Jimmy and Ronnie were yesterday in London, at an event organised by Discovery/Eurosport UK promoting the Home Nations Series that starts next week with the English Open 2017. They played a few frames against each other, just exhibition stuff but clearly enjoyed by the audience, Andy Goldstein, the MC on the day, and the players.
Here are a few pictures, and the video that was shared by Eurosport UK, live, on Facebook. Enjoy!
Ronnie O’Sullivan to return to Lincoln – how you can see the ‘The Rocket’ in action
The five-time world champion hit a 147 during his previous appearance in the city
Dean Christopher
12:02, 10 OCT 2017
Ronnie O’Sullivan during this year’s World Championships at the Crucible in Sheffield
Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan will return to Lincoln early next year to play two nights of exclusive exhibitions.
The five-time world champion, known as ‘The Rocket’, will perform at the city’s Drill Hall venue over the weekend of February 10 and 11.
Regarded by many as the greatest player the game has ever seen, O’Sullivan played a hugely successful sell-out show last May at The Venue on the Bishop Grosseteste University campus.
In a stunning display of snooker brilliance, the reigning Masters champion made seven centuries, including a magical maximum 147 break.
Ronnie O’Sullivan during his appearance in Lincoln earlier this year
This time around, O’Sullivan will take on local players on both evenings, with the added bonus of a specially arranged question-and-answer session on the Sunday night.
MC for the weekend will be 1979 UK Champion and BBC commentator John Virgo, while former World Snooker referee Michaela Tabb will oversee the action on the table.
The exhibitions are again being organised by Nigel Coton – in association with Snooker Legends’ brand creator Jason Francis – and he is delighted to be bringing O’Sullivan back to the city
“He is pure Box Office and it is fantastic to bring ‘The Rocket’ back to Lincoln for true local snooker fans,” said Coton.
“As the BG night was a sell-out we decided to have two consecutive shows this time around, making it a Ronnie snooker extravaganza weekend.”
After raising £1,147 from donating surplus proceeds at the previous O’Sullivan show for World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS), Coton will be doing the same with the excess this time around.
“It is important to myself and my wife Ali to support the WDBS again,” he added.
There are a wide range of ticket price options for the Ronnie O’Sullivan evenings, including a limited number of discounted tickets for wheelchair guests and their companions.
VIP tables are also available. To book or for further information, visit www.lincolndrillhall.com or call 01522 873894.
Nigel Coton is a – very good disabled player himself and a regular at WDBS events.
Circumstances permitting, I will be there taking pictures both days.
Tickets are still available for the English Open and the current ‘Barmy Barnsley’ special offer has all-day tickets available for just £5 for the first four days (October 16-19) – the best value for money in the world of sport! This offer will finish soon so book now! For all details and to book seats CLICK HERE
All of snooker’s top stars are set to compete in the world ranking event. Matches to look out for in the first round include:
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ian Burns or Zhang Anda (Tuesday not before 7pm*) Judd Trump v Robbie Williams (Monday 1pm) Mark Selby v Scott Donaldson (Tuesday 1pm) Shaun Murphy v Soheil Vahedi (Monday not before 8pm) Neil Robertson v Billy Joe Castle (Tuesday not before 8pm) John Higgins v Elliot Slessor (Monday not before 7pm) Mark Allen v Jimmy White (Monday afternoon) Liang Wenbo v Duane Jones (Monday afternoon) Ding Junhui v Chris Keogan (Tuesday afternoon) Luca Brecel v Ryan Day (Tuesday 1pm)
The Eurosport-televised event will see players competing for a top prize of £70,000 and the Steve Davis Trophy. And the winner will go into the second Home Nations event of the season with a chance to land a £1 million bonus if he can win further titles in Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.
With all 128 players in action over the first two days (Monday October 16 and Tuesday October 17) and with seven tables in the arena, it’s a fantastic chance for fans to see many of their heroes in action for the price of a single ticket.
* Please note that we previously advertised Ronnie O’Sullivan’s first match as 7pm on Monday evening and John Higgins as 7pm on Tuesday evening, and these two matches have now been swapped. This is because one of the preliminary ties (Ian Burns v Zhang Anda) was drawn to play O’Sullivan in round one, so the preliminary match will be played on Monday and the round one match will be played on Tuesday. Where possible, we avoid scheduling any player to play two matches on the same day, unless it is the same for both players.
