Please note that this is NOT an official website. At this point in time Ronnie O’ Sullivan does not have an official website, nor does he wish to have one.
Ronnie O’Sullivan announced for big-money event and rare UK appearance
Ronnie O’Sullivan is in line to return to action in Leicester (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been confirmed in the line-up for next month’s Champion of Champions, which will see him make a rare UK appearance.
The Champion of Champions does what it says on the tin, bringing together the winners of events over the last 12 months into one non-ranking tournament.
The Rocket has not won a tournament on the professional circuit since March 2024, but did win this year’s World Seniors Championship in May.
That would not necessarily earn him a spot in the 16-player Champion of Champions, but seen as there have been multiple repeat winners of events over the last year, the Seniors champ gets the nod.
O’Sullivan does not play in many events in the UK since moving to Dubai and also spending time in Ireland, so it is not exactly a sure bet that he will play in Leicester next month, but he is being advertised to be there.
The Champion of Champions social media accounts posted on Wednesday: ‘One of the game’s biggest names is IN. Ronnie O’Sullivan will be at the Sportsbet.io #champofchamps next month.’
The tournament-organisers have advertised(Picture: Matchroom)
O’Sullivan has a fantastic record in the tournament, winning it four times and reaching two more finals.
However, recent years have been less successful as he pulled out of the event in 2023, lost in the opening round in 2024 and didn’t qualify last year.
The 50-year-old joins 14 other players in the confirmed field, with the Northern Ireland Open offering the chance for someone to take the last spot.
If an already-qualified player triumphs in Belfast, then it will be the highest ranked player not yet qualified, which would be Neil Robertson.
Champion of Champions qualified players
Mark Selby – Champion of Champions, UK Championship, China Open, Championship League
Zhao Xintong – Riyadh Season Championship, World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship
Kyren Wilson – Masters
Wu Yize – World Championship, Shenzhen Open
Judd Trump – German Masters, Shanghai Masters
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – World Open
Chang Bingyu – Wuhan Open
Chris Wakelin – Scottish Open
Barry Hawkins – Welsh Open
Jak Jones – Championship League, British Open
Ali Carter – English Open
Alfie Burden – Shoot Out
Panchaya Channoi – Women’s World Championship
Shaun Murphy – World Championship runner-up
Ronnie O’Sullivan – World Seniors Championship
O’Sullivan’s last professional outing in the UK was a World Championship last 16 defeat to John Higgins in April.
He did then win the Seniors at the Crucible in May and the Snooker 900 Global Championship in Reading shortly after.
The seven-time world champion has been playing this season but only at events in China, competing at the Shanghai Masters, China Open, Wuhan Open and Shenzhen Open.
The Rocket is in the draw for next week’s Northern Ireland Open and could still take on Cheung Ka Wai in his first match on Monday afternoon, but it would be no surprise if he withdrew before that happened. He hasn’t played at the Belfast event since 2022.
The Champion of Champions runs from November 9-15.
It’s interesting that Phil Haigh what writes about Ronnie spending time in Ireland. I’m not sure if this is still the case, but some years ago, in 2016, Ronnie Wood came to an exhibition event at Goffs and, at the time, he had a property not far away from that venue. Ronnie and Ronnie 😉 are – or certainly were back then – close friends. Ronnie is godfather to one of Ronnie Woods twin girls1. I’m not sure of anything but, possibly, he’s been visiting Ronnie Woods’ family and his goddaughter.
The twins , Gracie Jane and Alice Rose were born in May 2016. I took pictures of the two snooker players cuddling “their” baby but, at the request of the parents, I never shared them with anyone but them.. ↩︎
Mainland Europe’s biggest ever Q Tour event will take place on 22-25 October at Snooker Arena Germany in Oberhausen with 153 players from 35 countries competing.
The event three entry number is the largest ever for a Q Tour event in mainland Europe and includes a record 33 players from the host nation. The first two Q Tour Europe titles of the campaign were won by England’s Sanderson Lam on home soil and Malta’s Aaron Busuttil in Sofia, Bulgaira.
The top ranked player at the end of the campaign will earn a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card, while further places will be available at the Q Tour Global Play-Offs where an additional three tour cards will be on offer.
Q Tour Europe is part of WPBSA Q Tour Global, which incorporates regional events held around the world, each offering access to the Q Tour Global Play-Offs at the end of the season.
Thia is an event played in Germany and there are 153 players in the draw. This is a huge number and it does show that there is a real interest in snooker in mainland Europe. The continent deserves more events. The main tour is far too UK centric. One person once challenged me after I said that, arguing that this is right because the majority of the players are from the UK. I challenged them back, suggesting that this “majority” situation was the result of the UK centric organisation of the tour, not the justification for it. I stand by that.
