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.
Mina Awad defeated Charl Jonck 6-5 in the final of the 2026 All-Africa Snooker Championship to earn a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card for the first time.
The Egyptian cueist came through a field of 50 cueists in South Africa to lift the continental crown and earn professional status for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 campaigns.
Organised by the African Billiards & Snooker Confederation (ABSC), the event began with a group phase which saw Awad advance with four straight victories.
Whitewash wins over Graeme Britten and Bilal Elyas earned Awad a place in the last eight of the competition and he followed this up with defeats of Amir Al-Tahtawy (5-3) and Hesham Shawky (6-3) to reach the title match.
There, he faced South Africa’s Jonck, who had followed up victory in the Seniors competition on home soil by last defeated Six-Reds champion Abdelrahman Shahin 6-4 to move within one win of the WST.
The best-of-11 frame final was a closely-contested match with little between Awad and Jonck, but it was ultimately the Egyptian who was able to get over the line and secure an emotional victory.
In recent years African Champions have never been able to make an impact on the main Tour, many of them even giving up well before their tour card “expired”. The “gap” between the main tour standard and the current level of the African players appears to be huge. Even for overseas players who are successful it is hard to live as expats in a completely different culture and to adapt to a different life style, isolated from your family. It must be horrible if you get beat, match after match, and even worse if you are “lost” in a completely different culture and isolated, having no compatriot on tour. I’m NOT suggesting that African players should not be offered a chance but the way things are now … well, it’s not working. If there is a real ambition to develop snooker in Africa, maybe, WPBSA could “offer” those players a year of scholarship, with participation in the Q-Tour, before giving them a two years tour card. Yes, it would cost money … “investing ” usually costs money before yielding benefits.
The 2026 Shanghai Masters concluded yesterday. Judd Trump won the title for the second time. In the final, he faced Kyren Wilson, the defending champion. Kyren will be disappointed not to have defended his title, especially after reaching the final. But he should be proud all the same as he came very close and defending a title is never an easy task nowadays.
This tournament is for the elite only and that makes the task even more difficult.
World number one Judd Trump won the Shanghai Masters for the second time in his career, overcoming defending champion Kyren Wilson 11-6 to claim the title.
Trump’s triumph avenges a 10-9 defeat at the hands of Wilson 11 years ago in the 2015 Shanghai Masters final. The tournament was a ranking event back then and was Wilson’s maiden title. It was only the pair’s third clash and marked an early chapter in what has proved to be a great snooker rivalry.
They’ve now played each other 26 times on the World Snooker Tour, with Trump’s victory today giving him a 14-12 advantage in their head-to-head record. Their previous meeting came in the 2025 Players Championship final, when Wilson prevailed 10-9.
Trump’s first victory in Shanghai came in 2024, when he beat Shaun Murphy 11-5 in the final. That came having lost finals to John Higgins in 2012, Wilson in 2015 and Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2017.
The result moves the Ace in the Pack’s invitational tournament tally to ten, which sits alongside a ranking title total of 31. However, with his projected end of season ranking sitting in sixth position, he will need to continue this form in the coming ranking events to retain top spot.
Trump looks well placed to do just that, having beaten World Champion Wu Yize 10-6 in the semis, whitewashed John Higgins 6-0 in the quarters and overcome Barry Hawkins 6-4 in the last 16.
Defeat for 34-year-old Wilson ends a gallant defence of his crown. Last year the Warrior overcame Ali Carter in the title match, but it wasn’t to be back-to-back wins. He leaves Shanghai having registered wins over O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and Zhao Xintong, which he will hope can serve as a platform for success this season.
The afternoon session was dominated by 2019 World Champion Trump, who emerged with a 7-3 advantage and a stranglehold on proceedings. He compounded Wilson’s troubles when play started this evening, taking the opener to move 8-3 ahead.
Wilson replied with a classy 103 break to reduce his arrears, before taking the 13th on the colours to trail 8-5. The next frame proved to be pivotal. It came down to the colours and Trump eventually deposited a mid-range brown and cleared to steal on the black. A break of 51 in the 15th then saw Trump again win on the black and move one from the win at 10-5.
