The draw for the 2021 Betfred World Championship has been made with World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan being pitted against Crucible debutant Mark Joyce.
The Rocket will step out on Saturday morning at 10am to begin his 2021 campaign against world number 46 Joyce, who will be appearing at the Theatre of Dreams for the first time in his career after 15 years as a professional.
World number one Judd Trump has been drawn against Liam Highfield, who made his Crucible debut in 2018. Trump, the 2019 World Champion, has notched up five ranking titles this season. Highfield beat world number 17 Zhou Yuelong in the final round of this year’s qualifying event.
Asian number one Ding Junhui has been been handed a mouth-watering opening round tie against 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham.
Mark Williams, who picked up his third Crucible crown in 2018, is up against debutant Sam Craigie in round one, while last year’s runner-up Kyren Wilsonfaces former semi-finalist Gary Wilson.
Ronnie O’Sullivan (1) v Mark Joyce
Anthony McGill (16) v Ricky Walden
Ding Junhui (9) v Stuart Bingham
Stephen Maguire (8) v Jamie Jones
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John Higgins (5) v Tian Pengfei
Mark Williams (12) v Sam Craigie
Mark Allen (13) v Lyu Haotian
Mark Selby (4) v Kurt Maflin
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Neil Robertson (3) v Liang Wenbo
Jack Lisowski (14) v Ali Carter
Barry Hawkins (11) v Matthew Selt
Kyren Wilson (6) v Gary Wilson
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Shaun Murphy (7) v Mark Davis
Yan Bingtao (10) v Martin Gould
David Gilbert (15) v Chris Wakelin
Judd Trump (2) v Liam Highfield
Click here for the format of play and for details of how to buy tickets click here. The main event runs from April 17 to May 3 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Ronnie has a reasonably good draw, and, if he gets past the ever tricky first round will probably be able to build himself into form if needed. There are however no easy matches at the Crucible.
Ding has been served a brutal first round match, and, from what we saw in the qualifiers, Stuart Bingham has to be favourite to win this one.
Jack Lisowski is also up against it, having to beat the in-form Ali Carter in the last 32.
John Parrott mentions during the draw that if Ronnie is not ready to dig deep he will not win it. I’m not sure it’s that simple. Ronnie has tried in every match this season. He might not be ready to allow anyone to dictate the style of the match though, even if that means taking risks. This is what he did in the semi finals last year.
Ronnie O’Sullivan calls Mark Selby a ‘bad loser’ ahead of World Championship
“It sounded like he was a bit of a bad loser really. He didn’t really take it well.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan has described Mark Selby as a “bad loser” following last year’s World Championship semi-final defeat to O’Sullivan.
‘The Rocket’ won a deciding frame shootout, having been 14-16 down, to win 17-16 and advance to the final. He went on to clinch his sixth World Championship, and first since 2013.
Mark Selby.
However, after the game, Selby accused his opponent of being “disrespectful” by the way he was playing early on in that semi-final.
“I felt like it was a little bit disrespectful the way he played,” Selby told BBC Sport back in August.
“Every time I got him in a snooker he just went down and hit the ball at 100mph and it could have gone anywhere.
“Whether he was just in that frame of mind but felt it was a little disrespectful for me at the table.”
Ahead of this year’s World Championship, which begins at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield this weekend, O’Sullivan has described Selby as a “bad loser” and admitted that the incident has affected their relationship.
“I didn’t realise that result had affected him as much as it had,” O’Sullivan told Sporting Life.
“Sometimes you can want something too bad, and then it’s hard to brush off a defeat, let alone a defeat how he felt like he was defeated.
“After listening to his after match interview, it sounded like he was a bit of a bad loser really. He didn’t really take it well.
“I was a bit surprised. I thought he would have given me a bit more credit for hanging in there and playing three amazing frames at the end and getting the victory. It seems he didn’t take it in that spirit.
“That’s for him to get over. It doesn’t seem like he’s able to get over it really. They can be tough matches, I’ve had one or two of them in my career. They linger on for a bit. Hopefully, he gets his head around it and moves on from it.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan comeback.
The 45-year-old was asked whether it was the way he had fought back during that semi-final that had rattled Selby.
“Oh yeah. A hundred per cent. I didn’t realise at the time because obviously you’re on such a high and you’ve won,” O’Sullivan replied.
“But actually, if you were to sit down and listen to his interview and listen to some of the things he’s said, you’d have to go that’s coming from somewhere. It’s obviously bothered him to a certain extent.
“Listen, it would bother me I think, if I had one hand on the trophy, and all of a sudden someone has just come along and taken it away from you.
“It’s not an easy one to get over, but until he gets over it and it’s properly put to bed, it’s a little bit difficult. I suppose it has changed the relationship in many ways because it’s affected him.
“I’d rather he’d won, been happy, and he would have been in a good place. Until he gets himself through that, I don’t know. It’s something he needs to get over for him to move on.”
He would know how it feels, because he’s been there himself after losing to Selby in the 2014 World Final. It took him a very long time to get over it. It’s interesting, and endearing, that he derives no satisfaction whatsoever from seeing his rival in the same position, quite the opposite.
Also, snooker and winning at snooker are no more matters of life or death for him. In this context Ronnie spoke to Phil Haigh explaining how he has evolved from being only a snooker player to being a more complete person:
It was pretty foolish of me to think ‘I’m Ronnie O’Sullivan, snooker player.’ That’s not it
Ronnie O’Sullivan is heading back to the Crucible as world champion and much more (Picture: Getty Images)
Ronnie O’Sullivan has plenty on his mind outside of snooker as he prepares to defend his World Championship title in Sheffield, but he wouldn’t have it any other way as he continues to diversify his interests away from the baize.
The Rocket is hoping to win a seventh world title this year, equalling Stephen Hendry’s record in the process, and cement his place as the greatest player of all time.
He is working hard to achieve that goal, playing in the majority of events this season, reaching five ranking finals and is putting in the practice ahead of his latest trip to the Crucible.
The 45-year-old is not just focussing on his world title campaign, which will start on Saturday morning in South Yorkshire, though.
He has opened his own shop in Sheffield’s Meadowhall Shopping Centre and announced a new global ambassadorial with Rokit, while also competing in cross country races in his spare time.
It’s a busy time for O’Sullivan, in a point of the season when most players have all their attention on Sheffield, he is glad that he doesn’t as he endeavours to keep snooker one of a wide range of interests in his life.
