Mostafa Dorgham defeated Mohamed Khairy 5-2 in an all-Egyptian final to win the 2023 African Snooker Championship in Morocco and secure a two-year World Snooker Tour card.
Having been the runner-up in 2018, it is 27-year-old Dorgham’s maiden African title, and he is set to make his debut as a professional player during the upcoming 2023/24 WST season.
Organised by the African Billiards and Snooker Confederation and the host nation’s Moroccan Snooker and Billiards Sports Association, several continental championships were contested across 11 days at the Crucible Academy in Casablanca. A total of 140 players in the main event were split into round robin groups with the top two from each advancing to knockout phase.
Dorgham cruised through his group without dropping a frame before eliminating Rizk Rady and Ahmed Galal both 3-0 in the last 64 and 32 respectively. His path to glory became significantly tougher from there, though, needing to come back from 2-0 down to defeat Ahmed Samir 4-2 in the last 16 and surviving a deciding frame as he ousted Abdelrahman Shahin 4-3 in the quarter-finals.
On finals day in the last four, Dorgham registered a 94 break on his way to seeing off fellow countryman Mahmoud El Hareedy 4-2.
Emerging from the other side of the draw was former professional and two-time finalist Khairy, who also topped his group and subsequently recorded victories against former champion Amine Amiri (last 64) and Hatem Yassen (quarter-finals). In the other semi-final, Khairy eliminated Morocco’s Hamadi Zerkani 4-2 to book another final berth.
Khairy was on course for a remarkable hat-trick having already claimed two titles during his trip. The 41-year-old pipped Shahin (Egypt) 6-5 in the final to win the African 6-Red Snooker Championship and completed a double when he defeated Houssin Maazouz (Morocco) 4-1 in the African Seniors Snooker Championship.
For the fourth time in the past five editions, the final of the main championship featured two Egyptian cueists, with both of this year’s finalists coming from the capital city Cairo. Khairy made the better start by taking the opening frame although Dorgham strung together the next three for a 3-1 lead.
The deficit was halved when Khairy gained frame five, but Dorgham was not to be denied the biggest prize of his career to date as he won the following two frames for victory.
Dorgham is now set to join compatriot Mohamed Ibrahim – winner of this title in 2022 – on the sport’s top tier over the coming months.
Khairy scored the tournament’s highest break for an effort of 119.
In an all-Moroccan final, Bennani Hind defeated Yasmine Yathrib 3-0 in the final to win the African Women’s Snooker Championship.
Congratulations Mostafa Dorgham !
The event was played at “The Crucible”, in Casablanca, Morroco. It’s a very nice club where I had the pleasure to take pictures at an exhibition featuring Ronnie and Jimmy. We were made to feel very welcome.
It’s not the first time I watch matches involving players from Africa, and, this year I could see a big improvement in the quality of the snooker on display. It’s still not at the level of the UK/European best amateurs but it’s improving steadily.
It’s the Africa Championship but most players were either from North Africa or South Africa (the country). Central (black) Africa was largely absent. There are many reasons for this of course: cultural, economical … and climatic as well probably.
I liked it that often, at the end of the match, players embraced … a bit like in tennis,
As often with streaming on facebook, there was a chat going with the streaming. I couldn’t watch everything of course – especially as my Internet failed for several hours yesterday evening – but I didn’t see nasty comments on those chats I followed, contrary to what is so often the case on other streams. People were supporting their favourites, but in good spirit.
Also, the women’s game in Africa is still far from the level required to be competitive even in WWS tournaments. But, contrary to what happens so often when WWS matches are streamed, those men who were following the matches in the chats were very supportive. I didn’t see disparaging comments at all. Nothing in the line of “women are inferior, will never make it, should stay away from the sport”. Quite the opposite, there was praise for good shots and encouraging comments. The girls were sporting the “normal” snooker attire. I didn’t see any with a scarf on their head, nor any comment suggesting they should wear one. And all this is quire remarkable considering that North Africa’s is predominantly influenced by Islam and traditions are still very strong.