Limit UK events to the “Triple Crown”, replace “Home Nations” with “European Nations”, with just one in the UK, moving through the “nations” every four years, have qualifiers played near the actual venue just before the event proper, instead of in the UK weeks ahead of the said events. Have two of the three “European Q-Schools” played in mainland Europe … and I would bet my house that within 10 years, UK players will be a minority in the draws. That’s how it should be. The governing body call themselves “World Snooker” not “UK and Friends Snooker”. They should live by that name.
Stan Moody beat Mark Joyce yesterday in the final in Landywood to become the 2026 Pink Ribbon Champion. All the detailed results are available on WPBSA snookerscores
Congratulations Stan Moody!
And congratulations as well to Mark Joyce, the runner-up, who has supported the event right from the start.
This is a tournament that is very close to my heart.
It was established by Paul Mount, in 2010, 15 years ago, to raise money with the aim to support medical research aiming at finding better treatments for breast cancer and support the women who suffer from the disease or its aftermaths. Paul had lost his beloved sister to the illness.
It was initially played at the South West Snooker Academy, later known as the Capital Venue, house to the professional team Paul supported at the time. It was held there for ten years. The first edition was won by Michael Holt who beat Jimmy White in the final. Ronnie played in it just once, in 2015… and won it.
The plan was initially to hold it for ten years only but given its popularity, and the importance of the charity it supports, many players wanted it to continue. Covid 19 had other ideas and the event didn’t take place between 2020 and 2023. It was revived, in Landywood snooker club in 2024. Thank you guys! 💕
The victory represents Steadman’s second title of the campaign, having also won event one, and returns him to poll position in the one-year ‘Race to the Crucible’ ranking list as he looks to earn a return to the iconic Crucible Theatre for the World Seniors Championship in 2027.
A total of 61 cueists from seven countries embarked on Reading – including previous event winners Steadman and Ryan Day, as well as former ranking event winners Robert Milkins and eventual finalist Robertson.
Steadman, who reached the semi-finals at the Crucible this year, kicked off with a whitewash win over India’s Anurag Saboo before overcoming John Parkin in a deciding frame – having been pulled back from 3-0 ahead.
Things didn’t get any easier for the World Snooker Tour (WST) professional as he faced a trio of former Crucible Theatre qualifiers in succession.
A 4-2 win against fellow former professional Gerard Greene was followed by having to come from 3-1 behind to overcome Neal Jones in a deciding frame on Sunday morning. Breaks of 80, 50 and 54 then saw Steadman defeated Barry Pinches 4-1 to set up a title match meeting with Robertson.
The 2018 European Masters winner had last beaten Rory McLeod to reach the title match on his World Seniors Snooker debut. He was given no time to settle into the final, however, as Steadman began with the tournament high break of 127 before following up with a 63 to move 2-0 ahead.
Robertson rallied with breaks of 53 and 67 to restore parity, but Steadman then regained his advantage with a contribution of 74 before getting over the line in frame six to win the title.
…
Craig Steadman isn’t and never was a “top player” but he’s extremely determined and tenacious. He always makes his opponent work really hard to earn their points. He’s never easy to beat and he never gives up.
Vinnie Calabrese continues to dominate the Australian amateur snooker scene. Yesterday, he beat Daniell Haenga, to become Australian Champion again. The event is part of the Asia Pacific Q-Tour, a path to the professional tour. Vinnie is a close friend to Neil Robertson, who rates him highly. However Vinnie hasn’t got much success during his previous stints on the main tour1.
Calabrese Extends Australian Open Reign at Mounties
Vinnie Calabrese has defeated Daniell Haenga 6-2 to win the Bob Hawke AC Memorial Australian Open Snooker Championship for a fourth successive year at Mounties, Sydney, Australia.
Victory for the popular 39-year-old means that he has now won 24 consecutive matches at the prestigious event since October 2023, with his four titles moving him into a tie for second place on the all-time list with Shawn Budd, behind only seven-time champion Steve Mifsud.
The win will also see him leap to the top of this season’s Q Tour Asia-Pacific rankings ahead of Hassan Kerde, with Vinnie having also claimed victory at the season-opening West Coast International back in June.
The defending champion dropped just two frames en route to reaching the quarter-finals stage, where he would produce arguably his best performance of the week in scoring breaks of 65, 94, 58, 65 and a match-clinching 136 – the highest break of the tournament – to overcome Steve Mifsud on Saturday evening.