‘It was pretty foolish of me to think, “I’m Ronnie O’Sullivan – snooker player.” That’s not it,’ Ronnie told Metro.co.uk.
‘I had to open myself up to other opportunities and let people know. It was interesting, a lot of people said, “I wouldn’t have thought you’d want to get involved in it.”
‘But I’m like, “no no no, of course!” Five 10 years ago I wasn’t but I’ve realised that was to my own detriment. Just through conversations you realise there’s a lot of things I can do.
‘My problem now is not saying “yes” to everything or else I don’t do them properly, because you’ve got too much going on. I’m trying to manage expectations now, I’m happy to do stuff but there’s only so much I can give and if that’s fine, great, if not then it’s not going to work.’
People may have been surprised that O’Sullivan was interested in working with them, but Ronnie says misconceptions about him have long been a problem.
The Rocket has never been afraid to speak his mind or filter what he says in public, giving off a certain impression, but he says that opinions of him change after time in his company.
O’Sullivan explained: ‘I think there’s a perception of me and when people get to know me they say: “That’s not how I expected you to be.”
‘That’s because I haven’t been media trained, for one, or had a crisis management team in there to put right something that portrayed me in the wrong way, but I was never really bothered about that.
‘It was water off a duck’s back in many ways. I never read the papers, I was so focused on what I wanted to do that it never bothered me.
‘I understand nowadays a lot of stuff on social media it can get to players, bullying online, but for me I was so focused on the job in hand that I never focused on what anyone was saying or thought about me because I was so focused on what I had to do.
‘In a way I blocked it out which was a good thing in one way but maybe I could have managed the media side a bit better, but you just do what you think’s right at the time.’
On the suggestion that his filter-free comments are what draws many fans to him, Ronnie said: ‘Possibly, I think I’ve got a good relationship with the snooker fans and people that come to watch me. It’s alright.’
O’Sullivan says his idea to try and become much more than a snooker player came from his year away from the sport in 2012/13, when he took the entire season off between winning his fourth and fifth world titles.
He realised that he wanted to play the game and also that he needed other options if snooker was ever unavailable to him in future.
‘I had to make the choice because I didn’t like the idea of not playing snooker and that being it,’ said O’Sullivan.
‘I had a year out and didn’t really have anything to fall back on. I don’t really want to be in that situation again, it taught me a lesson to look a bit ahead.
‘Develop a life without snooker, add a bit of snooker in there and I’ve got the best of both worlds. I’ve had to work hard to get that, it doesn’t happen overnight but now I’m able to go out there and swing freely.
‘Some players might look forward to the end of the career and happy living a quiet life. Other people might not and feel like they’re in a midlife crisis not knowing what to do with their time.
O’Sullivan beat Kyren Wilson to claim a sixth world title last August (Picture: PA)
‘That’s why I had to educate myself. If you’re aware of your situation and what you want to do in your life you’ll always seek out what you need to seek out. For me the timing was right, I looked around and thought, “this can’t be the only option.”
‘You look into other things, opportunities arise and once people know that you’re interested then there’s a lot of people that want to work with you.’
The Rocket has gone down a few avenues already, writing novels, a cookbook, talking of running care homes and works with homeless charities.
His shop is his most recent venture, but he would not confirm what’s next for him, other than to say we should expect plenty.
‘There’s some things I can’t talk about because they’re yet to happen but there are a couple of exciting things going to come off,’ he said. ‘There’s a lot of planning going on, so obviously nothing I can say, but a few exciting projects coming along.’
As for his chance of success in Sheffield again, he knows he will have to improve on the form that has seen him fail to win a title since his Crucible triumph last season, but also knows he is well capable of doing just that.
‘I’ll have to play better than I have done all season because Sheffield is a different tournament,’ he said. ‘Longer matches, often it’s not about being brilliant it’s about being steady and solid.
‘If I can find something and carry that through to Sheffield then who knows? If I don’t then I’m not going to detract from having a good year, I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been good fun.’
O’Sullivan will begin the defence of his title on the opening day of the tournament on Saturday 17 April.
Ronni has indeed opened a shop in Meadow Hall near Sheffield and has shared a few pictures and a short video
Having other projects might be a distraction, but it might also ease the pressure as snooker is no more all and everything in his life.
Stuart Bingham leads Luca Brecel 6-3 after an enthralling first session of their Judgement Day encounter at Betfred World Championship qualifying.
All of today’s best of 19 matches will be played to a conclusion from 5pm, with the winners qualifying for the final stages at the Crucible. Watch live on our Facebook and YouTube channels, as well as the Eurosport app.
Bingham is competing in the qualifying event for the first time since 2011. The 2015 Crucible king dropped out of the world’s top 16 following a difficult season, which has seen him reach just two ranking event quarter-finals.
The Basildon cueman trailed Belgian number one Brecel 3-1 after the opening exchanges. However, he burst to life after the mid-session interval. Breaks of 140, 108, 140 and 55 helped him to five on the bounce to turn the match around and head into this evening with a firm grip on proceedings.
Mark Joyce is just four frames away from a Crucible debut, after moving 6-3 up on Brazil’s Igor Figueiredo, who is bidding to become the first ever South American to reach the final stages.
Ali Carter is 6-3 ahead in his meeting with Switzerland’s Alexander Ursenbacher. The two-time finalist top scored with a stunning run of 139 this afternoon.
Former Crucible semi-finalist Ricky Walden holds a 6-3 advantage over Ryan Day, while Bai Langning has a slender 5-4 lead against Martin Gould.
Chris Wakelin composed a superb break of exactly 100 to lead Xiao Guodong 5-4 heading into tonight. Zhao Xintong is one frame to the good at 5-4 against Sam Craigie, who is aiming for a Crucible debut.
Sam Craigie made a tremendous break of 89 in the deciding frame to beat Zhao Xintong 10-9 in the final qualifying round of the Betfred World Championship.
In the only ‘Judgement Day’ match to go to a decider, Newcastle’s 27-year-old Craigie rose to the occasion to beat Zhao and earn a Crucible debut, getting his name into the draw for the last 32. The main event starts on Saturday.
China’s highly-rated Zhao had leads of 3-0, 5-2 and 7-5, but Craigie battled hard and made breaks of 126, 50, 60, 106, 50 and 117. Then in the last frame he took his chance with an excellent match-winning contribution.