A stunning break of 134 from Wilson kept the match alive. However, it was a short-lived reprieve. Runs of 34 and 43 from Trump in the 17th were enough to get the job done and secure the £210,000 top prize.
“He’s beaten me in the last few finals. It was nice to start the season in that kind of manner and get one over on him,” said 36-year-old Trump. “This tournament is amazing. I love coming to Shanghai. It is the first tournament of the year and it is a bit unknown how you are going to play.
“Especially with the challenge of Xintong and Wu Yize, this rivalry is important for us. I think Kyren struggled a bit in the ranking events last season. I did alright, but there are people just behind now. You want to show them that you are still the best in the world and it is important to be winning big events like this.
“I love being world number one. It is something I am very happy about. If I am going to drop down the rankings a bit, it is always nice to win these prestigious invitational tournaments like the Shanghai Masters.Â
“The last time I won Shanghai I had a great season after that. You need to win tournaments like this to test yourself against he best. It also gives you the most confidence if you do win them. It was important to get off to a good start. I’ve done that, I just need to do the rest now.“
Wilson said: “It should really have been 5-5 after the first session. That is how good Judd Trump is. If you give him a chance he will punish you and when he smells blood he goes for the kill. I made it too difficult tonight, but I kept fighting.“
As a Ronnie fan, I was disappointed to see him exit the tournament in the second round. Of course I was … but then, he wasn’t outplayed and went out to the defending champion and runner-up, Kyren Wilson. The worrying aspect of Ronnie’s defeat is how it happened, how he appeared to run out of steam in the last frames, and how physically unfit he looked. Lets hope he addresses those issues promptly because there wasn’t much wrong with his game itself for most of the match.
And I honestly don’t believe that moving to Dubai has anything to do with it. Similar “episodes” have happened throughout his career, when he was living in Essex. The worry though is that “coming back” becomes more difficult as players age. Fatigue is a factor and mental scars is another factor.
I would love to see Ronnie win another World title and definitively get ahead of Hendry, but, realistically, I don’t believe he still has it in him for a number of reasons., most notably because of the quality of the opposition. That said, we have been there before and he has proven us wrong…
As we say in french “tant qu’il y a de la vie, il y a de l’espoir.”
World Champion Wu Yize made a triumphant first appearance of the season with a 6-2 defeat of Chinese compatriot Si Jiahui in front of a packed crowd at the Shanghai Masters.
Wu made it back-to-back Chinese Crucible winners back in May after defeating Shaun Murphy 18-17 in a dramatic world final. He followed in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong, who became his country’s first World Champion just a year earlier.
That victory saw the 22-year-old star become the second youngest World Champion, trailing only Stephen Hendry who was 21 in 1990. Wu’s win today means he sets up a repeat clash with Murphy, who overcame Zhou Yuelong 6-4 to earn his quarter-final slot.
With Wu leading 3-2 this evening, consecutive centuries of 108 and back-to-back 140s saw him burst over the line. He was given a rapturous ovation after depositing the final black one-handed.
Wu said: “It was great to feel the enthusiasm from the crowd. It’s been quite a while since I last played in front of fans like this. I also haven’t really had the chance to practise properly recently, so when I got back out there I felt a little rusty at first. Fortunately, I managed to find my own rhythm and I think that was the key to winning today’s match.Â
“Seeing more and more people in China enjoying snooker, coming to watch the matches and getting involved in the sport, is a really wonderful feeling for us as players. I hope we’ll have even more tournaments in the future and see even more people taking part in the game.
“I’ve definitely been feeling tired. Mentally, I don’t think I’ve been in the best place. Even now, I’m still trying to rediscover that competitive feeling and get myself back into the right frame of mind. I took on too many commitments over the summer, and that did affect my form. Hopefully I can make the necessary adjustments as quickly as possible.“
Four-time Crucible king John Higgins held off a Jack Lisowski fightback to edge a thrilling 6-5 win on the black and set up a quarter-final showdown with rival and world number one Judd Trump.
Scotland’s Higgins is making a first appearance since his tremendous World Championship run was ended with a thrilling 17-15 defeat to Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals back in May. Higgins beat Ali Carter, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson along the way at the Theatre of Dreams.
