International Championship 2016 – Prelude

Video October 22, 2016May 7, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

The International Championship 2016 will start tomorrow morning (in the very early hours for us in Europe) and, as usual in China, the players were made very welcome, with goodies and a “red carpet” ceremony, only this time it was indoors – it’s snowing in Daqing – and it seems the carpet, if any, wasn’t red …

Anyway, Ronnie duly arrived in Daqing and was “paired” with Ding for the ceremony.

Here are a few pictures of the ceremony posted on Weibo:

and a video shared by Worldsnooker on social media

Ronnie also met the local media (picture: Worldsnooker on twitter)

and a glimpse at the goodies, thanks to David Grace on Twitter:

Daqing is close to the northern border of China and is well-known to scientists for its mammoths. Not sure they played snooker though … but it’s a cute mascot.

The tournament starts tomorrow, and Ronnie’s first match, against the dangerous Xiao Guodong, is scheduled on Monday evening ( midday in Europe).

A day in the life …

October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 Monique Live Live

… of Ronnie O’ Sullivan in China, today,

He was in the news for his charity work ♥

but later exposed by his manager for committing a foul in yesterday’s exhibition! Ô the shame !

had some practice maybe ???

was interviewed by the English Open Champion ≤≥

… before and after what both interviewed and interviewer were recruited to ferry the above mentioned manager in a very fancy car !!!

he met some fans (well at least one!)

and finally ruined his diet (but enjoyed that bite it seems!)

All these very serious news and pictures being brought to you by the (returning) C.I.A. – Craze Infusion Agency – operating all around the Internet and (sometimes) on Photoshop

BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!

Oh boy!

Pictures sources: twitter, FB, weibo

In the news in China today …

October 21, 2016 Monique Charity, Media, News Media

This article has been published today in the Chinese media

Snooker superstars donate to Chinese welfare

By Chen Boyuan

China.org.cn, October 21, 2016

Ronnie O’Sullivan confirms his attendance in the snooker International Championship 2016 on Oct. 20, 2016 in Beijing. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]

International snooker superstars, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Stephen Maguire, alongside top local players Liang Wenbo and Marco Fu, donated billiards facilities to an art school for Tibetan orphans in the suburb of Beijing on Thursday.

The donation from these elite players supports the effort to promote billiards-related social welfare in China under the plan of a newly established Billiards Fund program operated under the prestigious China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF).

English snooker player O’Sullivan donated three million yuan (US$444,868) to the fund which is jointly initiated by China Television Sports and Entertainment Company (CTSE), which operates China Central Television’s CCTV 5 sports channel and Guoyu Media in the city of Daqing.

O’Sullivan encouraged Tibetan students to succeed in life despite their difficulties. He was later joined by Higgins, Maguire and Liang to stage exhibition matches for the students while teaching them basic snooker skills.

O’Sullivan also confirmed his participation in the upcoming snooker International Championship 2016, and took the chance to explain that his absence in the tournament last year was due to personal “fatigue issues,” adding that the China tournament was not the only one he skipped last year. He will also serve as a consultant to help with the tournament’s promotion, according to a statement.

The International Championship in China is one of the most prestigious world ranking events. It immediately became the richest snooker tournament ever staged outside the United Kingdom when it was introduced in 2012 with a top prize of 125,000 British pounds.

Judd Trump won the inaugural title in the city of Chengdu. Home favorite Ding Junhui then won it in 2013, followed by Ricky Walden in 2014. In 2015, the event moved to Daqing for the first time and was won by John Higgins.

Apart from the abovementioned players that made the charity trip, Trump, Neil Robertson, and the current world No. 1 Mark Selby, as well as over 10 Chinese players have confirmed their attendance for the tournament to be held in Daqing from Oct. 23 to 30.

Busy day in China for Ronnie

October 20, 2016October 20, 2016 Monique Media, News Media, News

Ronnie arrived yesterday in China and the least we can say is that he’s been kept very busy!

