Month: June 2022

Charities, Challenge, Exhibition and Pool-Swap – 19 June 2022

Monique Snooker

Today is the last day of the 2022 EBSA Championships with only Team events still underway… After that we only need to learn who will be nominated for Africa, and in less that 10 days the new season will start.

Snooker.org has already got the new ranking lists ready

Meanwhile here are some events/announcements worth our attention.

Jimmy White will do a Charity Exhibition on July, 31, to support the foundation that helped Jamie Curtis-Barret’s family when they needed it the most

Jimmy Grimsby Sunday July 31 2022

Jamie Curtis- Barret is organising this exhibition and monies go to to the local charity that helped him,  his wife and family when she was terminally ill a few years ago.

Jamie’s wife, Leanne, was diagnosed with breast cancer aged only 27. She was expecting the couple’s second child, a son named Freddie. They already had a 3 years old daughter, Georgia. Leanne fought with all she had, but survived only 3 more years. Needless to say, every help is precious is such terrible circumstances.

Jamie wants to give something back to those who supported his family. Jimmy is keen to help and aher his performance in the World Seniors sure to be a good evening.

If you ca go, wonderful! If not … please share!

Sanderson Lam, who recently regained his tour card via Q-School, is walking 100 miles this month to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Sandy’s close friend Jake Nicholson passed away last year at the age of just 28 after a long battle with cancer. You will find more about this challenge and donate to the cause by clicking here.

Theppy and Noppon are swapping to pool … they play in for the World Cup of Pool after team Philippine was unable to make it 

Un-Nooh And Saengkham To Play In World Cup Of Pool

Snooker’s top two Thai players, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Noppon Saengkham, will represent their country at this week’s 2022 World Cup of Pool at the Brentwood Centre, Essex.

Buy Tickets

Click Here For Draw Bracket

Teams

The duo were handed a spot in the prestigious event after Efren Reyes and Carlo Biado of the Philippines were forced to withdraw due to travel issues.

Un-Nooh won the Shoot Out in 2019 while Saengkham reached the last 16 of the World Championship last season. Both will be competing in the World Cup of Pool for the first time. They will play South Africa in the afternoon session on Thursday, 16 June.

The boys were beaten in the first round but if you are interested in the event

Here you will find more infos

UN-NOOH AND SAENGKHAM TO REPRESENT THAILAND AT WORLD CUP OF POOL

UN-NOOH AND SAENGKHAM TO REPRESENT THAILAND AT WORLD CUP OF POOL

News June 13th, 2022

World Snooker duo of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Noppon Saengkham will represent Thailand at this week’s 2022 World Cup of Pool at the Brentwood Centre, Essex after Efren Reyes and Carlo Biado of the Philippines were forced to withdraw due to travel issues.

Buy Tickets

Click Here For Draw Bracket

Teams

Un-Nooh, a World Snooker Tour ranking winner, and Saengkham, who reached the Last 16 of this year’s World Snooker Championship will play South Africa in the afternoon session on Thursday, 16 June with the Netherland’s match against Morocco moving to become the final action of the afternoon session on Wednesday, 15 June. This also sees Poland’s match with Hong Kong, China, and Greece vs Cyprus move forwards on Wednesday.

Revised Match Schedule 

Tuesday, 14 June – Morning

  • Germany (1) vs New Zealand
  • Chinese Taipei (9) vs Argentina
  • Albania (13) vs Italy

Tuesday, 14 June – Evening

  • USA (2) vs Canada
  • Hungary (10) vs Czech Republic
  • Spain (4) vs Australia

Wednesday, 15 June – Morning

  • Poland (15) vs Hong Kong, China 
  • Greece (8) vs Cyprus 
  • Netherlands (16) vs Morocco 

Wednesday, 15 June – Evening

  • Great Britain A (12) vs Great Britain B
  • Estonia (14) vs Serbia
  • Austria (3) vs Finland