“I’m over the moon and glad about the way I held myself together,” said Craigie. “I have only had my B and C game in all three matches this week. But I finished it off well tonight, I just tied to focus on the balls going into the pockets. Recently I have done a few things differently and it has paid off. Until I got to this round I didn’t think I was that bothered about getting to the Crucible. Then last night I was struggling to sleep, thinking too far ahead. I had to reset myself for today.”
Igor Figueiredo’s dream of becoming the first player from South America to make it to the Crucible came to an end as the Brazilian ace lost 10-7 to Mark Joyce. Walsall’s 37-year-old Joyce booked his debut, 15 years after turning pro. A top break of 135 gave Joyce a 9-4 lead, and he eventually clinched the result in frame 17 after losing three in a row.
“I have finally got there,” said Joyce. “I have got to the final round before and I didn’t believe in myself. I’m a different player now. When Igor was coming back at me at the end, in 15 years on the tour that was the worst I have felt. My timing was gone, the white wasn’t going where I wanted it to go and that makes you look silly. He fancied the job at 9-7. But I got over the line and hopefully now I can go to the Crucible and enjoy it.”
Ali Carter and Stuart Bingham will be among the names that the top 16 seeds want to avoid when the draw for the first round proper takes place on Thursday at 11am.
Bingham, the 2015 Crucible king, had to go through the qualifiers for the first time since 2011, but safety negotiated 10-5 a win over Luca Brecel. From 3-1 down, Bingham took nine of the last 11 frames with top breaks of 140, 108, 140, 55, 63, 74, 67 and 57.
“The last qualifying round is a horrible match,” said Bingham. “I was here yesterday watching some of the matches come off and I saw one player in tears having lost, while the winner was elated. I am just so happy to get through and finish the season at the Crucible. These two matches have got me really sharp. My break building is there and my safety is good. I’ll be heading home with a big smile on my face. Whoever draws me is going to have a tough game.”
Carter, who was runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2008 and 2012 finals, scored a 10-4 victory over Alexander Ursenbacher with a top break of 139. “We all want to finish the season at the Crucible,” said the Captain. “I was solid all day, my temperament was good. It’s a relief to get through.”
Chris Wakelin finished a superb week on a high by beating Xiao Guodong 10-7 with top runs of 100 and 120. Wakelin was in danger of relegation when he arrived in Sheffield, but after coming from 5-3 down to beat Lei Peifan 6-5 in his opening match, he went on to knock out Matthew Stevens and then Xiao. The Nuneaton cueman can now look forward to a second trip to the Crucible, having lost 10-9 to Judd Trump on his debut in 2018.
“When I came here I had to win to stay on the tour and I have never felt pressure like that,” said Wakelin. “Then I beat Matthew with one of best matches I have ever played. I am delighted to have done myself justice because I have not really done that since the last time I got to the Crucible. I have not played well enough and that’s my own fault. I have been in a bad head space and I have had to get that right. Trying to concentrate for seven or eight hours is really not easy and you have to accept that you are going to miss balls and make mistakes.”
Gary Wilson, who reached the semi-finals two years ago, booked his return by beating Steven Hallworth 10-3 with a top break of 131. Wilson has had a poor season by his standards, reaching the last 16 of just one ranking event, but hopes he has turned his form around.
“It has been my worst season ever, just abysmal,” he said. “But I have achieved what I set out to do at the turn of the year. I have been grafting so hard and now I am going there full of confidence.”
Martin Gould top scored with 103 and 100 as he came from 5-2 down to beat Bai Langning 10-5. Ricky Walden earned his first Crucible berth since 2018 as he saw off Ryan Day 10-5 with a top break of 84.
Judgement Day: The 16 winners
Mark Davis Tian Pengfei Liam Highfield Jamie Jones Matthew Selt Lyu Haotian Kurt Maflin Liang Wenbo Sam Craigie Mark Joyce Stuart Bingham Ali Carter Gary Wilson Chris Wakelin Martin Gould Ricky Walden
Having not been able to watch much, I’m not sure what happened in the Bai Langning match for the young Chinese to lose all frames in the evening session after starting it with a lead. I only heard a commentary by Ken Doherty, saying that he is “one for the future” … which he only can become if he regains a tour card at one point. Ken didn’t sound like he was aware of the fact that the youngster was being relegated.
I didn’t particularly enjoy what I saw, which wasn’t much. Zhao Xintong is an extremely frustrating player, pretty much like Jack Lisowski.
It’s a rather old set of qualifiers with only three under-30: Chris Wakelin 29, Sam Caigie 27 and Lyu Haotian 23.
The draw for the last 32 of the Betfred World Championship will be made at 11am on Thursday, with the top 16 seeds drawn at random against the 16 qualifiers.
Fans can watch live and free on WST’s Facebook Live and YouTube channels, as Betfred’s The Sportsman Facebook and YouTube channels plus the Eurosport website. John Parrott and Mark Pearson will be picking the balls out at Betfred’s studio in Salford.
The draw will appear below shortly after it is made:
Wu Yize and Zhang Jiankang will compete on the World Snooker Tour next season after the pair became the first players to qualify through the first of two qualification events held this week at the CBSA-WPBSA Academy in Beijing.
Organised by the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA), the events will see four players progress to earn two-year professional tour cards for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.
Zhang Jiankang earned his place following a 4-0 victory against Deng Haohuiand will return to the World Snooker Tour a year after he was relegated at the end of the 2019/20 season. The 22-year-old previously reached the last 16 of the 2019 Scottish Open and achieved a highest ranking of 85th position.
Talented youngster Wu Yize will join turn professional for the first time following a 4-1 win against Pa Ruke. Aged just 17, Yu reached the semi-finals of the WSF Junior Open in January 2020, narrowly losing 4-3 to eventual champion Gao Yang.
In 2019, he competed as a wildcard at the International Championship, narrowly losing 6-5 to four-time world champion John Higgins. He made his debut at the Betfred World Championship as a WPBSA qualifier and defeated professionals Ashley Hugill and Robbie Williams, before losing to former Masters champion Alan McManus.
The second event will run from 14-16 April, with two further professional places to be won.
Ahead of the Betfred World Championship which starts on Saturday, we are now able to provide more information about the Covid-19 testing requirements for all fans who come to the Crucible.
The tournament in Sheffield, which runs from April 17 to May 3, is part of the Event Research Programme, and Covid-19 testing is one of the measures taken to reduce risk of transmission.