On the final day he completed the Mifsud double with a 5-3 success against James, to book his place in the title match for a fourth straight year. There he would await New Zealand born Daniell Haenga, who reached the final for the first time since 2019 following a drama-filled week in Sydney.
Having earned two comfortable wins to progress to the last 32 stage, Haenga then won three consecutive deciding-frames to progress to the final, most notably recovering from 4-1 down to former Oceania champion Cale Barrett in the semi-finals, to win 5-4.
He was not able to repeat the feat in the final, however, as Calabrese claimed the opening frame on the black on his way to establishing a 4-1 lead, before eventually closing out a 6-2 victory with top breaks of 86, 65 and 43 to further cement his place in Australian snooker history.
The Q Tour Asia-Pacific will conclude with the staging of the Dr Clem Jones AO Qld Open Snooker Championship in January 2027.
Daniell Haenga has Māori ancestry. The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian population of Aotearoa. Aotearoa is the Māori name for NewZealand , and it means “Land of the Long White Cloud”. I’m very happy when see someone from the “native” populations doing well and getting recognition. Every person, no matter their origin, the skin colour, their gender or any other innate characteristic, should be respected and valued on their own merit and achievements only. It’s not always the case, far from it.
There are probably many reasons for that. It’s not cheap to live as an expat in the UK and you obviously can’t “commute” from Australia. And, it’s lonely place before you manage to build some friendships and trust on and off the tour. ↩︎
Twenty years on from his death at the age of just 27, three-time Masters champion Paul Hunter remains one of snooker’s most fondly remembered stars.
A charismatic personality and a fearless competitor, the Yorkshireman captivated audiences with his attacking style and remarkable ability to thrive under pressure.
To mark the anniversary of his passing, we look back on his extraordinary career and hear memories from some of the players he competed with.
Hunter’s wins in the Masters came in 2001, 2002 and 2004. His ice-cool ability under pressure is highlighted by the fact he won each of those finals by a 10-9 scoreline. Hunter trailed Fergal O’Brien 7-3 in the 2001 title match, was 5-0 down to Mark Williams in the 2002 final and 7-2 behind against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2004 showpiece.
He defeated his best friend Matthew Stevens on his way to victory in 2001, having previously not won a match in the event. The pair were inseparable on the circuit and for Stevens, his loss was felt especially strongly.
Stevens said: “It is so sad. You forget how young he was at 27. Not only the future he had in the game, we lost a special person. No doubt he would have been a World Champion many times. You look at John Higgins and Mark Williams still playing into their 50s and Paul was only 27. He had a massive future in front of him. It is really sad.
“We had one or two late nights. We were quite naughty. When we used to go to China we were pretending to be in bed by 11 but we were still out. It didn’t hold us back too much, but maybe we lost one or two matches we should have won by not going to bed until four or five in the morning. That was part of the fun of life though.
“Those Masters finals were Paul all over. He was a long way behind in a couple of them, but nothing bothered him and he took everything in his stride. From beating me in 2001, when he hated the venue, the tournament is his now and the trophy is named after him. It couldn’t be named after a better person.”
Reflecting on the 2001 final, O’Brien was disappointed not to win, but didn’t begrudge Hunter his moment in the sun and was pleased to have shared the baize with him on one of snooker’s grandest stages.
O’Brien said: “That just typified his character. We saw it again towards the end when he was playing at the Crucible during chemotherapy, it was really sad but he never gave up. It is one thing digging in during a snooker match and never giving up. To keep positive with what was happening to him and the circumstances he faced, you wouldn’t know any of that and it was testament to him.
“He had that bit of star quality and he was box office. That night was so noisy. I can actually remember when the last black went in, saying to myself to wait for the noise. It was thunderous. He was behind in the match, a very popular player and it was so noisy. Even afterwards we were still up talking to each other at six in the morning. They were lovely moments.
“At the time it was devastating. You can look back at pictures of me after the match with a blank look on my face, I was just devastated to lose. It is such a big tournament. It was really disappointing, but any of that has passed now. For me to think anything other than looking back fondly is pure self-indulgence. I’ve seen my daughter grow up, you can lose any tournament but what happened to him was terrible. It was the right result.”
Hunter edged out 1994 Masters champion Alan McManus 6-5 on his way to the 2002 final. Looking back, the Scot believes Hunter’s uncomplicated approach was central to his success on the biggest stages.