Thursday, 16 June – Morning

  • Thailand vs South Africa
  • Singapore (6) vs Qatar
  • Kuwait (11) vs Vietnam

Thursday, 16 June – Evening

Japan (7) vs Switzerland

2 x Round 2 matches

Friday 17 June – Round 2 – both sessions

Saturday, 18 June – Quarter-Finals – both sessions

Sunday, 19 June – Semi-Finals

Sunday, 19 June – Final

Action gets underway live on Sky Sports Arena at 11 am tomorrow as well as live on DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. See the full list of broadcasters here including Matchroom.Live if no broadcaster is available. 

Session Times (UK Time)

Morning – 11 am – 3 pm

Evening – 5 pm – 9 pm (except for 19, June 6 pm start)

 

EBSA 2022 Championships in Albania Winners

Monique Snooker

Andres Petrov will become the first Estonian Snooker Professional after he defeated Ben Mertens in the Men’s event final.

Congratulations Andres!

Here is the report by Michael Day:

Estonia’s Petrov Wins European Title

Andres Petrov is set to become Estonia’s first-ever professional snooker player after he defeated Ben Mertens 5-3 in the final to win the 2022 EBSA European Amateur Snooker Championship held at the Delfin Resort in Shengjin, Albania. 

The 25-year-old was runner-up in this event five years ago in Cyprus but the Tallinn cueist went one better this time around to secure the biggest title of his career and a two-year World Snooker Tour card.

Representatives from 35 different nations took part in the 31st staging of this prestigious event which has previously been won by players such as Mark Allen and Luca Brecel.

Reigning eight-time national champion Petrov qualified for the knockout phase after topping his round robin group with three wins from three, including a victory over recent European under-18 champion Liam Davies (Wales).

In the knockout rounds leading to the final, Petrov dropped just seven frames, eliminating Darren Oldroyd (Northern Ireland) 4-1, Viktor Iliev (Bulgaria) 4-2, Aaron Busuttil (Malta) 4-1, Iulian Boiko (Ukraine) 4-1 and then Germany’s Umut Dikme 4-2 in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the draw, Mertens – who was crowned European under-21 champion here last week – was attempting to create history by becoming the first player to claim both continental titles within the same year.

The 17-year-old Belgian nearly made a maximum 147 break in the groups stage – missing the 15th black on 113 – before defeating Ilia Chisleacov (Moldova) 4-0, David Cassidy (Republic of Ireland) 4-0, Robbie McGuigan (Northern Ireland) 4-2, and then ousting England’s Josh Thomond 4-3 to reach the last four.

A repeat of the under-21 title match last weekend, Mertens again faced Austrian youngster Florian Nuessle in the semi-finals, and would prove to be a thorn in his opponent’s side once more as he booked another final berth with a 4-3 victory.

Mertens chalked up the opening frame of the final with the help of a 53 break. Petrov took the next two, but Mertens did the same in frames four and five to move 3-2 ahead. However, the Estonian was not to be denied the championship again as he fashioned a three-frame winning streak to record a memorable triumph for Baltic snooker.

Article by Michael Day.

The Women’s event was won by Wendy Jans from Belgium. It’s ‘only” the 14th time that Wendy wins this event…

The Seniors event was won by Darren Morgan from Wales. Darren has “only” won it 12 times. Ha! Still some work to do to catch Wendy then !

Morgan gets his 12th Seniors crown!

Posted on , updated on by Antonio Barroso

Welshman Darren Morgan hold his own crown at the Seniors 2022 EBSA European Snooker Championship claiming victory in the decider of the final match at Shengjin’s Delfin Resort facing England’s Wayne Brown (4-3) this Tuesday night.

EBSA Chairman Simon Smith, Darren Morgan, Wayne Brown and EBSA General Secretary Simon Smith

Morgan and Brown were both awarded by EBSA with a nomination to take part in the World Games that will take place in America next July.

