Ronnie O'Sullivan has branded the decision to allow fans back into the Crucible for the World Championship final this weekend "irresponsible" and motivated by financial gain.
The Rocket's clash with Kyren Wilson, which starts this afternoon, will be the first to be played in front of a crowd since the opening day of the tournament, following a change in the UK government’s lockdown rules.
But the five-time champion criticised the decision, saying: "When you look at other sports like golf, Formula One and tennis, they’re doing the responsible thing, which is playing with no crowd.
"I personally think it’s a little bit irresponsible but I get it from a cash perspective – there’s quite a few quid to make out there, so maybe just cram the Crucible with as many as they can, get a few more seats in there, and let’s take some cash!"
Meanwhile, opponent Wilson has admitted he cannot continue to rely on flukes to win his first world crown.
The 28 year-old benefited from an outrageous, three-cushion fluke on the green in the deciding frame to see him past Anthony McGill.
"You can’t just rely on luck to get you a world crown," said the first-time finalists.
"Whoever I play in the final, I’ve got to produce great snooker and I’m not going to get there by fluking balls.
"I can go out and enjoy the occasion and give it my all. I’m going in there to win the world title, but to have the pressure on the other guy hopefully plays in my favour."
O’Sullivan looked down and out against Selby when he ended a spell of safety play by lashing at the pink towards the end of the 30th frame, effectively falling 16-14 behind in the process.
But he responded with a stunning pair of quickfire breaks to haul level before edging Selby in a safety battle to book his place in his seventh Crucible final and his first since 2014.
O’Sullivan, who had watched McGill fail to get out of a snooker eight times in a row in the earlier semi-final, said: "I haven’t got a clue about getting out of snookers – I don’t want to give 40 points away so I’d rather just go for the fluke."
An astonishing day of semi-finals ended with O’Sullivan fending off allegations of disrespect from Selby, insisting: "He’s just feeling a little bit sore at the moment. It’s the semi-final of the World Championship and I understand that.
"Me and Mark are great friends and I'm sure he sees it the same way."
And it set up a final between the 44-year-old O’Sullivan and a young player who knocked out defending champion Judd Trump and has long believed a world title is his destiny.
O’Sullivan joked: "I’m old enough to be his dad I shouldn’t be here really – I’m 44 with no cue action."