The match saw Higgins take control of proceedings, making breaks of 53, 83, 56 and 57 en route to a 5-3 advantage. At that moment world number 17 Lisowski, who is only competing this week due to Mark Allen not entering, burst into life. Back-to-back century runs of 123 and 109 set up a nerve-shredding deciding frame.
Higgins appeared to be in control at 60-30 ahead on the last red. Lisowski eventually fluked it, but needed a colour to keep his hopes alive. He deposited a tremendous green and took the frame to the final black. The Englishman chanced his arm at a tricky last ball, but it rattled in the yellow pocket and went beside the opposite corner. Higgins took his chance and emerged the victor.
The Glaswegian has beaten his next opponent Trump in their last two meetings, both 6-5 at the Masters and the Players Championship. He believes that will help heading into the blockbuster tie.
“It gives you a little boost, making you realise you can beat him. I think I’d lost so many matches in a row against him before that. I maybe could have nicked a couple of those, but he will maybe be feeling he should have nicked the last two. He is still big favourite to win. I need to play at the top of my game to have a chance,” said world number five Higgins.
“It filled me with some sort of pride that I went there (to the Crucible) and had some great wins. I ran Shaun really close and he was hitting the ball amazing all tournament. It should give me confidence that I can still compete. That is the main thing.“
2025 Crucible winner Zhao Xintong was victorious by a 6-2 scoreline against fellow Chinese legend Ding Junhui, who he’s now beaten in their last five meetings.
Zhao made breaks of 112, 100 and 101 en route to today’s win. He now faces off against Australia’s Neil Robertson.
World Champion Wu Yize triumphed 6-5 over Shaun Murphy in a thrilling repeat of this year’s Crucible final to make the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.
The pair crossed cues in the first world final to go to a deciding frame since 2002 this May, with Wu taking his chance to power over the line for a famous win. Once again there was high drama this evening, with the match coming down to the final black.
This was Wu’s first appearance on tour since becoming China’s second World Champion, having followed in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong’s victory in 2025. He was granted a rapturous reception in the previous round, when he finished off a 6-2 win over Si Jiahui with back-to-back 140 breaks.
With the match reaching a deciding frame and Murphy leading 62-29, the Englishman unexpectedly missed a red. Wu stepped up and cleared to the black to seal another nerve-shredding win over his English opponent. He now faces Judd Trump in the last four.
Wu said: “I didn’t feel I played very well. Although the result was good and I managed to win the match, I never really took control of it. Hopefully I can find my rhythm and get back to my best in the next match as I prepare for the semi-finals.
“I definitely made a lot of mistakes that I shouldn’t have made. To be honest, I didn’t expect to get another chance in the deciding frame, and I was quite surprised when Shaun missed and left me in. I don’t think either of us played particularly well today. It wasn’t as high a standard as the match we produced in the World Championship final.”
Trump scored his first whitewash win over John Higgins for ten years, demolishing his illustrious opponent 6-0 to make the semis.
The Ace in the Pack last prevented Higgins from registering a frame in their meeting at the 2016 European Masters, when he triumphed 4-0. Today’s win is his first ever whitewash victory over the Scot in a match of this length.
It sees Trump gain revenge for two agonising defeats in the pair’s previous meetings. Higgins scored 6-5 semi-final wins over the Englishman at the Masters and the Players Championship last season. After today’s win, Trump leads the head-to-head standings 22-16.
An astonishing display saw Trump limit Higgins to only 37 points in the entire match, all of which came in the second frame. The world number one made breaks of 97, 60, 53, 142, 128 and 102 to storm to victory.
36-year-old Trump said: “I started off well and there was a big second frame. John missed the last black going up for the yellow and at this level that kind of shot can turn a game. He didn’t do a lot wrong after that. I don’t know if I’ve ever beaten him 6-0 before. It was an incredible performance. He’s such a consistent player and every time I’ve got in front in the past he’s managed to get back into it.Â
“I had a good run against him for five or six years and then when you lose once you give your opponent that bit of confidence. If you lose a few games in a row it starts to get in your head. It was nice to shut that down early with that kind of performance.”
Defending champion Kyren Wilson won the last three frames to claim a dramatic 6-5 win over three-time World Champion Mark Williams and make the semi-finals.