The Chinese Billiards Association’s violation of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
Code of Conduct Punishment decisions for Chinese players
10 Chinese professional snooker players participated in the World Professional Snooker Event hosted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), and violated the WPBSA code of conduct by manipulating the results of the game, Beijing time on June 7 The WPBSA announced the penalty decisions for the 10 players. In order to rectify the past and learn from the past, the China Billiards Association, in accordance with the “Sports Law of the People’s Republic of China” and the “China Billiards Association Professional Players Committee Management Regulations” Article 22 and Article 32 and the “China Billiards Association Disciplinary Guidelines and Penalties According to Articles 5, 7 and 10 of the Regulations, the 10 players will be punished as follows:
Liang Wenbo and Li Xing are punished with a lifetime ban, and they are prohibited from participating in all billiards matches and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Lu Ning will be suspended for 8 years until December 6, 2030. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Suspend Yan Bingtao for 7 years and 6 months until May 11, 2030. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Chen Zifan will be suspended for 5 years until December 20, 2027. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Zhang Jiankang will be suspended for 4 years and 5 months until May 1, 2027. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Bai Langning will be suspended for 4 years until December 6, 2026. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Zhao Xintong will be suspended for 2 years and 6 months until July 1, 2025. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Zhao Jianbo will be suspended for 2 years and 4 months until April 7, 2025. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
Chang Bingyu will be suspended for 2 years until December 7, 2024. During the suspension period, he is prohibited from participating in all billiards events and activities in mainland China in any form and in any capacity.
For the record those were the WPBSA/WST decisions
the other players concerned.
Liang Wenbo has been given a lifetime ban from snooker and is to pay £43,000 in costs.
Li Hang has been given a lifetime ban from snooker and is to pay £43,000 in costs.
Lu Ning has been given an 8 year suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 5 years and 4 months until 6 April 2028. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Yan Bingtao has been given a 7 year and 6 months suspension, reduced following early admissions and plea of guilty, to 5 years until 11 December 2027. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Zhao Xintong has been given a 2 year and 6 months suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 1 year and 8 months until 1 September 2024. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Zhao Jianbo has been given a 3 year and 6 months suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 2 years and 4 months until 7 April 2025. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Chang Bingyu has been given a 3 year suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 2 years until 7 December 2024. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Bai Langning has been given a 4 year suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 2 years and 8 months until 6 August 2025. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Chen Zifan has been given a 7 year and 6 months suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 5 years until 20 December 2027. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Zhang Jiankang has been given a 4 year and 5 months suspension, reduced following early admissions and his plea of guilty, to 2 years and 11 months until 1 December 2025. He is to pay £7,500 in costs.
Interestingly there is no “shortening” of the suspension period in the CBSA decision. As a result many of them will be prevented to play in China for longer than in the UK.
Player
Suspended until in the UK
Suspended until in China
Liang Wenbo
forever
forever
Li Hang
forever
Forever
Yan Bingtao
11 December 2027
11 May 2030
Lu Ning
6 April 2028
6 December 2030
Zhao Xintong
1 September 2024
1 July 2025
Zhao Jianbo
7 April 2025
7 April 2025
Chang Bingyu
7 December 2024
7 December 2024
Bai Langning
6 August 2025
6 December 2026
Chen Zifan
20 December 2027
20 December 2027
Zhang Jiangkang
1 December 2025
1 May 2027
Also, providing that the translation is correct, I wonder if “activities” includes “practicing in a club”. Coaching I’m sure will not be an option to them.
Unless those players have means to support themselves in the UK and provided that their visa stays valid or is renewed, they will have to go back to China. If they can’t even practice, I can’t see them coming back, except, maybe, Zhao Xintong, Zhao Jianbo and Chang Bingyu. Zhao and Chang could enter the Q- School to try to re-qualify for 2025/26, Zhao Xintong for 2026/27 the earliest.
And of course we have to wait and see it criminal charges will be pressed in China, which I do expect given the country stance on betting. Some of them could well end up in jail, like Liu Song.
There isn’t much going on in snooker at the moment, although this is going to change in less than a week.
So, this is a bit of a “lazy” post sharing some news and suggestions to fill the “snooker gap”.
Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips is Stephen’s YouTube Channel and there is a lot of interesting stuff as Stephen interviews and “challenges” fellow snooker players.
One of the recent videos features Ronnie taking the “Tough Table Challenge”
Ronnie doesn’t do particularly well, bur maybe Stephen is a bit guilty of distracting him throughout. In deed the chat about how they go about break building, Luca Brecel’s and Judd Trump’s unusual technique and why it could become a trend, their cues and more… I was quite baffled to hear that Stephen keeps his cue in the boot of his car, no matter the temperature or humidity level. As a result the said cue is anything but straight … I know that Stephen allegedly never recovered from the loss of his original cue. It was bent as well, but still 🤔
WST has announced that BetVictor will sponsor no less than 8 tournaments this season, including The European and German Masters and the four Home Nations events. Those tournaments will once again form a “Series”. The money list leader after these eighth events will earn the £150,000 bonus.