“The guy he reminds me of from the current game is Zhao Xintong. He sort of had this thing of being uncomplicated as a player. That is unusual and always has been. I think Paul was quite like that. It never looked like an effort for him to play. That struck me. He always looked like he was really enjoying it. I wish I could have taken a leaf out of that book because for most people it is a big effort. You couldn’t get him under pressure. Nothing seemed to have much of an effect on him,” said McManus.
“It was a massive loss. You never know what is going to happen, but he probably would have gone on to even still be winning now. He’d have looked after himself for sure and because his game was uncomplicated, it would have stood him well. From a snooker point of view, we will never know how much he would have won. It would have been plenty. It changes the history of the game, but he was already a big part of it. To win three Masters titles the way he did, at that age, was bonkers really.“
Hunter’s semi-final opponent in 2004 was the now four-time World Champion John Higgins. Looking back, Higgins believes Hunter reached a market far beyond that of a typical snooker fan.
Higgins said: “I think he was the next one coming after Ronnie. They were even copying hairstyles and different things, I would have loved to have tried that! He is a big miss. He was a good looking boy and he would have transcended the sport in the way O’Sullivan has as well. It is still a sad loss to our game and to a lot of the players that were close to him. I wasn’t necessarily that close to him, but you looked at him as a wee rogue. He was a guy coming in ready to take over your position in the game. He played the game with an attitude of taking the bull by the horns and going for shots.
“It was like having a tiger by the tail. He pulled different shots out and you couldn’t get on top of him. You would try to trap him in certain situations and he would have a clever enough brain to re-trap you. I also played him when he won his first tournament, the Welsh Open. He beat me in the final. He was trying to chap my room later on and get me to the party. I was obviously a bit gutted. He was that type of guy that lived life to the full.
“It is an amazing tribute to have the Masters trophy named after him. I always get emotional when I watch the final and his dad Alan is often there as well. You feel for him every time you see him. I am a father myself now and what his family has had to go through. Each time I see Alan, I give him a big hug and ask him how he is keeping.”
Triple Crown winner Shaun Murphy remembers competing against Hunter while they were coming through the junior and amateur ranks. Reflecting on his career, the Magician is thankful of the contributions Hunter made and believes that he played a huge role in where snooker is today.
“I just remember he was a cut above. When he walked in the room, he had a presence and he carried that through to his professional career,” said two-time Masters winner Murphy.
“Paul became a figurehead. He was extremely handsome and appealed to a different audience than snooker had appealed to before. That never took away from the fact that he was a wonderfully talented professional snooker player. He was a talented junior trying to make it when I first saw him and make it he did. We were lucky to have him and it is right that the Masters trophy now carries his name. We will never forget the contribution he has made to the sport.”
The thoughts of everyone at WST are with Paul’s family and friends on the anniversary of his passing.
I didn’t want to write anything yesterday. The day belonged to those who actually knew and loved Paul 1 and who wanted to share some memories. I’m not one of them. I only started getting interested and involved in snooker in 2015. I only knew/know healthy Paul through press articles and conversations with fellow players.
What I do remember though, and remember vividly, is how well loved he was and how devastating his loss was for so many fellow players and fans. Paul had everything that makes a champion, he had the talent, the game, the temperament … and he had the good looks as a bonus. He was the ideal “poster Boy” for the sport. Many fans then, and still today, say that Paul would have become a World Champion. He certainly had the talent but, of course, there is no guarantee. Fans said the same about Jimmy White …
What I also remember is watching his last match on a very dodgy stream … even with the bad image quality, I could see that he was struggling, that he was in pain. It was heartbreaking and, although he made optimistic noises, I understood how ill he was and had little hope for his future.
Paul’s death hit Matthew Stevens very hard. He was his closest friend on tour, maybe his closest friend in life as well. I always wondered what would have happened, had Paul lived to grow old. I’m not sure he still does, but when I used to be on tour, I couldn’t help to notice how much Matthew drank. Was he like that before? I honestly don’t know. Matthew was a extremely talented player, but he never truly fulfilled his potential. Would he have if life had been kinder to Paul, and, by extension to himself? Possibly. We will never know for sure.
I also remember another young player taken by cancer that same year: Billy O’ Connor. Billy was only 19. He had fought the disease , with extreme courage, for four years. Billy was managed by Django Fung, he was part of the Grove team. Here is the piece written at the time on the Grove web site. Billy was Sean O’Sullivan’s best friend and Sean definitively never recovered from that loss.
And they were many … I don’t think anyone disliked Paul except maybe his beaten opponents and then only for about 5 minutes ↩︎
Wu Yize won his first tournament since becoming World Champion as he beat Yuan Sijun 10-5 in an all-Chinese final at the inaugural Shenzhen Open.