The following information has been emailed to fans:
Prior to attending the event, you must take a Covid-19 rapid lateral flow test at a Local Authority Asymptomatic Testing Site close to where you live or work. If you are travelling from outside of Sheffield, you must take this test prior to travelling. For attendees of multiple event days, you must take a test prior to the first event you attend, and then every third day thereafter. (To clarify, if you test on Friday to attend on Saturday morning, you would need your next test on Monday).
When you attend the Crucible, you will need to bring a text message or email confirming a negative lateral flow test result, photographic identification, which you’ll produce alongside your test result, and email confirmation that you have provided your consent using the online consent form.
A link to find your local rapid lateral flow test site is provided here. Please note that many of the lateral flow test centres offer a booking system, rather than a drop-in facility. Please be aware that some testing sites only operate Monday to Friday.
From Friday 16th April a limited drop-in facility will be available at the Sheffield Hallam University for attendees resident in the Sheffield area. Ticket holders attending multiple event days, and requiring multiple lateral flow tests, will also be able to use this site. You must bring your World Championship ticket with you to gain access to the testing site. To ensure you are able to receive your test result in good time, please look to attend the testing site one day prior to attending your event.
The Sheffield Hallam testing facility will be open as a minimum Mon – Fri: 09:20 am – 12:20pm, 1:30pm – 4:50pm. Sat, Sun: 10am – 2pm. Further information on how Covid-19 testing works at Sheffield Hallam can be found here.
Audience participation in this event is possible as it is part of the Event Research Programme (ERP) this will help to gather essential evidence to inform the government’s decision around Step 4 of the roadmap to lift lockdown, and will support the phased return of fuller audiences to venues and events up and down England. In order to collect the important evidence required to support the return of audiences we request that all participants undertake both a pre and post event PCR test in addition to the lateral flow test referenced above.
Participants are requested to take one pre-event PCR test as close as possible to their attendance at the event, and one PCR test 5 days after the event (or final event attended, if attending over multiple days). Both PCR tests can be conducted at home and returned by post.
A link to how you request these is provided here. Scroll down to the button which says ‘GET A FREE PCR TEST’ (start now). For this application you are not Key Workers, and on selecting No, you can scroll to the bottom and click continue. Continue through the questions and select that you are taking part in Contact Testing Study. Participants have permission to use this link to order their PCR tests for ERP research purposes, even if they are not displaying Covid-19 symptoms. Please be aware that this is a separate request to the Covid-19 rapid lateral flow test required for your entry into the Crucible Theatre.
With all this into place, I strongly doubt that any session will actually be at full capacity.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021: ‘CRUCIBLE SEAT ISN’T WORTH RISK’ – RONNIE O’SULLIVAN ON MUM’S COVID BATTLE
Ronnie O’Sullivan is keen to see snooker fans return, but is concerned about throwing open the Crucible Theatre doors to spectators with the UK’s death toll passing a bleak 150,000 on Tuesday. The defending world champion is proud of how his mum Maria fought off Covid-19 on a ventilator at home, but feels the threat of excited “smotherers” pose a serious risk to players, officials and fellow fans.
By Desmond Kane
Ronnie O’Sullivan feels proud. Ahead of a 29th successive appearance at the World Championship in Sheffield, one might suggest such a sensation is hardly surprising for the sport’s greatest player of all time.
But his pride has nothing to do with ending a seven-year wait to lift his sixth world title last August, reaching five ranking finals this season, his top seeding at the Crucible this year or becoming the first man in history to compile 1100 centuries.
These are all trivial, irrelevant and facile facts compared to the clear and present danger of Covid-19, an illness O’Sullivan has been closer to than the cue ball in recent times.
He admits he is proud of his mum Maria, her attitude and fighting spirit in battling the disease on a ventilator at home rather than going to hospital when all looked lost.
He also uses Maria’s experience as a timely reminder about the damage the illness can cause to unsuspecting victims.
As pubs, hair salons and retail re-opened in England on Monday, snooker’s biggest headline act cannot help but shudder at the notion that the UK is suddenly out of the danger zone.
He is not an expert epidemiologist, but he can speak as much from personal experience about society’s plight as working out his next positional shot.
“My mum was on a ventilator at home,” said O’Sullivan. “She had to take proper medication. We were lucky and privileged that I was able to call on a doctor who was keen to keep her out of hospital.
“He said: ‘I think she is going to be okay, Ronnie, but buy this, do this and do that.’ She was able to nurse herself better. I was able to go around there to make sure she was alright. “We were lucky. She did say to me at one stage: ‘I need to go to the hospital, ring me an ambulance’. “But I said: ‘Let me get my doctor around first’ because I didn’t want to take her to a hospital unless she had to go. “Once you get into the hospital situation, it could be a worse problem for you.
SO I WAS LUCKY THAT MY DOCTOR WAS ABLE TO ADVISE, KEPT AN EYE ON HER IN THE EARLY DAYS AND SAID: ‘LOOK, I THINK SHE IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT’. THAT WAS IT. SHE RESPONDED WELL AND I WAS PROUD OF HER THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO COME THROUGH IT.
Others of course have not been so lucky with the death toll in the UK reaching a tragic, bleak and shocking milestone of 150,000 on Tuesday since the first national lockdown came into effect last March.
In a candid and open interview with Eurosport, O’Sullivan remains none the wiser about how his mum contracted the virus.
But he feels it acts as a warning to everyone about how potent a threat Covid remains in the UK amid the ongoing global pandemic.
When this first happened she was talking to me around corners in the house. Like a lot of people, quite paranoid about getting it,” he explained.
“I said: ‘Mum, chill out, go for some fresh air, go for a walk and just stay away from people.’
SHE WAS REALLY CAREFUL, BUT ‘BANG’, THEN SHE GETS IT. YOU CAN JUST BE UNLUCKY WITH THIS ILLNESS. TOUCHING A SURFACE OR SOMETHING. SHE HAS BEEN THROUGH IT ALL. I’M JUST RELIEVED SHE HAS RECOVERED.
O’Sullivan played last year’s final before a crowd of around 300 at the 980-seat Crucible due to Covid restrictions on his way to an 18-8 win over Kyren Wilson in the final that saw him join Steve Davis and Ray Reardon on six world titles.
