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.
he Billiard Sports Association of Thailand will host Asia and Oceania Q School 2024 from 22 May to 2 June 2024 at the BSAT Academy at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok. There will be two tournaments and the two finalists from each event will earn a place on the World Snooker Tour for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.
Former pros Sunny Akani, Gao Yang, Himanshu Jain, Luo Honghao and Hamza Akbar will be among those battling for tour cards. For results and pictures follow the BSAT Facebook page HERE.
Ronnie and Ding are at one of the most important archeological sites in China, and in the World, the Longmen Grottos in Luoyang, to do a couple of exhibitions. The first took place yesterday and Ronnie won the match by 5-2. He had a 134 in frame 5.
Kalacs put this video on YouTube:
It shows the players arriving in Luoyang and visiting the site as well as the full match. Thank you Kalaks.
There were also some pictures shared on various social media, mainly Twitter and Weibo.
It was also announced yet another exhibition, this time with Si Jiahui
Ronnie O’Sullivan embarks on globe-trotting exhibition tour after Crucible disappointment
Ronnie O’Sullivan is set for a busy few weeks travelling the world on the exhibition circuit after a disappointing end to his season at the World Snooker Championship.
The Rocket had a fabulous campaign, winning five titles including the Masters and UK Championship, but suffered a shock quarter-final defeat to Stuart Bingham at the Crucible in his final match of the season.
He is not taking much time off, though, heading to China where he will be playing a number of exhibitions, starting with challenge matches against Ding Junhui in Luoyang.
He then goes to Chengdu, Kunshan and Shanghai with the likes of Judd Trump, John Higgins, Jack Lisowski and Si Jiahui involved across the three events.
The Rocket then lands in Finland, playing in Tampere from 3-5 June, before heading to Bulgaria where he plays John Higgins in Plovdiv on 7 June and in Sofia then following day.
After defeat to Bingham in Sheffield, O’Sullivan was already looking forward to his busy time around the globe, before he gets the new season underway at the Shanghai Masters in July.
‘I quite enjoyed it, quite enjoyed playing out there, didn’t get the result but that’s just sport, that’s life, you can’t win them all,’ he said after World Championship defeat on 1 May.
‘I’m just looking forward to going to China in 10 days and playing Ding in some challenge matches. I’m enjoying the game.
‘I’ll have 10-12 days off now before I go to China. I’ll be away for two-and-a-half, three weeks doing my work stuff out there, so I’m really looking forward to that. Then off to Finland for three nights, then Bulgaria, so a busy three or four weeks playing, which is great.
‘Then I’ll take three weeks off, then start getting my cue out again because I’m going to Shanghai for the Shanghai Masters. I’m looking forward to playing Ding in China, that will be fun.’
Snooker exhibitions in China can be wildly popular events, as shown by Judd Trump in a recent appearances in Guangzhou.
The former world champion attracted a lot of attention, appearing alongside Thai stars Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Noppon Saengkham and Mink Nutcharut.
The 2024/25 World Snooker Tour season gets underway on 10 June with the start of the Championship League, running all the way until 3 July.
It sounds like O’Sullivan will begin his campaign at the Shanghai Masters, which begins on 15 July and the Rocket will look to win the event for a sixth time and the fifth on the spin.
The main news yesterday was about the untimely passing of Dene O’Kane, the first ever snooker professional from New Zeland. WPBSA posted a tribute to Dene and many current and former professionals expressed their sorrow at the news and their sympathy for Dene’s family. I can’t really add anything meaningful. I only met Dene briefly at the 2019 World Seniors Snooker Championship and never got to really know him.
The World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) has today announced an exciting expansion of the Q Tour Middle East series for the 2024/25 season.
The series will feature a trio of events in the region, with the first set to take place in Bahrain later this month before further events in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia later in the year.