German’s referee Christoph Levin and Hungarian marker Gabor Batori with an historial day as well.

«Was very hard. I’m feeling very tired. It was very difficult», told as the aged 56 Welshman, after getting the cup and retaining the European title for a record 12th time. Almost unreal longevity in the sport.

England’s Shaun Wilkes scored the highest break at Seniors event: 128 points

A legendary legacy and astonishing benchmark. England’s Shaun Wilkes scored the top break in Seniors event, with 128 points, and got hiz prize too, as well as both semifinalists placed 3rd in the event, Malta’s Duncan Bezzina and Belgium’s Peter Bullen

Game, set, match & Seniors championship for the Welsh legend: astonishing getting a 12th title!

Artemis Zizins from Latvia won the under-16 event.

Artemis Zizins U16 european champion!

Posted on , updated on by Antonio Barroso

Latvia’s Artemis Zizins is the 2022 EBSA European Snooker Championships U16 event winner and becomes the first continental champion at this age after claiming victory by 2 Frames to 1 facing Moldovian Vladislav Gradinari in the final match, played this Friday afternoon at Shengjin’s Delfin Resort.

Artemis Zizins and EBSA Chairman Maxime Cassis: it takes Art to become european champion!

Gradinari won the 1st frame but Zizins, after overcoming U18 champion Liam Davies at the semis, made quite a comeback and prevailed to win and earn The Peter Ebdon Trofhy. It takes Art to do it.

Zizins celebrated but runner-up Vladislav Gradinari got also a big applause

«I’m so happy! It’s a dream come true. I want to thank all, but especially my family for the support. It’s what I always want’», told the aged 16 Latvian new sport star to a large crowd at the Official Opening Ceremony of the event, in the hotel. The competition continues Saturday with the quarterfinals matches of the U21 event at Shengjin’s Delfin Resort.

Gradinari’s mum, Natalia, and Artemis coach joined referees and EBSA in the U16 champion celebration

Welshman Liam Davies performed with a 100 points break the best one in the U16 competition.

You will find all the results at http://www.ebsa.tv

Congratulations Wendy, Darren and Artemis!

The team events are still underway.

More Singapore pictures and David Grace’s take on Ronnie and Zhao collaboration

Monique Interview, Snooker, Snooker exhibition , ,

Phil Haigh and Nick Metcalfe are back with their podcasts after a short summer break. The last one features David Grace, one of the nicest and most interesting character on the tour. The link to the podacast is in the article blelow.

The article itself reports on David’s opinion on Ronnie and Zhao’s collaboration and what he expects of Zhao in the near future.

Ronnie himself said that he can work with Zhao because they are similar, he wouldn’t be able to help players who are too different from himself.

This is what David thinks about Ronnie’s work with Zhao and the possible outcome of such collaboration:

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhao Xintong a ‘match made in heaven,’ reckons David Grace

Phil Haigh – Wednesday 15 Jun 2022 
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Zhao Xintong
Ronnie O’Sullivan is continuing to work with Zhao Xintong (Pictures: Getty/Zhai Zheng)

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhao Xintong seem like a match made in heaven, believes David Grace, as the Rocket continues to help the Cyclone develop his game.

The world number one was working with the UK champion last season, giving him general advice on the game and looking to impart some wisdom on shot selection and tactics.

The seven-time world champion thinks very highly of the 25-year-old, saying he has the talent to become the greatest player ever and wants to help him fulfil his potential.

With the greatest player in the game’s history in the corner of one of the most talented young stars in the sport, it is an exciting prospect and one that world number 55, Grace, reckons will work for all parties involved.

‘Seems like a match made in heaven, doesn’t it? I think Ronnie could only work with players as talented as Zhao,’ Grace told the Talking Snooker podcast.

‘He couldn’t come along and turn me into a heavy scorer or a 16 seconds-a-shot merchant, could he, let’s be honest.

‘He needs to be working with that level of player and that’s what will excite him. I think Ronnie will really enjoy it as well.’