It looks like being a lot different with the sport’s diminutive hothouse brimming to full capacity for this year’s final in early May as part of a government pilot scheme to allow fans back to venues this summer.
The Crucible will be at 33% for the first round, 50% for the second round, 75% for the quarter-finals and semi-finals before reaching full capacity of just under 1,000 for the final on 2-3 May.
Testing will be in place, but only the first-round matches will witness any social distancing in a sport that has been marooned in Milton Keynes without the public since O’Sullivan’s victory in Sheffield.
He doesn’t see the benefit of winning what has been described as “a golden ticket” by being squeezed closer together than the pack of reds inside the Crucible.
“If they choose they want to go and sit next to each other, that is fine,” said O’Sullivan, who opens the 45th staging of the Crucible tournament against a qualifier on Saturday morning at 10am (BST).
FOR ME PERSONALLY, I WOULDN’T BE BUYING A TICKET TO GO AND SIT NEXT TO SOMEONE ANYWHERE FOR THE NEXT TWO OR THREE YEARS. THAT IS JUST MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE. I JUST WOULDN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING IT UNTIL YOU KNOW THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF THIS ILLNESS, I WOULDN’T WANT TO TAKE THE RISK.
“From what I’ve heard so far, I just wouldn’t want to get it. In another few years, if you discover one in five million get it really bad then you chances are if you get it, you aren’t the one in five million. “But nobody knows the levels or damage it can do. It’s okay getting Covid, but the long Covid is the one you want to avoid.”
O’Sullivan is keen to entertain the sport’s fans, but is urging them to maintain distance from each other, officials and the players in and around the Crucible.
In an invisible war with a silent killer armed only with hand sanitizer and face masks, O’Sullivan has berated potential “smotherers” who are more interested in themselves than maintaining social distance.
“Everything is fine as long as there is no smothering going on. That’s the only issue. As long as everybody keeps their distance, it is fine,” he insisted.
“It’s not at the venue that’s the problem, it’s going to be coming out the stage door at the Crucible, getting to the hotel in Sheffield..just going about your normal business.
I JUST HOPE THE SMOTHERING DOESN’T HAPPEN BECAUSE PEOPLE GET TOO EXCITED AND SEE SOMEONE IF THEY ARE A (MARK) SELBY FAN, OR A JUDD TRUMP FAN OR A NEIL (ROBERTSON) FAN. THEY’LL RUN OVER THERE AND THEY START BREATHING, SNEEZING OR COUGHING OR WHATEVER. THEN SUDDENLY YOU GET THE COVID BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN SMOTHERED.
“It is how they manage the excitement of the fans and the people that surround the Crucible in Sheffield.
“We all want to see the fans back at the venue, but there has got to be no smothering. If that can be done, then I don’t see any issues. But is that going to be the case? I doubt it.”
O’Sullivan – who at the age of 44 years and 254 days became the second oldest world champion of all time behind 45-year-old Reardon’s 1978 win – enjoyed his sojourn to Sheffield for last year’s delayed event as he used the Covid-19 restrictions around the Yorkshire city to stay nearer the venue while enjoying daily runs.
He is hoping the sport’s organisers will think of the players’ well-being in getting in and out of the Crucible with minimal fuss this time.
“It would be nice if World Snooker Tour can give the players some sort of level of protection so they’re not left to their own devices to have to deal with that situation,” he said.
“If you are going to allow fans, you then have to got to think: ‘How do we get players in and out of the venue safely?’ “When they’re not playing, that’s down to the players.
THEY’VE GOT TO BE CAREFUL WHERE THEY GO AND WHAT THEY DO, BUT DURING MATCH OR PRACTICE TIME WHEN THEY’VE GOT TO GO THE CRUCIBLE, THERE SHOULD BE ACCESS THERE WITHOUT PLAYERS FEARING THEY’VE GOT TO GET THROUGH AN EXCITED CROWD AT THE ENTRANCE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
In a fitting denouement to a timely health message from the sport’s professor of potting, O’Sullivan is also advising the public to get vaccinated at the earliest opportunity.
“I’ll hopefully get my vaccine in the next few months after Sheffield,” he added.
IF THERE WAS A DOCTOR HERE RIGHT NOW WITH SOME ASTRAZENECA, I’D BE TELLING HIM TO PUMP IT RIGHT IN THERE. I’D HAVE IT STRAIGHT AWAY.
Desmond Kane
Ronnie might be “mad as cheese” but there is nothing mad in what he says here, quite the opposite.
Eight players booked their places at the Crucible yesterday: Mark Davis, Liam Highfield, Jamie Jones, Matthew Selt, Kurt Maflin, Lyu Haotian, Tian Pengfei and Liang Wenbo.
The day provided a number of interesting stories, supported by the excellent coverage on Eurosport. They broadcated two matches and the “roving” coverage by Ken Doherty and Rob Walker.
Mark Davis, at 48, came back from 7-2 down to beat Jamie Clarke by 10-8. It was another “déjà vu” heartbreak for Jamie’s fans but a remarkable and admirable effort by the sympathetic “Dark Mavis”.
Kurt Maflin who missed a number of events because of travel restrictions inflicted 10-4 defeat on Robert Milkins. The score surprised me TBH.
The score was equally surprising in the Matthew Selt v Scott Donaldson match, Selt winning by 6-3. Selt’s “extra” preparation ahead of his clas with Hendry obviously gave his game a boost! Still I was expecting better from Scott.
Tian Pengfei lead by 8-1 after the first session but had to fence off a spirited come back from a Graeme Dott in “terrier mode”. He only won by 10-7.
Jamie Jones is really making the most of his return to the main tour after his ban. In the span of this season, he regained his top 64 status and now qualified for the Crucible.
Zhou Yuelong was the highest ranked player in the qualifiers but he played a disappointing match. Liam Highfield through, who has been battling health issues for years, deserves a lot of credit for the way he played and held it together in the end. To say that he was a bag of nerves whilst facing the last balls is the mother of all understatements.
I am very happy to see Lyu Haotian playing well and winning again. His first years on the main tour turned out to be a very traumatic experience. Despite his defeat Chang Bingyu impressed as well.
There was never more than two frames between Liang Wenbo and Lu Ning up to 7-7. Then Liang pulled away. He’s another who “disappeared” for a while but seems to be coming back to form.
World number 53 Tian Pengfei is just two frames away from a second Crucible appearance, leading 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott 8-1 after the first session of their final round meeting at Betfred World Championship qualifying.