Last season saw a global expansion of the Q Tour for the first time with the incorporation of events in the Middle East, Americas and Asia-Pacific regions alongside the European series which has been held since 2021/22.
The Middle East series had notable success in its inaugural season as both Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh and Mohamed Shehab, from the UAE, secured two-year World Snooker Tour cards at March’s Global Play-Off in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The full calendar for the 2024/25 Q Tour Middle East series can be found below. Further details on dates and venues will follow in due course.
Event 1: 21-23 May 2024 (Bahrain)
Event 2:19-21 July 2024 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Event 3: October/November/ 2024 (Saudi Arabia)
The series will once again carry a ranking list with the top two players at the conclusion of the final event earning their places at the 2025 Q Tour Global Play-Off.
WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “We are delighted to announce an expansion of the Q Tour Middle East series to now feature events in three countries.
“Snooker is seeing tremendous growth in the region with World Snooker Tour events staged in Saudi Arabia, the achievements of ranking event winner Hossein Vafaei in recent years and the success of the Q Tour Middle East series further highlighting this growth.
“We are hugely excited to be returning as we underline our commitment to the region. We would like to thank our partners for their ongoing support.”
Saudi Arabia Billiard & Snooker Federation President, Dr. Nasser Saab Al-Shammari said: “We are pleased to see the continued expansion of snooker in the Middle East and we hope that the continued success of the WPBSA Q Tour Middle East series will provide the pathway for our players and officials and inspire the next generation of snooker stars from the region to develop and compete with the world’s top stars.
“We would like to thank WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson and his team for their ongoing support as we continue our goal of growing snooker in the Middle East.”
Mr Monther Albasri of the Bahrain Billiards, Snooker & Darts Federation said: “We are pleased to support the growth of the game alongside the WPBSA by hosting the first event of the 2024/25 Q Tour Middle East Series.”
Mr Khalid Alkhaili from UAEFED added: “We are delighted to see an expansion to the Q Tour Middle East series. With our partnership with the WPBSA and CueSports, we aim to serve the game as one of the UAE government & Dubai Sports Council’s strategic plans.”
CueSports CEO Dr. Ahmed Alhashmi said: “There is no more exciting way to help players in the region than working together with the WPBSA to develop the Q Tour Middle East series and future plans.”
Further information about the 2024/25 Q Tour will be published in due course.
Any extension of snooker outside the UK is a good thing … but I wish similar efforts would be made to promote snooker in mainland Europe. Of course, I’m not naïve… countries in mainland Europe are not awash with money to throw into such initiatives … nor do they feel a great need to get involved in sports-washing. That said, the middle East players did very well on the Q-tour. But those guys are not young kids which shows two things : that snooker is played at a high level in the region for a long time, and that for it to continue and develop action is needed.
Also … without wanting to trigger controversy – Israël is geographically part of that region and has some very good players too. I just hope that they will not be prevented to compete in those events if they so wish. In IBSF events in the region, Israeli players had visas refused … and that was well before the current conflict started.
As most of you probably know, I’m in Sheffield for the “2024 Seniors Crucible”. You can follow the action, and look at loads of pictures on my “other blog seniorsnooker.com … I’m happily snapping around.
Meanwhile WST has published the draw and format for the two UK/Europe Q-Schools … although it’s all UK as you would expect. The format is presented in a very “unpractical” way it has to be said. Fortunately, my colleagues at snooker.org have come to the rescue and you will probably want to look at the snooker.org site here for Q-School 1 and here for Q-School 2. Although the first Asia Pacific Q-School is scheduled before the Q-School 2, no info is available just yet for that one.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been named Cazoo WST Player of the Year after winning five titles during the 2023/24 season.
O’Sullivan won the Shanghai Masters, MrQ UK Championship, MrQ Masters, Spreadex World Grand Prix and Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker during a prolific season. He wins the main award for the first time since 2014.
The Rocket also won the Strachan Fans’ Player of the Year and Star Xingpai Journalists’ Player of the Year categories.
