Walking the slippers of Humphrey Bogart

April 9, 2016April 10, 2016 Monique Snooker Legends event Snooker Legends

Ronnie is playing Jimmy White tonight in Casablance, and it’s a first in North Africa, as Jason Francis, the promoter, continues to bring snooker and entertainment to new audiences.

This show was initially scheduled on March 12, but Ronnie’s Welsh Open win meant he was eligible for the Grand Prix, so this was rescheduled.

Pictures posted on twitter by Ronnie and Jason

The gang arrived yesterday and they love it. I must say that Morrocan hospitality is simply fantastic. Everyone is very friedly and helpful. Ronnie was offered a pair of slippers but I’m not sure he’s using them the expected way!

Anyway, here is his reaction on Facebook:

In Casablanca to play jimmy in first legends show in North Africa. Friendly welcome, enjoying the tea. Play at megarama tomorrow, tickets sales at megarama 0670929292

World Championship 2016 – The Draws

April 5, 2016 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

Yesterday, WPBSA made the draw and formay for the qualifiers for the World Championship 2016.

Click here for the draw

Click here for the format

The draw and format for the television stage, at the Crucible, are also available.

I must say that I don’t like Ronnie’s schedule at all. He will play his first match on Sunday, 17 April and Monday 18 April, with a morning session finish. Then, provided he wins, he has a big gap and is on again on Saturday, Sunday and Monday – 23, 24 and 25 April – and his final session is the last of the last 16 round. Quarters are played on 26 and 27 April, and, again, if Ronnie is still in it, he has the two last sessions on the trot to finish the round. Should he reach the semi finals, again, he will play in the last session of the round. That’s about the worst possible schedule anyone can get! In particulat, having two sessions on the trot in the QF to finish, and then the late SF finish, is due to leave the player very tired at the start of the final.

Click here for the Crucible draw

Click here for the Crucible format

World Championship 2016 – Prelude …

April 4, 2016October 10, 2019 Monique Eurosport, Professional snooker tournament Eurosport, Professional snooker

Today, we will know the draw of the World Chapionship qualifiers; they will start on Wednesday, 6 April 2016, in Ponds Forge, only a few hundred meters away from the Crucible Theatre. Who will be there on April 16?

Worldsnooker will make the draw, publicly, on their youtube channel, at 11 am (UK time) today.

Meanwhile, we can enjoy this Eurosport trailer …

MissingClip 2016 WSC: trailer (Eurosport)

And Ronnie’s colours challenge:

2016 WSC: Ronnie O’Sullivan’s colours challenge

GOAT debate?

MissingClip 2016 WSC: Ronnie on the GOAT (Eurosport)

The Snooker Titans Trophy – 3 April 2016

April 4, 2016 Monique Snooker exhibition, Snooker Legends event Exhibition, Snooker Legends

After weeks posting about fitness, healty food, etc. … Ronnie was in a somewhat strange mood at the end of the first day, judging by his tweets:

This last image, posted a copuple of hours after the firt two tweets, looks very much like the Japanese grill here at the restaurant, and was quoted “Have some of that beauty!” …
Well I suppose everyone needs to vent at times, but apparently he was back on tracks pretty quickly. Phew!!!

More seriously, it was another great day of snooker, here in Bucharest. Jimmy White beat Stephen Hendry by 6-3 (if I remember correctly), Mark Williams beat Ronnie by 6-4 in the final. But the results aren’t that important, what is, is that both matches were high quality affairs, very entertaining, with all players playing well and going for their shots fearmlessly.

I was glad to see Stephen play much better that the previous day; he still missed a few, but he also got some crazy ones. Jimmy just like the day before was solid and scoring well.

Ronnie was beaten but, honestly, I can’t remember him missing any easy shot all match; he missed a difficult long one, a tricky one in the middle back, and was unlucky with the split a couple of times… it’s all it took for “Willo” to beat him. Because Mark was unreal, expescially after the interval, you just knew he wasn’t going to miss. Living to his nickname, the Welsh Potting Machine, to the full. Ronnie lead 3-1, was pegged back 3-3, lead 4-3 … and from then he barely had a shot! Super Mark!

Here are images, I (Monique Limbos) took yesterday. Enjoy!

More pictures can be found on the facebook album.

Huge thanks to the organisers, this was just fantastic, and even bigger thanks to the Romanian crowds. They were unbelievable!

Now find Ronnie in this one, yes, he’s signing autographs, and, yes, he came out in one piece!