In other news Rolf Kalb said on twitter that the Shanghai Master will not be shown on the Eurosport player at all, neither the qualifiers, nor the main event. That’s a big, big shame. There will probably be a streaming in China (I only guess), but we know how unreliable this is through their firewall, and we have to hope it’s not regionaly restricted as was the Hong Kong Masters
Ronnie will first play on Monday 30 October in the evening (local time, i.e. afternoon in Europe). His opponent will be either Yan Bingtao or Wang Yuchen.
Last week-end Ronnie was in the Sheffield area for a series of 3 events, where he spoke about his life as a sportsperson. On Sunday he also did an exhibition where he played, and beat, 8 amateurs. He had two consecutive centuries and one maximum attempt. Going by the comments on twitter all events were highly appreciated.
Here are a few images:
Ronnie loves Sheffield: he feels that he belongs there as an “adopted Northerner” and has many friends in the city. One of them has a barge on Victoria Quays and, apparently, Ronnie tried to convert him to his new diet, cooking salmon and sweet potatoes in the oven for him.
That’s only a small item in the flow of tweets he shared over the week-end. He took a lot of time interacting with the fans, very nicely, touching all sorts of subjects. Maybe the most interesting part was what he said about his stance about snooker. He definitely wants to play, but isn’t that happy with the players contract. Rings a bell? 2012/13? Basically, Ronnie’s opinion, and his agent (*) position, are that if players are asked to do things outside playing, that brings value to Worldsnooker, they should get something for it, and, of course, that top players shouldn’t need to qualify. No problem with starting at last 128, but at the venue.
(*) asked if his agent is Jason Francis, Ronnie’s answer was no. Jason does manage him, whenever someone asks how they can possibly organise an exhibition or get some support for a charity, Ronnie always points them to Jason. But there is someone else in charge of contractual matters obviously.
The 2017 World Snooker Shanghai Masters will be held at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium from 13th to 18th November, 2017.
This world ranking event has a great reputation, having been staged for ten consecutive years since it was first held 2007. China’s top player Ding Junhui won the title for the second time last year when he beat Mark Selby in the final. Other former winners include Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Selby. Once again an extremely strong field of the world’s best players is expected.
Many top players have named the Shanghai Masters among their favourite tournaments on snooker’s global calendar. And the snooker fans in Shanghai are known for their enthusiasm and passion for the sport.
The 2017 World Snooker Shanghai Masters is hosted by the Multi-ball Games Administrative Center of General Administration of Sports of China, Shanghai Administration of Sports, People’s Government of Xuhui District, organized by Shanghai Juss Sports Development (Group) Co.,Ltd, Great Sports Co.,Ltd, and promoted by Shanghai Juss Event Management Co., Ltd. The tournament will take place as a result of active consultation and innovation from the Jiushi Sports Group, World Snooker Limited and the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association. The event forms part of the overall transformation plans for Xujiahui Sports Park, while ensuring that this ten-year-old tournament continues its prestigious history.
The 2017 World Snooker Shanghai Masters will have more players than previous stagings of the event, with at least 64 players at the final venue. With the event played over six days, it will be an intense schedule with fierce competition. A qualifying round will be staged in England from October 11-13, with players needing to win one match to make it to the final venue.
The total prize money will be £700,000, an increase of 50 per cent compared to last season. The champion will receive £150,000, equalling the record for the biggest prize paid at a ranking event staged outside the UK.
Jiushi Sports Group will continue to build and develop the reputation of the Shanghai Masters, working together with WSL and CBSA on the future vision. Meeting the demand of snooker fans throughout China and worldwide, the event’s influence will be expanded globally.
Tickets are on sale now with very affordable prices, fans can call the ticket hotline: (86) 021-64265678.
The event has launched a new WeChat Micro-blog for “the Snooker Shanghai Masters” with fans welcome to get involved. Fans can also log on to the official website for more information: http://www.snookershanghai.com
Shanghai Masters former champions: 2007 Dominic Dale 2008 Ricky Walden 2009 Ronnie O’Sullivan 2010 Ali Carter 2011 Mark Selby 2012 John Higgins 2013 Ding Junhui 2014 Stuart Bingham 2015 Kyren Wilson 2016 Ding Junhui
I was fortunate to attend the event in 2012. I have fantastic memories from the event, the place and the people. I’m very happy to see it continue, and continue as a best-of-9 event too. I would have prefered it to keep the tiered structure that made it a distinctive event, but … It’s a very well attended event too, from the start, something that isn’t the norm in Chinese events.