Kyren Wilson won the Castore Performance of the Year for his tremendous display at the Cazoo World Championship, conquering the Crucible for the first time.
Nongfu Spring Rookie of the Year is China’s He Guoqiang, who climbed to 66th in the world during a promising debut season.
Laithwaites Wine Magic Moment of the Year goes to Shaun Murphy for his fabulous 147 at the BetVictor Shoot Out, the first maximum in the history of the event.
Zhang Anda won the Verisure Breakthrough Player of the Year award for making a significant leap forward in his career, highlighted by victory at the International Championship.
Two players join the Johnstone’s Paint WST Hall of Fame, which recognises the great players from snooker history and those who have made a significant contribution to the sport.
Luca Brecel joins this elite club having won the World Championship in 2023. And Daniel Blunn enters the Hall of Fame as the most successful ever player from the World Disability Billiards and Snooker Tour with 16 titles to his name.
Yes, I’m from that generation … the ones who were teenagers at the end of the sixties, who grew up with Bob Dylan, with big hopes for changes that didn’t really come the way we hoped for. But I digress before I even started…
But, yes, this post is about “changing” times…
I have the feeling that this 2024 World Championship signals the start of a new era for the sport. In the eleven editions before this one, only once, in 2015, did we have a final that didn’t feature a member of the class of 92 or Mark Selby, and only once, in 2016, did we have a final between two players aged under-35. This year, neither Selby nor any of the Class of 92 reached the one table setup. Ronnie and John Higgins were the “last standing” of that group and they bowed out in the QFs. This time, both finalists are in their early thirties, and, surely, nobody expected Jak Jones to make it that far. The season to come will be interesting. Will we see a clear “change of guard”? I do expect this to happen and it would be good for the future of the sport … and even if I dearly wish for Ronnie to get to 8 World Championships, I’m not harbouring too much hope. He will be 49 in December …
Those are the stats on Ronnie’s career and we, his fans, can’t complain… he’s given us plenty, and will probably give us some more. I will always support him, and I’m grateful for the countless great moments he’s created on the green baize.
There has been a change of mind by Barry Hearn as well regarding the Crucible. Only a couple of years ago he was adamant the the snooker was “there to stay”. No more so as this BBC article clearly shows:
Sheffield to ‘move heaven and earth’ for World Championship
Snooker’s World Championship could leave the theatre that has been its home since 1977
Sam Drury – BBC Sport journalist
7 May 2024
Barry Hearn believes “Sheffield City Council will move heaven and earth” to keep the World Snooker Championship in the city.
The Crucible, which only holds 980 spectators, has held snooker’s biggest event every year since 1977, but the current contract expires in 2027.
Hearn, the president of Matchroom Sport and former chairman of World Snooker Tour (WST), insisted that keeping the tournament in Sheffield is “what we all want”.
“The priority is to stay in the Steel City of Sheffield because it’s been our home for a long, long time,” he told BBC 5 Live Breakfast.
“Great moments. But we have a duty to everybody to listen. We listen to the fans, listen to the local people, we also listen to the players.
“The effect on prize money. We look at the conditions, and say the game has moved on, and deserves better than the current conditions.”
How the Crucible looked during the 2024 World Championship final
While Hearn’s desire to stay in Sheffield is now clear, he anticipates that doing so would require a change of venue.
Matchroom took over the running of WST in 2010, with Hearn at the helm until he stepped down as chairman in April 2021 at the age of 72.
He remains an influential figure in the running of snooker and ideally wants a new facility to be built to house the World Championship.
“I think it’s a new-build within the city. It can’t be an expansion of the Crucible. There isn’t enough space. The building is too small,” Hearn said.
“But I think there are other buildings that could be converted… but I need a venue to stress the importance of the event, the quality of the event.