Zhao began fulfilling his immense potential last season when he won the UK Championship and German Masters – his first two ranking events.

Much will be expected of him this campaign, but Grace has urged some caution and feels it will be a good season if the world number six can go deep in tournaments more consistently.

‘If he consolidates being a top 16 player and gets to the business end of a few tournaments, I think that’s fine for him,’ said the Yorkshireman.

‘He’s suddenly gone from where he was to winning two tournaments in such a short space of time, it’ll be difficult for him to do that again, I can’t see that happening again.

‘But you never know, that might be the breakthrough that he needed and he might go on to achieve things that people didn’t think he was capable of.’

Betfred World Championship 2017 - Day 1
David Grace reckons expectations should be limited on Zhao Xintong this season (Picture: Getty Images)

O’Sullivan and Zhao’s great relationship has continued over the summer, with the Chinese star going with the world champion to Singapore to play exhibitions at the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy.

The 46-year-old is a big fan of the Cyclone on and off the table and wants to do for Zhao what the legendary Ray Reardon did for him earlier in his career.

‘He could be the greatest of all time with his talent, his ability,’ said O’Sullivan ahead of the 2022 World Snooker Championship. ‘I always say he’s Roger Federer with a snooker cue in his hands. But he’s got to develop and learn, and he will learn. He’s like me, he’s a quick learner and he’s shown that he’s on it.

SNOOKER-SIN-ROSSA-ACADEMY
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been with Zhao Xintong in Singapore as they launch the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy (Picture: Getty Images)

‘A bit like what Reardon done with me, he showed me how to defend better. Xintong attacks but it’s sometimes attacking because he’s forced to attack. I said to him, “If you do this better, you’ll always have the upper hand, the more you’ve got the upper hand the more you will feel comfortable. You don’t want to play snooker from desperation.”

‘That’s what I used to do, play from desperation. Attack because I don’t know how to get out of trouble and pot my way out of it. Let’s not do that, get the odds in our favour, but you need to go about it in a certain way for that to happen.’

Meanwhile, the pair is still in Singapore.

Some more pictures – well, a lot of more pictures actually – were shared on RoSSA facebook page. This series is about the official opening ceremony.

Here goes…

 

Ronnie was interviewed by the media in Singapore

Monique Interview, Media ,

Ronnie was interviewed by the media in Singapore and here what he had to say, reported by Eurosport:

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN: SNOOKER THE LAST SPORT I’D WANT MY CHILDREN TO PLAY, THE SPORT NEEDS TO GET ITS ACT TOGETHER

Seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan admits tennis, golf, football and athletics pose as more attractive options for parents when looking at sports their children to play. O’Sullivan is launching the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy in Singapore and will play an exhibition tournament this weekend alongside Zhao Xintong and women’s world champion Nutcharut ‘Mink’ Wongharuthai.

BY MICHAEL HINCK

Ronnie O’Sullivan says snooker “needs to get its act together” after admitting he would advise children against playing the sport.

O’Sullivan is in Singapore to officially launch the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy, and is set to play an exhibition tournament on Saturday alongside China’s Zhao Xintong and women’s world champion Nutcharut ‘Mink’ Wongharuthai of Thailand.

Speaking about the challenges snooker faces, world champion O’Sullivan admitted the sport is in a “tough position” given its competition.

“It’s hard because obviously football is such a big sport now, tennis, golf,” O’Sullivan told SNTV.

“You have all these sports so if you’re a parent, and if you’re looking at a sport for your son or daughter to get involved in, would you choose snooker? You probably wouldn’t.

“So it’s really difficult to sort of get excited about snooker. You know, I love snooker, I’ve played it all my life, but also I’m a parent as well and I think if I was advising my children on a sport to play, snooker would be the last sport I probably want them to play.

“I’d say maybe try tennis, maybe try golf, play football, maybe athletics, you know all that sort of stuff. So snooker’s in a really tough position at the moment, of where it goes, so it’s up against a lot of other good sports.