All of today’s best of 19 matches will be played to a conclusion from 5pm, with the winners qualifying for the final stages at the Crucible. Watch live on our Facebook and YouTube channels, as well as the Eurosport app.
Dott was defeated on Judgement Day in 2020 and has it all to do if he is to avoid the same fate this year. Tian qualified for the first time in 2019, defeating Matthew Stevens 10-8 in the final round.
Tian produced a blistering display in today’s first session. The Chinese cueman fired in breaks of 82, 108, 110, 78, 67 and 114 on his way to securing a commanding advantage.
Liam Highfield has edged to a slender 5-4 lead over world number 17 Zhou Yuelong. A crucial break of 51 saw him take the ninth frame and lead heading into tonight.
Jamie Jones established a 7-2 lead over Li Hang in his quest to secure a first trip to the Crucible since his return to the World Snooker Tour this season. The Welshman made two century runs of 100 and 103 in the first session.
Jamie Clarke requires three frames for a second consecutive Crucible berth, leading Mark Davis 7-2, while Lu Ning holds a narrow 5-4 lead over Liang Wenbo.
Matthew Selt heads into this evening 6-2 up on Scott Donaldson and Norway’s Kurt Maflin leads Robert Milkins 7-2.
Mark Davis recovered a 7-2 deficit to score a 10-8 victory over Jamie Clarke in the final qualifying round of the Betfred World Championship, booking a 12th trip to the Crucible.
Davis is one of eight players so far to make it through Judgement Day and get their name into the draw for the final stages, which will take place on Thursday at 11am, ahead of the main event which starts on Saturday.
Sussex’s 48-year-old Davis first appeared at the Crucible in 1994 and is now heading back to the Theatre of Dreams after making what he described as the best fight-back of his 30-year career.
Welshman Clarke, who reached the last 16 in Sheffield last year, looked on course for a return when he led 7-2. But Davis then reeled off seven frames in a row with top breaks of 54, 60, 68, 70, 76 and 68. Clarke pulled one back to trail 9-8, only for Davis to get the better of a scrappy 18th frame for victory.
“I can’t remember coming back from that deficit in my career, especially against such a good player,” said former Six-Red World Champion Davis. “I have been playing well lately but I wasn’t with it in the first session today. I still had hope tonight because I know my game is there. I don’t know how the last few balls went in. It’s crazy how you have to deal with things, mentally.
“If someone had said back in 1994 that I would still be playing 27 years later, I wouldn’t have believed it. My problem sometimes is that I don’t enjoy snooker enough, matches can be like a pint of blood. You never know when your last trip to the Crucible will be, I’ll go there and enjoy it. It’s a special place.”
Graeme Dott, the 2006 World Champion, also made a spirited fight-back but was beaten 10-7 by China’s Tian Pengfei. Breaks of 82, 108, 110, 78, 67 and 114 helped Tian to an 8-1 advantage. Dott battled back to 9-7 before Tian won the 17th frame.
Zhou Yuelong, the highest ranked player in the qualifying rounds at world number 17, will not be at the Crucible as he was beaten 10-7 by Liam Highfield.
“I can’t wait to get out there,” said Stoke’s Highfield, whose only previous appearance in the Crucible came in 2018. “I have put a lot of hard work in because if you prepare right and get yourself into a good place mentally then you stand a much better chance.” Highfield, who has Crohn’s disease, added: “I have come through turmoil and now it’s just about prolonging my career and getting as high as I can up the rankings.”
Jamie Jones, who reached the quarter-finals at the Crucible on his 2012 debut and last played there in 2018, earned his return with a 10-5 win over Li Hang. Welshman Jones was suspended from the pro tour in October 2018 for breaching betting regulations. He served an enforced two-year absence from the circuit, before coming through Q School in 2020 to regain his card.
The 33-year-old has enjoyed a renaissance this season, notably reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Open. And now he’s back on snooker’s biggest stage, seeing off Li with top runs of 103, 100, 60, 68 and 76.
“People closest to me never doubted me,” said Jones. “I’m just really happy to be back competing and back at the Crucible. I’ll be giving it my best shot as I have all season. I felt a bit shaky at the end today, the pockets seemed to be closing up on me. I knew what the prize on offer was but I tried to treat it like any other match.”
Matthew Selt, playing what he describes as the best snooker of his career, thrashed Scott Donaldson 10-3. Breaks of 59, 110, 106, 77, 61 and 135 helped Indian Open champion Selt to book his third Crucible appearance and first since 2015.
“I knew how good my game was when I came here,” said Selt. “I played well today and finished the match off well. My game is the best it has ever been. I can’t be any sharper. That won’t determine whether I settle down or feel comfortable, because the last two times I played at the Crucible I started badly. But playing well and winning breeds confidence so I’m really looking forward to next week. I’d like to draw John Higgins, that would be a dream for me to play my hero on the biggest stage.”
Kurt Maflin, a quarter-finalist at the Crucible last year, secured his return with a 10-4 win over Robert Milkins, highlighted by breaks of 72, 53, 77, 64, 87 and 89.
Lyu Haotian won a Chinese derby against Chang Bingyu by a 10-6 scoreline with top breaks of 50, 77, 100, 53, 131, 114 and 59. Lyu reached the second round on his only previous Crucible appearance in 2018.
In another all-Chinese encounter, former English Open champion Liang Wenbo saw off Lu Ning 10-7 with a top break of 130.
Today promises to be just as interesting and thrilling.
Ronnie O’Sullivan: There will never be another three who can play like me, Higgins and Williams
‘We come from an era where you became a proper snooker player,’ said the Rocket ahead of the weekend’s World Championship
O’Sullivan says he is one of a dying breed of players (Photo: Getty)
Ronnie O’Sullivan may no longer consider himself at the very peak of his snooker powers but says recent successes mean no one should question his ability to keep winning until he turns 50.
O’Sullivan defeated Kyren Wilson in the final last August to win his sixth World Championship and heads to the Crucible Theatre this month to not only defend his crown but also to match Stephen Hendry’s modern-era record of seven world titles.
That 2020 World Championship triumph is O’Sullivan’s only ranking-event victory in the past two seasons but reaching five finals this campaign doesn’t suggest any sort of impending snooker mortality.
As he approaches 30 years since first turning professional, the 45-year-old – along with fellow ‘Class of 92’ members Mark Williams and John Higgins – has maintained a remarkable level of play well into his 40s.