The Snooker Titans Trophy – 2 April 2016

April 3, 2016April 3, 2016 Monique Snooker exhibition, Snooker Legends event Exhibition, Snooker Legends

Ronnie is back in the Globus Circus, in Bucharest, this time with Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams. This exhibition is played over two days, as a mini tournament.

Yesterday, in the semi finals, Mark Williams beat Stephen Hendy by 6-2, whilst Ronnie beat Jimmy White by 6-4. We had four centuries: 105 and 111 by “Willo”, 105 by Jimmy and 110 by Ronnie plus a few other big breaks.

Mark Williams had little trouble to beat Stephen Hendry, who, to be honest, is really struggling nowadays. It’s obvious that he’s not practising snooker much anymore.

Ronnie ran to a 5-1 lead, before Jimmy came back to 5-4. Both were playing well and if Jimmy can bring the game he has in exhibitions, into competition, he’s still a force.

Earlier yesterday, the players met the press, and the fans who were able to get autographs.

Here are some pictures – taken by me, Monique Limbos – of Ronnie and Jimmy in action, yesterday evening

Today, in the late afternoon, Jimmy will play Stephen, for the 3rd and 4th places, whilst Ronnie will play Mark in the final, later in the evening.

All yesterday pictures are on my Facebook page in the event album

Race to the Crucible – 3 April 2016

April 3, 2016April 3, 2016 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

With just one match to be played, today, before the World Championship, the seeding of the top 16 players is now decided, as Matt Huart explains in his WPBSA blog :

Seeding List Set For Sheffield

2nd April 2016 – 6:28pm

Following the conclusion of the semi-finals of the China Open today, the seeding list for the 2016 Betfred World Championship has now been set.

Wins for Ricky Walden and Judd Trump in Beijing mean that they move to fifth and ninth places respectively and now cannot climb higher, irrespective of the outcome of tomorrow’s final.

As well as knowing who the top 16 will be (all have confirmed their entry for the year’s biggest tournament), we now also know how they will each be placed into the draw for the Crucible, with top seeded Stuart Bingham set to face the 16th seed in the second round, 2 v 15 and so on.

The draw will therefore be as follows:

Stuart Bingham (1) / Qualifier

Stephen Maguire (16) / Qualifier

Ricky Walden (9) / Qualifier

John Higgins (8) / Qualifier

————————————

Judd Trump (5) / Qualifier

Martin Gould (12) / Qualifier

Mark Williams (13) / Qualifier

Neil Robertson (4) / Qualifier

————————————

Shaun Murphy (3) / Qualifier

Marco Fu (14) / Qualifier

Barry Hawkins (11) / Qualifier

Ronnie O’Sullivan (6) / Qualifier

————————————

Mark Allen (7) / Qualifier

Joe Perry (10) / Qualifier

Michael White (15) / Qualifier

Mark Selby (2) / Qualifier

As we have learned many times previously, inevitably there will be opening round shocks, not least with the likes of Ali Carter and Ding Junhui potentially involved this year, however it is always interesting to look ahead to potential second week matches.

Before today we were on course for a quarter-final encounter between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson, but Judd Trump’s victory means that he now switches places with O’Sullivan in the draw and so could face Robertson in a repeat of their 2014 quarter-final at the Crucible.

The qualifiers get underway next Wednesday from Ponds Forge, Sheffield, with the draw set to be made at 11:00am Monday morning live on the World Snooker YouTube channel.

In fact being overtaken by Judd Trump in the ranking might prove a blessing in disguise for Ronnie as he is now “away” from Judd Trump, Neil Robertson and John Higgins; he can only meet them in the final.

Of course, he’s in the same half as Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby, but he has a very good record over Shaun, and going by their last encounters I have a feeling that he’s over his mental block against Mark Selby, having realised, during the last UK Championship, that Mark isn’t playing any different when he faces other guys, and, that he’s also a very, very good player. In fact Ronnie has turned into a Selby fan, believe it or not.

Anyway … bring it on!

Ladies time -WLBSA World Champs -The Doubles

April 1, 2016 Monique Snooker Snooker

Yesterday saw the start of the Eden Resources Ladies World Championship 2016, with the Ladies Doubles. The reigning World Champion, On Yee Ng had a good start as she won the Ladies Doubles with her partner (in snooker) Katrina Wan.

I was at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds where it happens, and you can see all the pictures in the day’s album . All results, and a link to the livestream (yes! there is one!) can be found on the WLBSA website . Today it’s the mixed doubles… more pictures to come!

Ronnie also has been busy yesterday, doing some filming with Andy Goldstein for his next ES show.