, he said: "A million percent. Alex should have been looked after from the minute he couldn't earn a living playing snooker.

"I believe all snooker players that are doing well out of snooker since the 1970s and 1980s, it's all down to Alex Higgins and people like Steve Davis. It should have been for the players to dip into their prize money for the great players that put snooker on the map. I definitely think snooker could have done a lot more for him. If Alex Higgins was a golfer I think he'd have probably been a multi-millionaire in his ending days because I do think they look after their top sportsmen a bit better.

"Hopefully snooker can learn from that now and hopefully for the future, great players do good for the game and there can be something in place to make sure they're not in the situation Alex found himself in towards the last few years of his life because it was sad to see."

O'Sullivan was a huge fan of Higgins and following the death of the 61-year-old, he revealed the former two-time world champion had been one of the reasons he first took up the sport.

"It was a sad, sad day - sad news. I knew Alex reasonably well and I was really gutted," he added.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.