Following the success of the three “Ronnie and Jimmy” exhibitions over the week-end, Snookerstars have announced a “Live Tour” with Kan Doherty, John Higgins and Mark Williams in 2024. They will play in Hamm and in Munich. The announcement did not mention the dates and, although it said that tickets were already available on the Snookestars website, I couldn’t find them. Anyway… this should be good!
WST is of course not involved, instead their “rivals” the IBSF are part of WCBS, World Confederation of Billiards and Snooker. All the same, I find the idea interesting and there are some familiar (amateur) names in the draw.
I must admit that I had never before looked at what Heyball (Chinese Pool) is like.
I must say that I was rather astonished reading the second “chapter” of the rules
2. Method Of Play
(a) Chinese Pool game is played with 15 object balls from No.1 to No.15 and the cue ball. If one player chooses No.1 to No.7 (solids) then the other player must choose No.9 to No.15 (stripes), and vice versa. The shooter remains at the table as long as he continues to legally pocket his group of balls, and he wins the rack by pocketing the 8 ball.
(b) When a male player encounters a female player, the female player receives a handicap that her last ball within a rack will be removed from the table by the referee; When a male player under the age of 14 encounters a female player, it shall be an even game with no handicap; When a male player under the age of 14 encounters a male player, it shall be an even game with no handicap.
So female players are “de facto” considered weaker than male players and it’s in the rules… 😮 🙄
Ronnie and Jimmy were at the Krone Circus for the third and last of their series of exhibitions in Germany this month. Ronnie won again, this time by 6-3 (thanks Thomas for the info).
There was a “Meet and Greet” organised in a “Beer Garden” before the exhibition proper
There was merchandise at the venue
Some images of the match
And two short videos
Introducing Ronnie
Ronnie puts Maike to work … as he dons the white gloves
The second video shows what I believe was the end of the match, going by the crowd’s reaction and Ronnie’s and Maike’s demeanours.
The pictures show a 5-1 score in favour of Ronnie. All of it were shared by Snookerstars and Jason Francis on social media.
On the second day of their exhibitions tour in Germany, Ronnie, Jimmy and Jason stopped in Berlin and delighted the fans in the iconic Tempodrom. Ronnie won again, this time by 6-3. Jason still hasn’t got his luggage back, so there was some more shopping too, this time for T-shirts.
The Tempodrom was packed again and the players got a fantastic reception
Jimmy enters the Tempodrom – 17.06.2023
Ronnie enters the Tempodrom – 17.06.2023
And some photos, shared on social media by Jason, Snookerstars and fans
Also, yesterday, I wrote that I couldn’t find the report on day 1 of that 2008 event in Hamm. Well Grump is much smarter than me because they found it. Thank you Grump!
As reported by Monique over at The Snooker Forum, a three-day exhibition over in Germany began yesterday and it sounds like a lot of fun was had on day one…
To view Monique’s thread over at TSF please click here or read on here:
“Day 1 And so the three day event started yesterday and it really hit Hamm! It is great to be there with Perry and Sunflower and more members of ROS forum 😆 nice to put faces on the login names, meet the real people. Sunflower told me that the owner of her hotel had to refuse 50 guests only yesterday. That’ s how big snooker is in Germany…
Before the event I went there walking to be sure to find my way in the evening and I met Ken Doherty on the way. Ken is a charming and very kind man and we had a friendly chat. He told me how good the conditions and the venue were and how glad he was to be there. Unfortunately, he said, he has to go back to UK today (Saturday) because tomorrow he has a party: his son is one year old already! Time is flying. He also confessed he didn’t like Bahrain, not the tournament, the place: better Irish rain and green than sun and desert! 😉
On the evening we got two “serious” matches first. Mark Williams vs Chris McBreen and Barry Hawkins vs Patrick Einsle. Both Brits went through on an identical 5-3 score. But the locals (Chris is from New Zealand but lives in Germany) made them seriously work for it! Patrick in particular led 1-0 and 2-1 before Barry really got going and narrowly he failed to force a decider. Chris didn’t let go easily, coming from 2-0 down to 2-2 and, at 4-3 for Mark, fighting a long battle for snookers. As I was going from one match to the other, taking pictures, I´m not sure about the scores, but I think Mark made the only century of the evening in frame 2.
Next part was more entertainment. Shaun Murphy and Ken Doherty battled … in “Big Break” style. The challenges were: 1. First to pot ten reds 2. Colours on “random” spots (the audience “voted” them) and pot them all in order 3. Regular snooker but make a maximum of points in a limited time frame. Ken came victorious out of challenges 1 and 3. Shaun went “pouting” and almost walked out 😉 … the audience didn’t let him though. They then played three frames of snooker, Shaun clearly the best but Ken the crowd favourite 😆 It was 2-1 for Shaun … Ken taking the second frame with the help of an outrageous fluke and shameless about it.