“You can’t stick it in a leisure centre, and say ‘this is our World Championships’, just for the sake of another 1,000 [or] 1,500 tickets a session.“
Moving away from the Crucible would also be popular with some of the players, who have criticised conditions at the theatre.
“If you walk around the Crucible it smells really bad,” said Iran’s Hossein Vafaei.
“The practice room? Do you see anything special about it? It feels like I’m practising in a garage and that’s not good.”
Saudi Arabia has worked closely with Matchroom Sport to bring a number of high-profile major boxing events to the country. It also staged a first WST tournament in March – the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
“Should the World Championships stay in little old England? It’s a global sport, should it go round the world?” Hearn added.
“Should it sell out and go to where the biggest money is, as have so many sports? Some that I’ve been involved in.
“That’s not wrong – that’s just the progression of how the world’s changed.
“It’s a balance – but you can’t ignore the money, that would be unrealistic and silly to say we’re ignoring the money.
“But at the same time we have a duty of care to the sport, to make sure the great traditions stay with us as well.”
‘Zero interest in a breakaway tour‘
Hearn, who managed six-time world champion Steve Davis, dismissed the notion of a recently mooted breakaway tour to challenge WST.
“There’s no breakaway tour,” he said. “I don’t know why people talk about this.
“The players have got a bit more freedom now, outside of contract, where there isn’t a World Snooker contract, to have an event themselves.
“There is absolutely zero interest in a breakaway tour from any player.“
Judd Trump is one of a number of high-profile players to have ruled out joining such a tour, which has been likened to golf’s LIV breakaway venture.
The 1997 world champion Ken Doherty is sceptical that a rival series would gain any traction.
“I don’t see how a LIV-style snooker tour can survive and if it does and players want to do that, if that is what they want their legacy to be, good luck to them,” Doherty said.
“There are people throwing money at the top players, but is that the legacy they want? Playing in an exhibition tour rather than something meaningful?
“It is not going to encourage people to get into the game by playing on an exhibition tour just to increase your bank balance.“
There is no breakaway tour, but the newly crowned World Champion, Kyren Wilson, has recently admitted on social media that if he was approached to play in high profile, highly paid, exhibitions he would consider it. And why not? They are self-employed, the players. Legacy doesn’t pay the bills, nor does it put food in the plates of family.
And then, of course, both Paul Collier and Rolf Kalb have announced their retirement. In the case of Paul, he will still work as tournament director, but not as a referee. I’m wishing them both the very best in whatever they do in the future.
And finally … to answer the question asked in comments, yes, Ronnie will do exhibitions in China.
This was posted on Weibo: “During the second half of May, Luoyang, Chengdu, Kunshan et Shanghai will organise four exhibition tournaments, and O’Sullivan will play in all four ! Ding Junhui will feature in Luoyang et Chengdu” (translated automatically and made a bit more readable by me…)
In many ways it reminded me of the 2016 final between Ding and Selby. In that final as well Ding was playing in his firs Crucible Final and a had a nightmare first session, just like Jak on Sunday. He too fought with all he had and the match ended 18-14 to Mark Selby.
Having won the first seven frames during the opening session on Sunday, Wilson was able to nurse his advantage to the winning post, and although tenacious Jones fought hard, he couldn’t narrow the gap to less than three. By coming from 17-11 to 17-14 he created an exciting finish, but it proved too little, too late. Wilson’ s scoring was impressive throughout, making four centuries and eight more breaks over 50 as he joined the exclusive group of players to have captured the sport’s biggest prize.
Soon after he first appeared at the Crucible a decade ago, Wilson stated with confidence that he would come back and win the title one day. Sheffield has not always been a happy hunting ground for the Warrior and he has suffered a few heavy defeats, notably an 18-8 reverse against Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2020 final, and a 13-2 humbling at the hands of John Higgins a year ago. But his self-belief has never wavered and the 32-year-old from Kettering now has the ultimate reward.