Wearing the crown of the Crucible king inevitably adds expectation and Wu – who beat Shaun Murphy 18-17 in a classic Sheffield final in May – had made a quiet start to the current season, failing to go beyond the last 16 of a ranking event before this week. But in the Guangdong province the 22-year-old has reminded fans of his marvellous potting, as well as an improved tactical game. Wu knocked out the likes of Murphy and Judd Trump to reach the final before a comfortable victory today against underdog Yuan.
Playing in his first ranking final, world number 33 Yuan looked competitive in the early stages and led 4-3, but passed up too many opportunities as the day went on and his opponent was far stronger in the concluding session. Wu becomes the third player from mainland China, after Ding Junhui and Zhao Xintong, to win a third ranking title, having landed the International Championship last season as well as the World Championship.
The £177,000 top prize lifts him from fourth to second in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings, and when he heads to the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open later this month he will be within striking distance of world number one Zhao. For the first time, Chinese players occupy the top two positions, and it seems likely that Wu and Zhao will compete for the biggest titles for many years to come. Right-hander Wu, who comes from Lanzhou in the Gansu province, also jumps from 31st to third on the one-year list.
This week is a huge breakthrough for 26-year-old Yuan, who turned pro in 2017 and had never previously reached a ranking final. The runner-up cheque of £76,000 easily surpasses his previous best payday of £21,000 and he climbs seven places up the rankings to 26th, and leaps to seventh on the one-year list.
In the seventh ranking final in snooker history between two players from mainland China, Wu led 5-4 after the first session, and soon doubled his lead as the evening session got underway with a break of 74. Yuan’s run of 50 helped win frame 11 and he had a scoring chance in the 12th but ran out of position on 24 and missed a tough red to a centre pocket. Wu’s delightful long red to a baulk corner set up a break of 62 for 7-5.
Again in the 13th, Yuan looked favourite when he was among the balls leading 37-0 but another red to centre hit the low jaw. The frame came down to the last red and yet another miss to a centre pocket from Yuan, sending the cue ball in-off, gifted his opponent the chance to extend his lead.
A loose positional shot from Yuan in frame 14, when he trailed 44-18, led to an undercut black to a top corner, and Wu punished him with a run of 56 to move to the brink of victory at 9-5. Trailing 35-33 in the next, Wu blasted a trademark long red into a top corner to set up a break of 41 which proved enough to secure the trophy.
“This time I was able to be a little more composed than I was in winning my previous two titles,” said Wu. “I’ve grown both physically and mentally compared with before. I just hope I can continue to get better from here and keep pushing myself to break through. Maybe the pressure at the World Championship had become so great that I forgot how to enjoy it, I was completely immersed in the competition. Perhaps the happiness was still there, but I had already buried it somewhere deep inside.
“I wanted to prove myself again. There have definitely been a lot of voices around me recently, and I felt that I needed to keep improving, win another title and keep pushing myself towards my peak. So this is another breakthrough for me.
“Today Yuan put me under a lot of pressure in the first session. The turning point was probably the eighth frame, I had already prepared myself for being 5-3 behind. In the second session, he was probably under a little bit of pressure as well.
“I believe Yuan will definitely win a title in the future. He just needs to go through a few more of these experiences. I’m really happy for him. I think every breakthrough in a player’s career brings a huge amount of happiness. That feeling is something nothing else can give you.
“I’m so happy to be in Shenzhen. I really enjoy playing in front of a big crowd. I love that feeling of being able to completely immerse myself in the atmosphere of the arena. That’s why I really like this city, and I hope there will be even more tournaments held here in the future.“
Yuan said: “Overall, I think it was a pretty good performance. I played quite well in the first half of the tournament, but over the final two days I didn’t perform at the level I know I’m capable of, so hopefully I can do better next time. I just didn’t play very well tonight and I wasn’t able to put him under enough pressure.
“I really wasn’t nervous at all today. I just felt like my whole body was completely out of sorts. I felt really uncomfortable, and no matter how I tried to aim or strike the ball, it just didn’t feel right. So the whole day was actually quite frustrating for me.
“Hopefully, this run will give me a little more confidence for my future matches going forward, so that I can play my own game better.”
It isn’t a rare feature for a first time World Champions to struggle to perform at their best during the next season, and in this tournament Wu wasn’t always on his best game, but his mentality was certainly excellent throughout the competition. Today he found something extra. I’m very happy for him. Yuan Sijun, I’m sure, will learn from the experience. This was his first ever ranking final and he acquitted himself quite well overall.
Both players deserve respect and praise for their performance today. I enjoyed watching their match.