“Snooker needs to get its act together I think, more importantly, and at the moment, you can’t compare it to all the other sports really.”

Asked whether a big investment would help snooker, O’Sullivan added: “I think it’d be fantastic for the sport if that was to happen. You need someone like a big backer like the Saudi-people to just come along and say ‘look, this is what we are going to do’ and the players will be like ‘yeah, great’, they probably go for it. That probably would be a good thing for snooker.

“It may be China, maybe Saudi (Arabia), maybe one of them places I think. You need someone with deep pockets that can afford to put maybe a hundred million aside, this is it for the next five years, the players’ futures are secured, they know where they are, you know then that would be great for snooker.”

O’Sullivan won his seventh world title in May after beating Judd Trump 18-13 in the final.

The 46-year-old admitted he was not entirely enjoying his time at the Crucible, but felt the pressure to perform with a television crew following him for a documentary.

“I decided a long time ago that if something got too much pressure, or I thought you know what, I’m not really enjoying this, then it’s probably better that I lose and let somebody else have that place.

“And I felt that during this world championships. I didn’t really enjoy it. But I had this film crew following me so I thought, I better try hard because they’re following me. So that was why I won it. It wasn’t because I wanted to win it. It was just that I felt bad for the TV crew.

He added: “I don’t even actually like talking about snooker. I enjoy playing it but I don’t really want to be too involved in it. So obviously winning the world championships, it really turned everything around and everyone was like, ‘Ah you’re world champion this, world number one’, I was like oh no, I don’t want to be known as that person anymore.

“I just want to enjoy my life you know, but when you’re in the spotlight, everybody gets excited. I’m like, I don’t really want to be that person anymore.”

 

There a few things in this interview I want to comment on.

First, it’s very obvious that when Ronnie says that he wouldn’t want his son to embrace snooker, it’s “snooker as a profession”. Every parent wants the best for their kids and they want them to be able to earn a decent living and be safe economically. Whatever WST claims, only the top 32 are in that position in snooker, and to be in the top 32, you have to be exceptionally good at it. Only the very top can make enough money to be safe once they retire. Ronnie feels that other “good” sports provide better opportunities to earn, whilst, currently snooker isn’t in that position.

Ronnie mentions Saudi Arabia, no doubt because all the noise about the golf  “LIV” tour. I would hate it if Saudi Arabia was getting deeply involved in snooker. This is a terribly repressive regime that tries to rekindle its image – and secure revenues other than those provided by the oil sector – though sports. It’s called “sportswashing” and here is an article by the guardian explaining what their strategy is. It’s 18 months old but still totally relevant. Last March, Amnesty International again raised strong concerns after 81 persons were executed, some of them merely for peacefully protesting. Does the sport we love really want to be involved with such a terrible regime? Alas, they probably would … after all a very lucrative event had been planned to be played there and is probably still on the cards. Now, whilst the snooker authorities can’t possibly ignore the type of country they are dealing with, the players … I’m not so sure. Most of them don’t read much outside the UK news and even then, their interest is mainly about sports. And, of course, China is also a very repressive regime when it comes to ethnic minorities.

That said, that “sportswashing” policy inevitably brings more foreigners in the country. That, in turn, might, in the longer term, force those regimes to become more tolerant to diversity. No matter how hard you try to “hide” some realities, having more “foreign eyes” around will increase the risk of unwanted truths to be exposed. That’s inevitable: such events attract journalists, you can’t keep every single visitor in a “bubble” and some will see beyond the appearances and will talk. If it happens it will eventually backlash.

Finally about Ronnie’s “lack of desire”, I think his very emotional reaction after his win tells us everything we need to know. That said, he isn’t actually telling lies. The World Championship is a 17 days hard slog. Someone like Ronnie has to cope with a lot of tension, a lot of demands from WST and the media, a lot of expectations from the fans.  He’s naturally a rather anxious person. I do believe him when he says he doesn’t enjoy that… not after 30 years in the job and in the media spotligth. Having this documentary filmed gave him extra motivation to try his hardest.