He was welcomed by LE TV, a major sport channel at their headquarters but from what I understood from weibo, it was a lot about music. He met the fans, signed autographs and did a bit of coaching too …

He also took part in the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation Billiards Charity Fund launch ceremony, held in one of Soong Ching Ling former residences in Beijing. WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson was present as well.

Of course Ronnie is in China primarily for the International Championship 2016 and he is due to do some work for the sponsor as well as playing. The tournament starts on Sunday and Ronnie’s first match, a last 64 against Xia Guodong, is scheduled on Monday evening (local time, hence afternoon in Europe).

Pictures source: weibo.

Ronnie personally donated 300 000$ to the Charity fund.

and he shared this on weibo:

Very proud day announcing my work with the Soong Ching Ling foundation

Bad news … again.

October 19, 2016October 19, 2016 Monique Media Media

NO, it’s not about Ronnie, no he hasn’t withdrawn from the International Championship … in fact he’s already in China where he was made very welcome

and even played some snooker it seems, in a very nice club.

So, no, the bad news is about youtube and specifically snooker videos on youtube.

You may have seen that most of the matches videos I embedded on this site are now – again – disabled. This is because Eurosport has claimed that (at least) two of the main accounts that were offering snooker videos, Snooker Planet and Snooker For All, are violating their rights and asked for them to be taken down.

Now, whilst it is true that those videos were made and published without their permission, it is also true that those channels were providing a service that Eurosport DOES NOT provide, a library and archive service and I fail to see how their existence is hurting their business.

OK, some persons will be happy to watch the matches with a few hours delay for free, rather than pay for the ES player, or Eurosport, and watch them live. But true fans will want to watch them live whenever they get the opportunity and will pay for the player and/or Eurosport. For the record I pay for both.

On the other hand, even the most dedicated fan can’t always watch every match live, some times life comes in the way of snooker. For instance, last week, I was in SWSA in Gloucester, promoting snooker by taking and publishing pictures of the Open Disability Snooker Championship 2016 and I watched the English Open on youtube, later in evenings, or the next morning. In the future I may be forced to chose between promoting the sport I love and watching it. Not happy! Also, when it comes to television, depending on you region Eurosoport might not show the snooker even when it’s on, the quality of commentary is sometimes very poor (it is terrible in French for instance) and they might not show the punditry or show only part of it with a very annoying voice over…

Moreover, people new to the game and interested in its history appreciate to watch matches from the past. An archive and library service contributes to build an educated fan base for the sport, a fan base that in turn will be ready to pay to watch their sport of choice in high quality and when it’s actually happening . The guys behind those channels were providing it for free, and Eurosport is not providing it at all. If all snooker videos were to disappear from youtube, new fans would never have the opportunity to watch the likes of Alex Higgins, Steve Davis or Stephen Hendry in action, except in the odd snippet during an MSI or the rare documentary.

I don’t think snooker is the winner here, nor do I think it’s a smart move commercially, image rights or not. I don’t believe they lose many customers because of such channels, in fact I believe those channels contribute to bring new people to the sport actually.

I want to insist that the above is my opinion and mine ONLY

As for the disabled videos, I will leave the links there for now, and try to find replacements for as many as them as I can … until they are clamped on again …

Liang Wenbo wins the English Open 2016

October 17, 2016October 11, 2019 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

Liang Wenbo beat Judd Trump by 9-6 to win the English Open 2016 in Manchester yesterday evening. The two produced a very high quality final. You can easily find the match on youtube if you wish to watch it. Here is the last frame, with Liang exhuberant celebration!

2016 English Open: Judd Trump – Liang Wenbo (final frame)

It was Liang first ranking title, and he was obviously overwhelmed with joy. As it transpired, over the last two years, Ronnie had been helping him … with the mental side of his game, which many will find rather ironic. The two are very close friends, often have lunch together and practice together. Liang was prone to lose his calm when it came to the latter stages of important matches but there was no sign of this during the semi final and the final the past week-end. It also transpired that both players were playing with new cues. This win earns Liang a spot in the Champion of Champions where he is due to play Mark Selby.