Many of the world’s best snooker players will be at Robin Park in Wigan for the qualifying round, and you can watch them in action for FREE!
Robin Park will host the qualifying round of the Shanghai Masters world ranking event from Wednesday October 11 until Friday October 13. Over 120 players will be competing across eight tables, with each needing to win one match to earn a place in the final stages in China next month.
Fans just need to collect wristbands on the day of the event from the main reception desk for entry. No reservations for tickets can be made, tickets are first come first served on the day. Matches will commence from 10am, tickets available from 9.30am. For any further information relating to this event, contact Robin Park on 01942 828 550.
It’s good to see that sometimes they listen to the players… maybe. Neil Robertson suggested that the qualifiers should be free for people to watch and these are.
In the last 128 round, Ronnie will play Chris Keogan on Friday October 13 in the afternoon.
Judd Trump has defended a ranking title for the first time in his career, winning the 888sport European Masters thanks to a thrilling 9-7 defeat of Stuart Bingham in Lommel.
Trump recorded a stunning 9-8 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan to lift the title a year ago. 12 months later and the Ace in the Pack found himself in the final once again. He faced a repeat of the Welsh Open final from earlier in the year, which he narrowly lost to Bingham. On this occasion it was the 28-year-old Trump who came out on top.
Victory and the £75,000 top prize has helped world number four Trump to close the gap on third placed John Higgins in the rankings. It’s the eighth ranking crown of Trump’s career and sees him move ahead of Shaun Murphy to 12th in the list of most titles won.
Judd Trump’s Ranking Event Wins
2017 European Masters
2017 Players Championship
2016 European Masters
2016 China Open
2014 Australian Open
2012 International Championship
2011 UK Championship
2011 China Open
Bingham will rue relinquishing his 4-2 advantage this afternoon, when the ended the first session level at 4-4. However, the 2015 World Champion can reflect on his best tournament showing of the season and the £35,000 second prize.
The evening session was played at thunderous pace, with both players going blow to blow with big breaks. Bingham was first to fire in a sublime century run of 130, before Trump restored parity at 5-5 with a contribution of 107.
The Ace in the Pack claimed the following two frames to gain a two frame cushion at the mid-session, leading 7-5.
However, Bingham dug deep to win consecutive frames and level once more at 7-7. From there Trump powered to the line, winning the fifteenth frame before signing off in style with a run of 107.
Afterwards a delighted Trump immediately set his sights on further glory at next week’s English Open in Barnsley.
The eight-time ranking event winner said: “It would be nice to win two tournaments in a row, that is another aim of mine. I want to do as well as possible in every tournament and try to win as many big events as I can.
“I think it took me a few games to get used to being back out there, as I haven’t played much season. I wasn’t quite match sharp the first few games and I grew into the tournament. I played very well in the semi-final and that set me up for today. Stuart played great and maybe even better than me. I managed to stick in there and get to the interval at 4-4.
“Winning this tournament last year gave me a good incentive to defend the title. Now I have got that off my back I can set myself new targets for the rest of the season.”
Bingham was disappointed not to lift his second ranking silverware of the calendar year and felt he was playing well enough to be in the frame for the title.
“I came out today and had three century breaks. I felt really comfortable,” said the 2015 World Champion.”There were about four frames that could have gone either way. He just had the run at the right time. I snookered him a couple of times and he got the snooker back. In the end it has finished 9-7, but I have to try to take the positives.”
The Eurosport-televised event will see players competing for a top prize of £70,000 and the Steve Davis Trophy. And the winner will go into the second Home Nations event of the season with a chance to land a £1 million bonus if he can win further titles in Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.
Judd Trump has defended a ranking title for the first time in his career, winning the 888sport European Masters thanks to a thrilling 9-7 defeat of Stuart Bingham in Lommel.
The Ace in the Pack claimed the following two frames to gain a two frame cushion at the mid-session, leading 7-5.
Bingham was disappointed not to lift his second ranking silverware of the calendar year and felt he was playing well enough to be in the frame for the title.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 