It was a great evening, great fun. Lots of adolescent boys, enthusiastic crowd. Why isn’t WPBSA investing more in mainland Europe? I can’t get it!
Today the event is sold out, tomorrow also … I’m looking forward to it. Next report tomorrow…”
The part in bold … wasn’t in bold in the original text. The reason I did highlight it here is, well …
I wrote this some 15 years ago, it baffled me, and looking at those videos above it still baffles me. The situation hasn’t changed and the question still stands unanswered
Ronnie and Jimmy were in Hamm, with Jason Francis, yesterday evening for an exhibition organised by Snookerstars/Thomas Cesal. It was a bit of an adventurous trip for Jason whose luggage didn’t arrive and he had to go for an emergency “pants shopping” 🙄
The event was sold out and Ronnie beat Jimmy by 6-2 in front of some 1400 German fans. There were two centuries.
Here are a few images shared by SnookerStars on social media
They also shared this video showing the crowd at the start of the event
And some more of the buffet organised for the “VIPs”
It isn’t the first time that Ronnie plays an exhibition in Hamm, far from it.
This was, I think, the first “tournament” I went to. I have been pestered to add Ronnie’s victory into his professional record. I will NOT add it because, although the event was sanctioned by World Snooker, it was essentially exhibition stuff. It was played over three days and it involved a lot more players than appear in the above-mentioned report. I remember Ken Doherty being there on the first day, and Matthew Stevens, as well as German amateurs. There were all sorts of snooker challenges going on as well as “speed snooker” with Rolf Kalb doing live commentary in the arena. A lot of banter and a lot of fun. “Sanctioned” only meant that the players were allowed to play in, without being in breach of their professional contract. The tables were not certified at professional standards either.
Here are two of the reports I had written at the time and shared by Matt Huart when he was a blogger and not a member of the WPBSA staff. The report on day one seems to have disappeared entirely.
Click below to read Monique’s excellent report from day two of the exhibition event currently going on in Hamm as Ronnie O’Sullivan entered the fray…
Click here to read the report over at The Snooker Forum or carry on reading here:
“So here comes day 2 report …
It all started early afternoon, 2:30 pm, with two “quarter finals”. Neil Robertson vs Mark J. Williams: 1-5. To Neil´s “defence” it must be said that after the Pragues exhibition he and Ronnie had a very short night. I heard they landed in Dusseldorf already as 7am and then were driven to Hamm before breakfast. No wonder he was a bit out of sorts He nevertheless made the only one ton in the match. But nothing taken from Mark who played very solid. Ryan Day vs Barry Hawkins: 4-5. Barry started very strongly leading 4-0 while Ryan was obviously “cold”. Everyone expected a short match … but then Ryan recovered, and how! He won four on a row to make it 4-4. Decider was on. Barry held himself very well, and finished in style … only missing the century ball! Enthralling match and good snooker.
At 7 pm we got the evening session. I started with the “semi final” between Barry Hawkins and Mark J. Williams. Very hard fought match. Until the final frame there wasn’t more than one frame difference between the players. Both playing well and building some good breaks. I’m afraid I lost count of the centuries … I think both made at least one. Finally Barry got the better of Mark and won 5-3. His reward is to play Ronnie tonight …
Then we had some “fun” with a “speed snooker tournament”. 1. Potting ten reds as quickly as possible 2. Random spotted colours … pot then in order as quickly as possible 3. “Shot out”. Five reds in a line between the middle pocket, to be potted in the “top pockets”, each player in turn … “penalty” style. Shaun Murphy vs Ryan Day: 2-1 … it must be said that both players struggled with penalties Shaun the winner by 1-0 Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Neil Robertson: 1-2 … Neil potting all five “penalty balls” while Ronnie missed the fourth and finally Neil Robertson vs Shan Murphy 2-0. So Neil is now official ” World and Hamm Champion of Speed Snooker”
Last part: exhibition match Shaun Murphy vs Ronnie O’Sullivan: 2-3 … with three centuries in the process, one for Shaun, two for Ronnie. So you guess it it was quality. Although Ronnie’s long potting was almost not there, when in the balls he was lethal and didn’t need many chances to make the most of it. Some very clever shots to rescue the second frame after a bad start …
The venue was fully packed and even more… My estimation is that there must have been about 2000 persons there. All players were supported warmly but when Ronnie was introduced … he got a long standing ovation and you could have feared the roof would come down. It was a bit crazy All players expressed their satisfaction and awe at the support they got and wished to be back in Germany soon possibly for a ranker!