Wilson defeated Si Jiahui, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Zhao Xintong and Ali Carter to capture the title 12 months ago. Victory this afternoon means he will face Zhao again in a repeat of their last four clash in 2025.
He found himself 5-3 down but summoned a burst of breaks, making 61, 54 and 113 to run out the victor. Afterwards 34-year-old Wilson admitted at being angry finding himself behind, but said he channeled it in the right direction to get the win.
Wilson said: “It has come with the experience of knowing I can turn matches around. Although you feel angry, it is about remaining calm and using it to spur you on. Perhaps that came from winning the World Championship in 2024. I know what I’m capable of and I’m pleased I finished the match off.Â
“It can be soul destroying out there. We’ve seen massive leads crumble because an opponent has missed an easy shot and they can’t recover. You can’t teach that. It is about overcoming it in the moment and proving you can handle it.”
2025 World Champion Zhao stormed to the semis with a stunning 6-0 defeat of Australia’s 2010 Crucible winner Neil Robertson.
Zhao made two century runs of 117 and 102 in the win. He will get the chance to avenge a 10-5 loss at the hands of Wilson last year.
I’m happy with these outcomes… except for one of them 😉
Unfortunately I can’t comment on any of the matches … I didn’t see a ball yesterday and it’s likely going to be the same today because I have my daughter and my grandson staying with me for the next couple of weeks. We make the most of it because they live in Belgium and I live in Greece, therefore, for most of the school year, we have no opportunity to do things together.
Defending champion Kyren Wilson got his season underway in earnest with a superb 6-4 win over seven-time Crucible King Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Shanghai Masters.
Wilson captured the title here in Shanghai 12 months ago, beating Ali Carter 11-9 in a fiercely contested final. The Warrior went on to win a momentous maiden Masters crown later on in the campaign. Despite those invitational successes, Wilson didn’t progress beyond the quarter-finals of any ranking events during the season.
Away from the table, he and his family have endured a difficult summer after their home was burgled. Wilson has brought his wife Sophie and children Finley and Bailey to Shanghai this week, and they were there to watch him produce an outstanding display against snooker’s greatest player.
With 34-year-old Wilson leading 3-1 at the mid-session interval, it was the Rocket who then came out flying. Three consecutive century runs of 100, 111 and 141 saw O’Sullivan wrest the lead from his English compatriot.
Wilson restored parity, before a sublime 79, with the balls in difficult positions, moved him to the verge at 5-4. He powered over the line with 97 in the tenth. Next up it is three-time World Champion Mark Williams, who overcame Chris Wakelin in a 6-5 thriller.
Wilson said: “It is always great playing in Shanghai and somebody of the class of Ronnie O’Sullivan. You know the crowd are going to come out in their numbers when he is playing. It inspires me and makes me want to play snooker. I have my kids with me and I wanted to show them how amazing snooker is out here. I hope they enjoyed that one.Â
“It has been really tough off the table, not just on me but on all of the family. That is life. You have to move on and you have to deal with it. Coming into this tournament it has been nice to just play snooker again and get that noise out of my head. It is never going to go away completely but playing in front of such a wonderful crowd in Shanghai makes you appreciate being a snooker player.“
Australia’s Neil Robertson won an epic clash with China’s Xiao Guodong 6-5 to seal his place in the quarter-finals.
The Thunder from Down Under was on the brink of falling at his first hurdle when he trailed Xiao, who made a stunning 147 in the third frame, by a 5-2 scoreline.
2010 World Champion Robertson dug deep and made breaks of 115 and 62 en route to sealing four consecutive frames and a narrow victory, earning a meeting with either Ding Junhui or Zhao Xintong.
Afterwards he elaborated on having created his own language to enable him to have a technical checklist in his cue case, which opponents won’t be able to read.
“It is like with golfers and swing thoughts. I have a little code where I write down a few things. If I miss a few long balls I’ll look at it and think what I’m not doing. Nobody has any chance of being able to decode that. It is a language that only I can understand,” said 44-year-old Robertson.Â
“I’ve played Ding quite a few times in China and Xintong was the player of the season last year. Ding will be motivated by the other Chinese players winning tournaments as well and want to stay with them. It is going to be a fantastic match between them.”