 
…

Ronnie, Mink, Zhao and a 147 in Singapore

Monique Snooker, Snooker exhibition ,

Ronnie, Mink and Zhao’s visit to RoSSA brought a magic moment when Ronnie made a 147 against Mink. What a way to officially open an Academy!

Here you can watch it, recorded from two differerent perspectives…

And here, as well, a short interview at the opening ceremony. Ronnie wants to develop the sport in Asia. In another part of the interview, he explained again why, as a parent, he wouldn’t want his children to take on snoooker professionally, whilst insisting that he loves his sport. I can relate to what he says. One of my children is a very talented artist, but she can’t make money from her art and you don’t live out of thin air…  In snooker, whatever WST claims, unless you are at the very top, you will struggle.

Reigning and seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan launched his inaugural academy in Singapore on Saturday (11 June), and hopes to launch many more in the region to nurture talents in Asia. The Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy (RoSSA) is housed in a 16,000 square-foot venue at The Grandstand, with 12 snooker and 16 pool tables. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong graced the opening ceremony with O’Sullivan. Widely-regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time, O’Sullivan’s seven world titles is a modern-day record he jointly holds with Stephen Hendry. The 46-year-old also believed the future of the sport lies in Asia with China likely to produce the continent’s first world champion. O’Sullivan also spoke about the difficulties in developing the sport back in the United Kingdom and, citing his own troubles in finding a venue to play the sport.

On the second day, the pros played against members of the public, and Ronnie answer some questions from the fans. That’s about what transpired… but with loads of pictures on social media, mainly thanks to Gappa Gappa …

Ben Mertens qualifies for the Main Tour

Monique Professional snooker tournament

Ben Mertens, from Belgium has won the 2022 EBSA under-21 Championship in Albania, and earned a two years professional tour card.

Congratulations Ben!

This means that there will be three Belgians on the Main Tour for the next two seasons: Ben Mertens (17), Julien Leclercq (19) and Luca Brecel (27). 

Ben and Julien are new professionals and, for both of them, the support of their father, Koen and Georges, has been key to their progress and success. But it’s only the beginning … the Main Tour is brutal. Good luck to them! The hard work only starts.

Here is the report by WST:

Mertens Set For Pro Tour

Belgium’s Ben Mertens is set to join the professional circuit for the first time after he defeated Florian Nuessle 5-1 in the final to win the 2022 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championship. 

The 17-year-old joins an impressive roll of honour for Europe’s premier junior snooker competition that includes ranking event winners Mark Allen, Michael White and fellow countryman Luca Brecel. He becomes the second Belgian to lift the prestigious trophy.

A field of nearly 80 players representing 24 different nations featured in the five-day tournament that was held at the Delfin Resort in Shengjin on the Albanian coast.

Mertens – winner of the European under-18 title in Portugal last year – topped his round robin group without losing a single frame to qualify for the knockout phase, but had to show grit in order to navigate the subsequent rounds.

He made breaks of 72, 79 and 66 as he came from behind twice to defeat Alexander Widau (Germany) 4-2 in the last 32 before registering runs of 77, 51 and 68 in the final three frames to oust Ross Bulman (Republic of Ireland) 4-3 in the last 16, having been 3-1 down.

A two-time event semi-finalist on the Q Tour this season, Mertens pipped recently relegated professional Iulian Boiko (Ukraine) 4-3 in the quarter-finals and then scored half-century breaks in each frame during a far more comfortable 4-0 victory over Liam Pullen (England) in the last four. In the last 16, Pullen had constructed a break of 141 which would stand as the event’s highest.