In fact, at least one of the trio has appeared in all but two of the past 10 World Championship finals – and in each of the last four – with O’Sullivan insisting that record proves they can all keep competing past their 50th birthday.
“There will never again be three players who can play the game like me, John and Mark do, playing into their late 40s, early 50s and still winning tournaments,” said O’Sullivan, who is a regular contributor to Eurosport on all their snooker coverage.
“We come from an era where you became a proper snooker player. That experience and level of game at amateur level has allowed us to play way beyond what others have. Mid 40s, still winning tournaments and you shouldn’t have to ask the question of if we’re good enough any more until we hit 50.
“Williams won the world title two years ago, I did it last year, Higgins has made lot of world finals recently and then won a big tournament [the Players Championship] this year.
“Just off the back of that, you’ve got to give yourself another five years. Even if you have a down season, you’re not likely to be losing that sort of form within one or two years.”
O’Sullivan’s 2021 World Championship campaign begins on Saturday morning, with the final concluding on 3 May – a 17-day marathon that The Rocket admits doesn’t suit his personality.
Despite his remarkable success at the Crucible, he claims he has never enjoyed the tournament – struggling with boredom and a lack of focus at the event.
And that may explain why matching Hendry’s record of seven world titles isn’t as burning a desire as you might think for such a fierce competitor.
“I don’t think I need to win anything else to cement my legacy,” he said. “I never thought I’d win one world title, so I’m certainly not going to complain if I don’t get to seven. I’m over the moon with what I’ve achieved.
“I just want to go there and enjoy my snooker and I need to play well to enjoy it.
“I’ve accepted that about myself – I only want to play snooker and really get excited about it if I’m in my slot, in my groove, timing the ball well and it’s all coming easily to me.
“If I’m not doing that, I’m not prepared to go through the pain barrier as much anymore. I’ve made a pact with myself that if things aren’t quite going right, then a defeat isn’t the end of the world.”
He is right of course about the level of the amateur game and there are any number of reasons that contributed to its decline, some linked to the way the sport has been managed and promoted over the years, some related to way our societies have evolved and to what today’s young people desire to achieve or indeed what their parents want them to achieve. But there is also the fact that the brutal current structure offers no path for development for young professionals.
Just sharing my thoughts seeing the 25 Year old 2019 European Champion quit the game having fallen off Tour following his World Championship 2 Round defeat….
People will debate the fors and againsts, however I see the Flat Draw as being brutal for younger players who are working hard to craft a successful profession is this sport.
No prize money at the bottom end of Events / and in many cases very small prize money at lower end of many Events is undoubtedly compounding pressure on the younger players unless they have good financial sponsors.
Most new / young players to the Tour nowadays need more time to develop in the Ranks, especially with the Flat Draw structure where statistically they will meet a Top 16 Player 1:4 events – some players Seasons have been plagued with such tough Draws.
So their game has to be of at least Top 32 Standard ‘consistently’ almost immediately to survive. By comparison the Apprenticeship of Professional Snooker is no longer like it was in the Tiered Structure from which so many of our Top Players and top 32 players developed their ‘skills’ and ‘ring craft’.
Or is the current ‘Development Pathway’ i.e. Q-School / Challenge / QTour to becoming a Pro meant to be a Professional Apprenticeship – there is definitely a gap ….
Thoughts ….
I can only agree. It’s basically what I have been writing here countless times over the last years.
Ali Carter came through a fiercely contested Betfred World Championship qualifying clash with China’s Pang Junxu 6-4, to earn a Judgement Day place.
Carter, a two-time World Championship finalist, missed out on Crucible qualification last year losing to Louis Heathcote in the penultimate round. That was the first time Carter hasn’t appeared at the Theatre of Dreams since 2002.
Carter controlled the opening stages, firing in breaks of 69, 64, 71 and 64 on his way to establishing a 5-2 advantage.
However, from there 21-year-old Pang showcased his potential by shooting back into contention. After claiming the eighth frame, a stunning break of 106 pulled him within one at 5-4.
Carter wasn’t to be denied and runs of 25 and 45 in the tenth frame took him over the line and secured a Judgement Day meeting with Alexander Ursenbacher, who defeated Martin O’Donnell 6-5.
“I didn’t sleep last night, because I want it so badly. Almost too much. Even after being a pro for 20 odd years, I think I want it more now than I ever did. Maybe it is because I am trying hard on my preparation back home. This first match is horrible,” said 41-year-old Carter.
“His safety was unbelievable today. He just looked like he was willing to stand there all day to try and win. All kinds of things were going through my head. I should have won 6-2, but I twitched a red. There is so much pressure for us out there with the ranking points. I have to get my head round it and make sure I get through.”
Englishman Sam Craigie put on a superb performance to whitewash Iranian number one Hossein Vafaei 6-0 and clinch a Judgement Day place for the first time in his career.
Craigie now faces Zhao Xintong in the final qualifying round. Zhao defeated Poland’s Kacper Filipiak 6-3 this afternoon. That result relegated Filipiak from the circuit.
Steven Hallworth rallied from 5-4 down to beat Welsh Open champion Jordan Brown 6-5 and move one win from a Crucible debut.
Hallworth came into this year’s event having never won a single match in the World Championship. The 25-year-old scored a 6-2 win over Dean Young in round one and a 6-3 defeat of David Grace in round two. He’ll play Gary Wilson on Judgement Day.
World number 18 Stuart Bingham eased to a 6-1 defeat of Chen Zifan. The 2015 World Champion now faces Luca Brecel in the final round.
Someone who is not even mentioned in this report is the 18 years old Bai Langning who beat Ben Woollaston by 6-5, scoring a great 96 in the deciding frame. Bai was 4-1 down in this match. I find this pretty baffling as Bai is probably one of the major stories in this year’s competition. He went back to China towards the end of the previous season and came back to the UK only recently. He had not played a main tour match all season and here he is in the last round of the World Qualifiers. He needs to reach the Crucible to stay on tour. Bai will face Martin Gould tomorrow.
At the start of the qualifiers, about one in six of the players involved were Chinese, as we reach the last round ten of them remain, nearly one in three. Yet WST largely ignored them in their reports throughout.