After the match there was a autograph session. It went for about two hours: almost all of the estimated 2000 wanted something signed by Ronnie it seems. People who are coming again today were asked to give priority to the others. Many went home disappointed or even angry alas. Ronnie signed a zillion things, books, t-shirts, cues and piles of posters. He didn’t sign programs or tickets though, his manager making the “filtering” … I’d want to say that this was not his decision, it was not being “moody” neither. Perry and me were both in the VIP room when this was decided by the venue manager and Ronnie’s manager. Without disclosing the content of a private conversation we overheard only because they were standing just next to our table, I can assure all disappointed fans that they had some good reason for wanting the schedule kept within reasonable limits – as it was, it already finished well after midnight – and that Ronnie wasn’t even asked about it, he wasn’t even at the venue at that moment. He signed everything he was presented with, including some tickets and programs from people who had gone through the seeve, and wrote many, many personalised messages on people’s request… It was just not possible to do more.
The last frame of the Ronnie vs Murphy match is still available on YouTube
For those of you wondering what happened on the final day in Hamm, please click below to read the latest in Monique’s trio of updates from TSF…
To view her (and other) posts in the original thread, please click here.
Day 3 and final …
Only serious snooker on Sunday night. Best of eleven between Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Again a fully packed arena, again a standing ovation! It was a very good entertaining match both player playing open attacking snooker. No centuries but breaks over 50 in every frame but one. Ronnie attempted a maxi but lost position after the 10 th red. Final score: Ronnie 6 – 2 Barry. Both players looked genuinely pleased after the match. More autographs, again an incredibly long line. Again certainly it must have finished after midnight although I didn’t stay until then… at 11:45 the line was still rather impressive.
All praise to the organisers. This was a very good event with a good mix of fun and serious quality snooker. All praise to Rolf Kalb who did a very good job at animating it. Thanks to Bernie Mickelheit and Oli Strailers (I hope I spelled this correctly, please don’t hesitate to correct me …) who “ruled” the overenthusiastic crowd sometimes firmly but kindly. And above all thanks to ALL the player who gave it their best! THIS WAS GREAT.
Now heading home. Pictures to come in the coming weeks. Be patient… I’m still working with films, so developing and scanning take some time.
Be sure to keep an eye out for those photos!
The said photos – in black & white because I developed them myself – were shared on TSF but, unfortunately, apparently all my contributions disappeared after I left the forum.
These I think are the only two surviving ones because I shared them with the players on Facebook:
Willo playing cards in the players room and Barry during his semi-final match.
This was actually the first time I saw, close up, what depressive episodes were doing to Ronnie. For most of the second day, he was sat at a table, not moving, not talking to anyone, not eating, white as a sheet of paper, eyes empty. His manager, Django, had to remind him that maybe going to the toilet before his match would be a good idea… and then took him there. In the tunnel before the match, he looked so unwell that we feared he would be sick there and then. He came to life during the match, and signed any number of items afterwards.Eventually, he asked me to get him a coffee and a couple of biscuits – I had to raid the kitchen as everyone had left already – and that was all he ate on that day. He was in tears in the taxi on his way back to the hotel … ashamed to have played so badly (sic). Nothing Django or I said would console him. Eventually, Django made sure that he was safely tucked in bed … Fortunately the next day, he went for a run in the snow, and came back in a much positiver state of mind.
This was also when I saw what kind of character Willo is. Yes, he can be rough, but he’s fundamentally a good, kind person with a warm heart and a lot of empathy. He was the one who regularly came to check on Ronnie on that day, trying to get him to eat or drink something, trying to lure him to a game of cards. He was acting like an older, caring brother. The next day, when Ronnie was OK again, normal service resumed with rough banter and never ending mutual teasing.
He nevertheless made the only one ton in the match. But nothing taken from Mark who played very solid. Ryan Day vs Barry Hawkins: 4-5. Barry started very strongly leading 4-0 while Ryan was obviously “cold”. Everyone expected a short match … but then Ryan recovered, and how! He won four on a row to make it 4-4. Decider was on. Barry held himself very well, and finished in style … only missing the century ball! Enthralling match and good snooker.
Shaun the winner by 1-0 
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Neil Robertson: 1-2 … Neil potting all five “penalty balls” while Ronnie missed the fourth 
Ronnie O'Sullivan 