Judd Trump also deserves huge credit for what he did over the last three weeks. He won 14 matches in a row, won the European Open in Bucharest eight days ago, traveled back to the Manchester and immediately was at the table again and went on to reach the final. That asks for serious stamina and dedication.

Overall the tournament was excellent but a bit unusual. Probably because of the relentless schedule, a lot of the “big names” went out early: Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire, Marco Fu and Anthony Mc Gill lost as early as the last 64. The last 32 round saw even more unexpected “casualties”: Ronnie, Ding, Mark Allen, Neil Robertson, Ali Carter and Kyren Wilson all went out. John Higgins survived until the QF but played terrible. I can only see one reason for this: tiredness. Stuart Bingham on the other hand who had failed to qualify for the European Masters, reached the SF here, as did Barry Hawkins who went out early in Romania.

The final week-end though delivered three excellent matches; the second semi-final between Liang Wenbo and Stuart Bingham in particular was very high standard and went to a decider. Again you can easily find it on youtube.

The final week-end also saw Ronnie returning to the studio as a pundit for Eurosport.

Andy Goldstein, Jimmy White, Neal Foulds and Ronnie are doing an excellent job out there: they are providing intelligent and respectful analysis whilst being extremely entertaining at the same time. Here are a few snippets … enjoy!

MissingClip 2016 English Open: MSI of the Judd Trump – Barry Hawkins match

MissingClip 2016 English Open: review of the Judd Trump – Barry Hawkins SF match

MissingClip 2016 English Open: Stuart Bingham – Liang Wenbo (frames 5-6) with Ronnie commentary

MissingClip 2016 English Open: review of the Stuart Bingham – Liang Wenbo SF match

MissingClip 2016 English Open: review of the Judd Trump – Liang Wenbo Final (Session2)

English Open 2016 – Ronnie loses by 4-3 to Chris Wakelin in last 32

October 13, 2016March 25, 2020 Monique Professional snooker tournament Professional snooker

Ronnie’s run in the English Open 2016 came to an end at the hands of Chris Wakelin, with a 4-3 defeat. It was a really bad day in office for Ronnie, who looked out of sorts from the start, despite winning the first frame with a 110. His long potting wasn’t there, his positional play was approximative and he probably missed more ball in this match than he has done all last week and a half. He looked totally gutted and annoyed with himself and it certainly wasn’t a case of not wanting to be there or not caring. Maybe he was tired after last week’s efforts in Romania and a very tense and late match yesterday, we probably will never know. Anyway, Chris Wakelin was the better player, and held himself together when it mattered. He deserved the win and I can only say congratulations and good luck for the rest of the tournament.

And it could be a blessing in disguise: now he has a bit of time off to rest and refresh, see his family and get himself ready for the International Championship next week.

Here is the match:

2016 English Open: Ronnie O’Sullivan – Chris Wakelin

MissingClip 2016 English Open: review of the Ronnie O’Sullivan – Chris Wakelin match.

and the report by Worldsnooker:

Thursday 13 Oct 2016 02:45PM

World number 70 Chris Wakelin scored a surprise 4-3 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last 32 of the Coral English Open on Thursday afternoon.

A patchy display from five-time World Champion O’Sullivan means he now has no chance of winning the £1 million bonus on offer for any player winning all four Home Nations events.

Rugby’s 24-year-old Wakelin goes through to the last 16 to face Xiao Guodong tonight at Event City in Manchester (tickets for the last few days are still available, click here for details).

O’Sullivan started strongly with a break of 110 in the first frame and added the second to lead 2-0. But Wakelin fought back to win three in a row with top runs of 106 and 59. He looked set to make a winning clearance in frame six until he missed match-ball pink on 63, allowing O’Sullivan to make it 3-3.

Wakelin led 47-0 in the decider when he missed a simple black, but O’Sullivan’s response had only reached 7 when he rattled a red in the jaws of a top corner. That was his last shot as Wakelin added 22 to seal the best win of his career.