Kaçper Filipiak was relegated and someone on twitter said that he was retiring from snooker. I can’t say I’m surprised. Kaçper got a tour card at the age of 15 and he wasn’t ready. He was practicing at Paul Mount’s SWSA and at the time Janie Watkins had told me that he was “a lamb for the slaughter”. It was a deeply unhappy year for the young lad and I believe that it left him with scars. I’m wishing him the best for the future, whatever he chooses to do from here.
Brazilian number one Igor Figueiredo is one win away from becoming the first South American to compete at the Crucible, after defeating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-5 to earn a Judgement Day spot at Betfred World Championship Qualifying.
Figueiredo will now face Mark Joyce in the final round with a place at the Theatre of Dreams on the line. The extent of his success this week can be illustrated by the fact that he hadn’t previously won a match at Crucible qualifying since 2015, when he lost to Robin Hull in the final round.
The 43-year-old from Rio De Janeiro first turned professional in 2010, having only played on a full-size snooker table for the first time a year earlier. Figueiredo bases himself out of the Q House Academy in Doncaster and lives away from his wife and three children, who are back home in Brazil, in order to pursue his professional snooker career.
He showed his talent today by battling back from 5-4 down to defeat Thai number one Un-Nooh. A superb break of 84 forced a decider, before Figueiredo crafted a gutsy run of 59 to take the final frame.
World number 85 Figueiredo said: “It is a big dream to get to the Crucible. I maybe won’t sleep tonight thinking about this. For most people the dream is to become World Champion. My dream is to visit the Crucible one time. I would be the first South American player to compete there. I can’t explain, my dream is nearly real.
“I’m living in the UK to improve my level. I miss my wife and my children a lot every day. I see pictures and get power from them to survive and work hard. I have been working ten hours a day over the last two months for this tournament. Sometimes it is painful in my body because I have worked so hard for this moment.
“In Brazil the tables are ten feet and there is a lot of pool. I just started to play snooker in 2009 at 32 years old. I’d never played full size in my life. I’m so happy because I think I have improved a lot. This tournament has amazing players and I started at 32 years old. I believe in myself and I feel like a star player.”
Ryan Day came through an enthralling encounter with Louis Heathcote 6-5. The Welshman missed a black off the spot to emerge a 6-4 victor. However, a crucial break of 30 saw him claim the decider on the colours.
Day will now face Ricky Walden on Judgement Day. Walden was a comfortable 6-1 winner against Peter Lines, who has now been relegated from the circuit and will need to go to Q School.
Jamie Jones is through to the final round after a 6-3 defeat of Michael Holt. That leaves the Welshman one win away from a Crucible berth in his first season back on the World Snooker Tour.
Jones has enjoyed a strong season, having regained his professional status through Q School in 2020. The Welshman dropped off the tour at the end of the 2019 season whilst suspended. However, his return to the circuit has seen him produce some good snooker, including a run to the semi-finals of the 2020 Scottish Open.
Jones now faces Li Hang for a place at the Crucible, after the Chinese cueman overcame Andrew Higginson 6-2.
I’m quite happy for the big mam from Brazil although, at the same time, I’m sorry for Thepchaiya Un-nooh. I like to watch them both. Jamie Jones is really making the most of his retunr to the main tour, all credits to him. As compared to previous “cases”, I always thought his pinishment was particularly harsh, but maybe, in a strange way, the setback may prove to be the defining challeng that made him a better player and a stronger person.
All three Thai players fell at first hurdle.
On the other hand of the 20 Chinese players involved in the qualifiers, 12 are still in the draw, and three are well placed to be redeemed via the one year list. Over 2 in 3 of the Chinese players who competed on the Tour this season are under 25. Clearly they will be a big part of the future in our sport. Yet, there is next to none coverage by WST of their accomplishments during those qualifiers. Four of them played and won yesterday. Yet again, the above report only mentions one of them “en passant”.
Judd is right in saying that there is far too much focus on the older players, and I will add that there is also too much focus on the Bristih/Irish players. I know that it may be more diificult to interview the Chinese players, because of the language barrier especially as Tai Chengzhe, the assistant media officer is still stuck in China, but a number of the younger players do speak decent english.
Jimmy White has been given an invitational tour card for the next two seasons on the World Snooker Tour, due to his outstanding contribution to the sport.
The 58-year-old Londoner lost to Stephen Hendry in the first qualifying round of the Betfred World Championship this week.
Despite some impressive results this season, including a run to the last 16 of the BetVictor Gibraltar Open, White would drop off the tour at the end of the season. However his invitational tour card, first awarded in 2017, has been extended by two years.
White has won ten ranking titles as well as the Masters, and has reached the final at the Crucible six times.
In a joint statement, WST Chairman Barry Hearn and WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “Jimmy is one of snooker’s one-time greats, not only in terms of his achievements on the table, but also in his massive worldwide popularity. He has done so much to promote snooker through his playing style and charisma. He remains a great asset to our sport and we had no hesitation in offering him a tour card for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.”
White said: “I would like to thank Barry and Jason, I am very grateful for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to a new start next season.”
In all there will be four invitational tour card holders during the 2021/22 season: White, Marco Fu, Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry.
This didn’t go down well with a few, including Mark Allen who branded the decision “shocking”.
I have to admit that I’m in two minds about this.
Let’s put it this way. I do understand why WST wants to reward the players who massively contributed to grow the game especially in those times or places when it struggled. Therefore I don’t mind such wildcards, but they should come on top of the 128 regular spots. They should not take spots that should go to promising prospects. Very rarely do all players enter the draw anyway. Yes, it would limit the spots for the Q-school top-ups, but I do object to the top-ups anyway, largely because, with all Q-schools and all qualifiers held in the UK this system mainly favours the UK based players AGAIN. I will change my mind when qualifiers will be scrapped or played at/near the final venue for all events, and there will be an Asian and European leg of the Q-school, or even better, no Q-school in its current form at all. In it’s current format I’m not at all convinced that the best players do come through it.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is heading back to the Crucible as world champion and much more (Picture: Getty Images)
Stuart Bingham leads Luca Brecel 6-3 after an enthralling first session of their Judgement Day encounter at Betfred World Championship qualifying.
These are all trivial, irrelevant and facile facts compared to the clear and present danger of Covid-19, an illness O’Sullivan has been closer to than the cue ball in recent times.
World number 53 Tian Pengfei is just two frames away from a second Crucible appearance, leading 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott 8-1 after the first session of their final round meeting at Betfred World Championship qualifying.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 