The father-of-two’s success is inspiring given that his wife Sophie and younger son Bailey have suffered serious health problems within the last year. Inevitably Wilson’s form suffered and he had previously appeared in just one ranking event semi-final this season. But he has handled adversity with resolve, and will take immense pride in celebrating with his close-knit family including brother Taylor and parents Rob and Sonya who have sacrificed so much since his junior days.
During a 10-1 annihilation of Dominic Dale in the opening round, Wilson showed that he was among the form players in the field, and he went on the score comfortable wins over Joe O’Connor, Higgins and David Gilbert to reach his second Crucible final. His patchy results this season have belied the fact that his break-building is a good as ever – only Judd Trump has made more centuries. Across this event he made eight centuries and 44 more breaks over 50; such prolific scoring coupled with a strong tactical game and ability to handle any situation with a cool temperament have made him the outstanding player of this year’s Championship.
It’s a sixth ranking title for Wilson and first since the 2022 European Masters, and his first Triple Crown success. Banking the top prize of £500,000, he jumps nine places up the rankings to a career high position of third.
World number 44 Jones would have been the longest-odds ever winner of the title having started the qualifiers as a 200-1 outsider. The 30-year-old Welshman won two matches to make it to the televised stages. Enjoying his time in the spotlight, he has broken new ground in his career, highlighted by a quarter-final victory over Judd Trump, but in the end coming from 7-0 down in the final was too much to ask. Jones misses out on becoming only the second qualifier, after Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy, to lift the trophy. But having appeared in his first ranking final, the £200,000 prize boosts him 30 places to number 14, as he joins the elite top 16 for the first time.
Going into the final session 15-10 ahead, Wilson soon extended his lead, winning a safety battle on the last red and clearing the table in frame 26. Cwmbran’s Jones hit back with a 105, his first century of the match, for 16-11. He also had chances in frame 28, missing a short range red to a top corner when leading 46-37. He later cleared the colours to force a respotted black, but then failed to convert a clear chance to a baulk corner, and Wilson fluked the black off three cushions to go six up with seven to play.
Spurred on by the Crucible crowd, Jones gained momentum with a run of 67 for 17-12. In the next he made a bold attempt at a maximum break, potting 12 reds with blacks for 96 before a tough 13th red along a side cushion stayed on the baize. The fight-back gathered pace when he took a scrappy 31st frame to close to 17-14.
Trailing 29-4 in the 32nd, Jones went for a double to a centre pocket, and was unlucky to see the red hit the jaw and bounce into a pottable position in baulk. This was Wilson’s chance, and his match-winning break of 42 was the most important of his career. Tears were soon flowing as he embraced his family on the arena floor.
“I have dreamed of this since I was six years old,” said Wilson. “To win it with all my family there was just how I imagined it. Jack fought and made it so hard for me, it was tough to hold it all together. In the last frame I just kept potting balls and suddenly I had potted match ball and I was World Champion. It means everything.
“I was gutted to lose the final to Ronnie in 2020 and if that had been my only final I would have been heart-broken. I remember being drained in the first session of that final. This time I felt great, and when I saw Jak I thought he might struggle, I knew that was the moment to kick on. From 7-0 I knew I just had to avoid losing a session heavily, and to keep making it hard for him.”
Preparation, diet and fitness – managed by his brother – have been key for Wilson. “I am sick to death of salmon!” he joked. “I’m having a kebab and a few beers tonight! I have slept really well throughout the tournament and that is important. I believe I can be a multiple World Champion – hopefully the first one is the hardest to win.“
Jones said: “I left myself with too much to do from 7-0. After my semi-final on Saturday night I didn’t get back to the hotel until 1am, and didn’t sleep at all that night. I felt flat yesterday in the first session, though Kyren came out flying and would probably have beaten me anyway. If I could have got to 17-15 tonight I might have had a chance, he might have started twitching. But I was just too far behind.