In the other half of the draw, it was a similar story for 20-year-old Nuessle having earlier eased through his group. The reigning five-time Austrian national champion survived back-to-back deciders in the early knockout rounds and then dispatched this season’s Q Tour playoff winner Julien Leclercq (Belgium) 4-2 and Aidan Murphy (England) 4-1 in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

Nuessle gained the upper hand in the final by claiming the opening frame on the pink, but Mertens was not to be denied the biggest accolade of his career so far as he went on a five-frame winning streak – top scoring with an 84 break in frame three – for victory.

Mertens’ triumph will see him awarded a two-year World Snooker Tour card for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 professional campaigns.

Article by Michael Day.

 

 

Ronnie, Mink and Zhao in Singapore

Monique Snooker exhibition ,

Ronnie, Mink and Zhao Xintong are in Singapore, for the Great Opening of RoSSA, the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy, as well as some exhibitions. Ronnie will be there for a few days.

I didn’t find much about what exactly happened yesterday, but I did find a lot of pictures, a video and reports in the press

Here is one interview for the Singapore press

Snooker: World champion O’Sullivan aims to revolutionise sport in Asia through Singapore academy

Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan’s visit to Singapore looks set to be a major boost for the sport.

The seven-time world champion and world No. 1 is in town to launch his first Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy (Rossa) at The Grandstand in Bukit Timah and play some exhibition matches with China’s world No. 6 Zhao Xintong, women’s world champion Nutcharut Wongharuthai, Singapore’s Jaden Ong and members of the public.

He will have a hand in developing Rossa’s training curriculum and make more appearances at the academy in the future.

Hoping to leave a legacy and revolutionise and revitalise the sport in Asia, where an estimated 100 million people play it, O’Sullivan said: “I’ve taken enough from the sport. It’s time I give a bit back.”

After having his senses stimulated by a lion dance performance at Rossa on Saturday (June 11), the 46-year-old told The Straits Times how his affection for Asia came about: “Asian players respond to me more. In the UK, everyone just does their own thing and maybe they are a bit shy to share and ask for help.

“But when I go to China, a lot of the Chinese players make me eat with them. We build relationships and I feel like a part of them. We play snooker together and I start to want to show them a few things and it just became closer relationships.”

London-based O’Sullivan is known to be kind and generous with Asian players on the snooker tour and sometimes drops by Victoria’s Snooker Academy in Sheffield to give pointers to players like Zhao, whom he dubbed the “Roger Federer of snooker” and tipped to be a future world champion for his accuracy and smoothness.

Said the 25-year-old, who has two ranking titles: “It’s amazing how I’m now getting tips from my childhood hero, and how he will show up to help us in times of need, even when it comes to issues with travel documents.

“He is a great guy and a great inspiration and I really want to repay his kindness by doing as well as I can.”

Such stories are also why Rossa CEO Gary Tan decided to start the academy with O’Sullivan, and build a professional ecosystem that starts with house rules such as no slippers, no singlets, and no gambling on the premises.

He said: “Discipline, commitment, respect and focus are paramount for us. We want to do the right things, and to do things right. To be the best like Ronnie, you need to have the right approach to the game. Instilling the right values will help create the right culture so players from our academy can have the desired focus and drive to succeed.”

Rossa plans to nurture a base of quality young players and provide them competition opportunities at an Asian amateur circuit and then a professional tour. It also aims to open branches in Thailand and China to build a strong base of players to start an Asian circuit.

Despite feeling a little tired after arriving on Thursday, O’Sullivan proved to be a people’s champion, mingling freely and entertaining all wefie requests, helping to respot balls during a friendly between Zhao and Nutcharut, and giving a quick snooker tutorial to the guest-of-honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

Mr Tong noted how Rossa is playing a part to take Singapore cuesports to a new level, as it made national pool player Sharik Sayed its first scholar, awarding him free access to practice facilities, a monthly stipend, coaching and mentorship, and sponsoring his overseas tournament participation.

He added: “The opening of Rossa is a vivid example of how private enterprise can contribute to the promotion and development of sport in Singapore.