World number one Judd Trump beat Barry Hawkins 6-4 to set up a tie with either age-old rival John Higgins or close friend Jack Lisowski. The latter came through a first round meeting with Zhang Anda this morning, holding off a fightback and winning 6-4 after leading 5-0.
China’s Si Jiahui overcame Pang Junxu 6-4 and his reward is a showdown with compatriot and current World Champion Wu Yize, who will be making his first appearance since winning the sport’s biggest event back in May.
Unfortunately … I’m not surprised. Ronnie recently said that after two hours of practise he needs to rest for three hours. If that’s true, he’s not going to be able to stay at his best in longer matches. Today he made three consecutive centuries, then scored only ten points in the last three frames. Maybe I read too much in this outcome ? … or maybe not? What is obvious to me is that Ronnie isn’t physically fit at the moment. He’s has put weight on … too much of it. Staying fit becomes more difficult as one ages, it’s normal as the metabolism slows down, but … it’s not great. It certainly doesn’t help if you are a professional sportsperson.
Don’t get me wrong, Kyren is a top player and I’m not trying to downplay his merit. I’m just seeing a pattern forming … a pattern I don’t like. But then, no matter how hard we try or how much we want it, none of us can go on forever. Time waits for no one. At nearly 72, I know that only too well …
And Xiao Guodong made a 147 …
It’s Xiao fourth career 147. it came in frame 3. It’s the 246th maximum in professional snooker and already the fifth this season.
Yesterday, Ronnie beat Liu Linhao, a young wildcard, by 6-1 but it wasn’t as straightforward as the score suggests and Ronnie was full of praise for his young opponent afterwards.
Seven-time Crucible King Ronnie O’Sullivan got his season underway with a 6-1 win over wildcard Liu Linhao at the Shanghai Masters, before declaring that the 2028 World Championship is likely to be his last.
…
The Rocket, who turned 50 last December, stated earlier this year that a potentially record breaking eighth world title was the target for the rest of his career. An epic 13-12 loss at the hands of old rival John Higgins in this year’s event put paid to his chances of achieving that in 2025.
Talented 18-year-old wildcard Liu was making his World Snooker Tour debut and showcased his potential during the game, including a fine break of 88 to make it 1-1. However, unforced errors crept in and his illustrious opponent punished with runs of 73, 71, 75 and 55 to get over the line and book a mouth watering meeting with defending champion Kyren Wilson.
“I’d love to win another World Championship. I have two attempts at it. If I can find a bit of cueing or some form at Sheffield you never know. If I don’t do it this year or the next it will definitely never happen. I’m happy with my career and how things have gone. I want to enjoy these next two years. I’ll reassess in 2028 and if things are really going well, you can maybe extend it. I have to be realistic though,” said 41-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan.
“I’m 50 now and if I play for two hours I then have to lie down for two or three hours. It is very hard for me. Ok, you don’t have to run around a football pitch but mentally you have to concentrate. When you are younger you can do that for hour upon hour.Â
“At the start of the game I thought he wasn’t very good. He had a couple of chances and missed them. Once he started cueing and potting balls I realised this kid is definitely one for the future. He is a phenomenal cueist. I can’t cue the ball like these guys. They are incredible these young Chinese players.Â
“I’m glad I’m at the end of my career and I don’t have to face them. They are like machines. There are the obvious ones like Wu Yize, Ding and Zhao Xintong, but there are just so many incredible players now.“
Chinese legend Ding Junhui blitzed to a 6-2 win over wildcard Yao Dongcheng to book a blockbuster showdown with 2025 World Champion Zhao Xintong.
Ding put on a break building masterclass, with four century runs of 103, 125, 140 and 108 to sweep aside his inexperienced counterpart.
Next up the 39-year-old will face a far sterner test. He’s lost his last three meetings with Zhao, including at this event last year and most recently at the World Championship.
Zhou Yuelong came back from the brink to overhaul four-time World Champion Mark Selby 6-5 in a tremendous contest. Consecutive runs of 91, 113 and 112 put Selby 5-4 ahead from 4-2 down. However, Zhou hammered in contributions of 83 and 107 to take the last two and book a last 16 tie with Shaun Murphy.