“I am proud to have got this far without playing that well, it has been my B or C game most of the time. So to beat some of the best players and get so close to the title gives me a lot of confidence. I have learned a lot about how to handle this event and I believe I can come back and win it. Being in the top 16 now is a major plus and I want to build on that.”
At the end of the first day of the 2025 World Snooker Championship Final, Kyren Wilson leads Jak Jones by 11-6. Comfortable? You would think so if you didn’t watch the first two sessions yesterday. But …
Jak Jones started in the worst possible way allowing Kyren to lead by 7-0, but, crucially, he managed to win the last frame of the session, punching the air as he left the arena. That still left him in a dire situation but as he was walking on his way out, his facial expression and demeanour were not those of a beaten man. He looked fired up!
Kyren Wilson stormed to a 7-1 lead over Jak Jones after the first session of the Cazoo World Championship final.
The Warrior is competing in his second Crucible final, having been runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2020. On that occasion he fell 8-2 down during an eventual 18-8 defeat. This time around Wilson himself has seized the early initative.
Jones has enjoyed a fairytale run to the title match. He began the event as a 200-1 outsider, but has upset the odds to defeat the likes of Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham to make the final. A big turnaround will now be required if he is to land another shock win over Wilson.
The opening frame saw Wilson drill in a long red and make a break of 129 to lay down an early marker and lead 1-0. Both players had opportunities in each of the next two frames, but it was Jones who made the critical mistakes and he was ruthlessly punished as Wilson moved 3-0 up.
The Kettering cueman then crafted runs of 66, 62, 125 and 90 to win a further four on the bounce and lead 7-0. It’s the first time anyone has led by that scoreline in a world final since John Parrott over Jimmy White in 1991.
Jak Jones came back fighting indeed! He managed to win the very hard fought second session by 5-4. That means he still trails by 11-6. Of course it’s a huge deficit but Kyren will know that he can’t relax and start thinking about his winner’s speech just yet (Hey Jimmy …) because it could have easily been 10-7. The last frame of the session was pure drama and Jak will be fuming that he lost it as he was well ahead in that crucial frame, and lost it on the final black … here is the end of that session …
Kyren Wilson won a crucial last frame of the second session of the Cazoo World Championship final against Jak Jones to lead 11-6 overnight.
Jones had earlier trailed 7-0, the worst start to a world final since John Parrott took the first seven frames against Jimmy White in 1991. Tenacious Jones looked set to reduce his arrears to 10-7, but lost a black ball battle as Wilson finished the first day of the final with a five-frame cushion. They return at 1pm on Monday for eight more frames, ahead of the concluding session from 7pm.
Wilson needs seven of the last 18 frames to win snooker’s biggest prize for the first time, while Jones would need the biggest final-day come-back in Crucible history to get to 18 first.
Welshman Jones took the first two frames of the session with breaks of 75 and 52 to close to 7-3. World number 12 Wilson responded with 125 and 60 to lead 9-3 at the interval. Jones, ranked 44th, got the better of frame 13 but Wilson hit back with a 122, his fourth century of the final and eighth of the tournament.
A cracking long pot on the fourth-last red set Jones up to take frame 15, and in the next he made 90, his highest break of the match so far, to close to 10-6. The last frame of the session looked to be going the way of Jones when his break of 64 put him 29 points ahead with just the colours left, only for Wilson to get the snooker he needed on the yellow. It came down to a long safety exchange on the final black, and Jones went for a risky double to a baulk corner but narrowly missed, handing Wilson the chance to extend his lead.
The Kettering cueman punched the air as he left the arena, as he remains on track to become the 23rd player to lift the famous trophy at the Crucible.
Note that if the match finishes late, I will not be able to report on today’s outcome and action until tomorrow late afternoon. I’m going to travel to Sheffield for the 2024 Seniors World Snooker Championship and will need to get up very early… so, no late night for me today. I’m an old gal… 😴
Ronnie O'Sullivan 