“Private academies and institutions are key stakeholders that the government will continue to work and partner with to build a strong and vibrant sporting culture in Singapore.“

And this one in Yahoo News:

Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan opens academy in Singapore

Chia Han Keong – Editor

ROSSAExho-61
Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan (left) imparting a few snooker tips to Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth. (PHOTO: Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy)

SINGAPORE — Seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan launched his inaugural academy in Singapore on Saturday (11 June), and hopes to launch many more in the region to nurture talents in Asia.

The Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy (RoSSA) is housed in a 16,000 square-foot venue at The Grandstand, with 12 snooker and 16 pool tables. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong graced the opening ceremony with O’Sullivan.

“Rather than start our academy in the United Kingdom, where snooker is already well-established, we feel Asia is the future of the sport,” said the 46-year-old Englishman.

“Singapore, with its strong links to the rest of Asia and its reputation as a global city for events, will serve as a strong springboard for us to launch our plans.”

Widely-regarded as one of the greatest snooker players of all time, O’Sullivan’s seven world titles is a modern-day record he jointly holds with Stephen Hendry.

His accolades do not end there though, as he also holds the records for most career ranking titles (39), maximum breaks (15), century breaks (1,169; no-one else has more than 900), and consecutive World Championship main-draw appearances (30).

Academy to develop strong base, organise competitions

RoSSA will seek to develop a strong base of snooker players, and organise competitions where young talents can hone their skills before taking a stab on the professional circuit. It is planning to hold 23 ranking events in 2022, and another 30 mini-tournaments.

It is also working with Cuesports Singapore (CS) to be recognised as one of the national sports association’s Centres of Excellence (COEs). Currently, the Cuesports Academy at Katong Shopping Centre is the only COE, where young players aged 7 to 16 have been training.

“There are many young talents playing in snooker halls around the region. But many of them find it hard to sustain a living while playing in domestic amateur tournaments,” said RoSSA chief executive officer Gary Tan.

“One of the key targets of RoSSA is to establish a regional amateur circuit which will both provide opportunities for these talents to compete as well as provide a sizeable prize pool for promising players to continue their development.”

To enable promising players to train while they work, RoSSA has provided scholarships to former national snooker player Jaden Ong, 32, and national pool player Sharik Sayed, 34, who is ranked 48th in the world.

RoSSA is hopeful of expanding into the region within the next year, with Thailand the likely next stop for the academy before it looks to expand to China.

ROSSAExho-55
(From left) Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong and academy CEO Gary Tan opening the academy at The Grandstand. (PHOTO: Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy)

O’Sullivan to take part in snooker tournament

As part of the academy’s launch, O’Sullivan will take part in a four-player snooker tournament featuring China’s Zhao “The Cyclone” Xintong, Thailand’s reigning women’s world champion Nutcharut Wongharuthai, and Ong on 18 June.

RoSSA members and the public may also get a chance to take on O’Sullivan in exhibition matches next week.

Here is the video, shared by RoSSA on their Facebook page:

And here another video of Ronnie in action shared by Gappa Gappa

And the pictures I found on social media, mainly Facebook, and mainly shared by RoSSA and the High End Snooker Wanghin and Gappa Gappa who is with Mink in Singapore.

(From left) Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong and academy CEO Gary Tan opening the academy at The Grandstand. (PHOTO: Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy)

And here is the schedule for the 4 men’s tournament om 18th of June (shared by RoSSA)

Here’s the schedule for the tournament on the 18th of June!
Session 1: Semi-finals, starting from 12pm
Round 1 (Best of 5) – Zhao Xintong vs Mink
Round 2 (Best of 5) – Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Jaden Ong
Third Place Playoff (Best of 3) – Loser of Round 1 vs Loser of Round 2
Session 2: Final, starting from 5pm
Winner of Round 1 vs Winner of Round 2 (Best of 7)
Who will emerge as Champion? Join us to find out!