Daniel Wells hits back at Ronnie O'Sullivan over comments

Welshman Wells says O'Sullivan's comments could impact mental health

Amateur Daniel Wells has hit back at world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan for saying he was not good enough to return as a professional.

O'Sullivan claimed the Welshman was "never" going to win a tournament.

Wells proved a point with a shock win over Masters champion Judd Trump in the Welsh Open this week.

Now he has rounded on the world number one - whom Wells regards among his snooker heroes - for comments that could impact a player's mental health.

O'Sullivan told Eurosport before Wells' match against Trump in the last 32 in Llandudno: "He's never going to be a tournament winner. He's just not good enough.

"He should just stay as a part-time player, irrelevant of how well he does - the pressure is off him.

"Next year if he gets a main tour card and invests totally in snooker I bet he goes back to getting beaten and not enjoying it again.

"There's a lot of players on tour who can't mentally sustain it. If I was advising him I'd tell him to stay as a part-time player - you're having fun and enjoying it. That's the way he's going to play his best snooker."

O'Sullivan said many players on tour cannot handle the pressure of professional snooker

Wells came from 2-0 down to knock Trump out 4-2, before being told of the comments.

"It was quite upsetting to hear someone who's been one of my heroes saying those things about me," the 34-year-old told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"There's a lot of talk about mental health in sport and comments like these are really tough to take for people.

"I'm quite strong as a person and I'll deal with it but other people might not be as strong."

Cleaning toilets in pandemic

Wells' mental strength has been tested since the start of the 2020-21 season when he was one of the first players to test positive for Covid-19. As a result he lost his place on the professional tour at the end of that season.

"I missed a few events. I was ranked 52 in the world just before the pandemic. The pandemic really did affect me and sadly I fell off the tour," he said.

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Wells spent some time away from the game, working for his mother's cleaning business in Neath, which included cleaning toilets. However, returning to professional snooker was never far from his thoughts.

He said: "Toilets were part of the job unfortunately. I wish I could have avoided them but I had to pay my bills and earn a living for my family. But snooker's always been my main focus."

Wells is almost certain to regain his place on the professional tour next season. As well as his wins against Trump and John Higgins, he has defeated Joe Perry and Gary Wilson and reached the semi-finals of last month's Shoot Out and last 16 of the Welsh Open.

"My results have been good this season. I had a great win over Judd and I've beaten John Higgins," he said.

"It's nice to get my life back on track and going through those experiences has just made me stronger, so I'm hopeful for the future."

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