Xiao Guodong beat Xu Jiarui 6-5 and progresses to face Neil Robertson, while a 6-0 win over Tang Hewen for Chris Wakelin sees him go on to play Mark Williams.
And here are the detailed scores for Ronnie’s match:
As you can see, Liu actually made the highest break of that match, a match that fearured no century.
Hereafter two videos shared on Youtube, by WST and TNT respectively. They feature the first and the last frames of the match.
Today, Ronnie will face Kyren Wilson and he will need to play better if he is to go deep in the tournament.
The only surprise yesterday was the elimination of Mark Selby … if it can be branded a surprise at at all because his opponent, Zhou Yuelong, is a quality player. Between them they scored eleven breaks over 80, mind you, including four centuries.
The 2026 Shanghai Masters will start tomorrow. This is an invitational event now, with a field of 24 players: the current top 16, the next highest ranked Chinese players and four wildcards.
As usual, you will find the draw, and results when they come, on snooker.org.
The top 8 seeds will start in round 2, bur Ronnie, seeded 13th, will start in round 1 against Liu Linhao, a wildcard player. His match is scheduled in the evening session, i.e afternoon for us in Europe. Ronnie has arrived in Shanghai.
Jak Jones won the first professional title of his career, coming from 2-1 down to beat David Gilbert 3-2 in the final of the BetVictor Championship League, the first ranking event of the new season.
Welshman Jones earns £33,000 as well as a place in the Champion of Champions in November, but most importantly lifts a trophy for the first time since he turned pro in 2010. He had to top the table three times in the group phases of the 21-day tournament to reach the final in Leicester, then edged out Gilbert in a tense battle.
Jones made a huge breakthrough in 2024 when he reached his first ranking final at the World Championship, beaten by Kyren Wilson at the Crucible. He struggled to reach the same heights over the next two years and suffered a low point last season when he broke his hand by punching the table in frustration during a practice session.
But the 32-year-old can now celebrate his first silverware. “It feels unreal, I was more nervous tonight than I was in the world final,” said the player from Cwmbran. “It’s a monkey off my back and good to get that out of the way. It’s great for my wife and son who support me. And my parents have spent 15 years watching me lose, so it’s nice to win one for them.”Â
Gilbert, who won this event in 2021, took the opening frame of the final with a break of 104, before Jones levelled with a run of 64. Frame three went Gilbert’s way thanks to a break of 66 and he looked to have the advantage early in frame four when his opponent was trapped in a tough snooker, but Jones executed an incredible escape to hit the brown off four cushions, leaving the table safe. He later made an 86 for 2-2.
First opportunity of the decider went to Gilbert but he made just 11 before missing a red with the rest. Jones replied with 55 then a pink to centre hit the near jaw, but Gilbert’s hopes ended when he rattled another red in the jaws of a top corner, handing Jones the chance to add 14 for victory.
In the group phase, Jones opened with a 3-0 win over Hossein Vafaei with a top break of 116, then drew 2-2 with Zhang Anda. He sealed top spot in the group with a 3-0 victory over Dylan Emery, firing runs of 70 and 87.
Gilbert top scored with 104 and 101 in a 3-1 defeat of Lei Peifan then made 102 and 82 as he drew 2-2 with Elliot Slessor. He wrapped up the group by beating Noppon Saengkham 3-1, finishing with a superb 140.
I’m very happy for Jak Jones and his family … because he hasn’t got it easy and neither have they.
Here are some facts about Jak that will explain what I mean … Jak has nine siblings, one sister and eight brothers. His parents Colin and Debbie have made huge sacrifices to help him reach the pinnacle of his sport of choice. His dad has travelled the globe to watch him play. I remember him, at PTCs, always supportive and present for his son. His mum is a huge supporter as well, but she gets very nervous when he competes and can’t watch … so she prefers to stay away from the venues. The family certainly isn’t rich, but they are proud Welsh and, even when he was a kid, Jak’s snooker attire was always elegant. I remember one waistcoat in particular, a dark blue satin one, featuring tiny yellow stars … it was like he was wearing a bright and mysterious summer night …
This title may not be the most prestigious one, but it’a a ranking title and Jak will be invited at this season Champion of Champions. He will probably get better/additional sponsoring too. As I wrote above, I’m very happy for him and his family.
