Ronnie booked his place the last 16 round in Wuhan yesterday. He beat Pang Junxu by 5-4 in a very hard fought match. Ronnie is clearly giving it his best so far in Wuhan and is lucky to be scheduled in the evening session (in Wuhan) for all his matches so far. Long may it continue…
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan came from 4-3 down to defeat young Chinese star Pang Junxu 5-4 and earn his place in the last 16.
The Rocket remains locked in a battle to stay at the top of the world rankings this week, with Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen in pursuit. However, O’Sullivan knows that Allen must win the event to stand any chance of usurping him.
The penultimate frame saw O’Sullivan fortuitously leave Pang angled in the yellow pocket. With no obvious way to escape and leave the balls safe Pang afforded O’Sullivan a chance, which he pounced upon with a run of 117 to force the decider. A break of 64 helped the seven-time World Champion take the final frame and set up a meeting with Yuan Sijun.
O’Sullivan said: “Pang is a really good player. He is a good match player, with a good temperament, hungry and a tough opponent. He has the desire to want to do well. That is always hard to play against. I just think Chinese snooker is getting stronger and stronger. There are so many good Chinese players. It was a tough game.”
As usual there are some videos shared by ES on their YouTube channel
Frame 1 … and a good 67 by Ronnie
Frame 2 … with a 128 by Ronnie
Pang’s century to lead 4-3
and the last frame …
… that actually wasn’t a century at all. Ronnie finished with 101 points, but his break was 64.
There were also images, shared on social media ( X and Weibo)
Ronnie will face Yuan Sijun today… another tough opponent.
We still have 6 of the top 16 in the draw: Ronnie, Judd Trump, Mark Allen, Ali Carter, Barry Hawkins and Jack Lisowski. We also have 6, mostly young, Chinese players still standing: Wu Yize, Lyu Haotian, Zhang Anda, He Guoqiang, Yan Sijun and Xiao Guodong. Some good matches in prospect … play starts in 10 minutes!
The WST is disappointed to hear that a number of players under contract with the WST have elected not to play in a WST event, preferring instead to play in a non-sanctioned event in Macau thereby being in breach of the terms of their player contract.
Following recent speculation and the publication of an article containing many inaccuracies, the WST would like to make its position clear regarding non-sanctioned exhibition events.
It is important to stress that WST players do not have to enter all WST events, they have the freedom to choose, which has always been the case. This level of freedom is unlike any other sport where players have voluntarily opted to enter contracts with their club/organisation. However, with this level of freedom we do make clear in our player contracts that a player must not do anything that is detrimental to the WST or a WST event. It is without doubt that playing in a non-sanctioned event instead of playing in a WST event is detrimental to that WST event.
Given the exhibition event in Macau directly clashes with the final stages of the Northern Ireland Open, a player’s participation in it would constitute a breach of their player contract given that to compete in Macau, the player would not be available to compete in the Northern Ireland Open thereby devaluing the Northern Ireland Open.
Unfortunately, despite engaging in email correspondence and phone calls intended to best explain our position and enable the players to make informed decisions, five players (four of whom are ranked within the top 16) have decided not to compete in the Northern Ireland Open and have withdrawn their entry in order to play in Macau. These players are Mark Selby, John Higgins, Luca Brecel, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Ali Carter, none of whom will therefore appear in Belfast.
As a result, if these players decide to participate in the exhibition in Macau, the WST will have no alternative but to refer them to the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee for breach of their player contract, and this has been clearly communicated to the players.
Taking necessary action in these circumstances protects WST events on behalf of the fans who attend and follow our events through television and social media, our sponsors/commercial partners, broadcasters/streaming partners and most importantly, the other 125 members of the WST.
WST has always been and will continue to be supportive of a player’s earning opportunities outside of the WST provided that these do not distract, devalue, or conflict with the WST or a WST event. Players and promoters have ample opportunity to play in and host non-sanctioned events during gaps in the WST calendar. The WST does not therefore support any clash with a WST event and would consider a player’s decision to prioritise a non-sanctioned event clashing with a WST event to be a breach of their player contract, as this would undoubtedly result in sizeable financial implications to the WST including loss of broadcast income, and sponsorship and ticket sales revenue let alone losses due to any reputational damage.
We reiterate that we are running the sport for all 130 players on the WST, and this will always be our guiding principle.
I’m not sure where to start with this statement.
Despite being now guaranteed a minimal 20000 pounds in earnings, the players are essentially self-employed. For the ones possibly nearing the end of their career, with no guaranteed retirement money, it is a logical, rational, decision to try to maximise their incomes whilst they still can. Three of the players involved are over 40, therefore, clearly in that situation. Surely WST can see that.
In the paragraph I have put on a green background, WST argues that the players opting for Macau devaluate the 2023 Northern Ireland Open. It is true that if the top players are not at an event, it is harder to promote it, however, I don’t see how, by playing in Macau, they would directly harm the event more than by just not entering it, which would be their right. The fans intending to attend the NI Open are unlikely to book a plane to Macau to watch that exhibition instead. The players in question do indeed send a signal that the WST events are not attractive enough to them but … I think that WST should have a very good look at themselves and the way they run the sport here, in particular there should be more focus on the quality of the venues, the facilities they provide to players and fans: hospitality, resting rooms, practice rooms, general comfort and cleanness, quality of the food on offer, etc… They also need to have a good look at their calendar. Other than the money on offer here, there is the fact that the NI Open is sandwiched between two important, lucrative ranking events in China. Going back and forth through continents and time zones is tiring and costly. Those players, who will not need to qualify for the Scottish Open, and will play held-over matches at the International Championship may find it more efficient, and less demanding on their bodies and mind to just stay in China. I can’t blame them, as a lot of upsets this week are clearly fatigue related. If they are offered some earning opportunities on top of that, why should they not take them?
I’m not saying that WST task is easy, it isn’t, but this whole situation is not all black and white. They have a responsibility in this situation. That’s a fact, whether they want to accept it or not. Yes, they do run the sport for all players, but those top players are the ones bringing the dosh on board, alienating them will NOT help in the long term at all.
Snooker is clearly in a crisis and I’m not sure that a heavy handed approach is the way to resolve it. More flexibility is needed, and departing from the rigid money based ranking system would definitely make it easier. One size doesn’t fit all. The needs of the young up and coming players are not the same as the needs of those with 25 years + in the professional job, and family responsibilities.
WUHAN OPEN 2023: RONNIE O’SULLIVAN CRUISES PAST MARK DAVIS, JOHN HIGGINS STUNNED BY MARK O’DONNELL, DING DUMPED OUT
BY JAMES HILSUM
Ronnie O’Sullivan secured his place in round three of the Wuhan Open in a fairly straightforward manner after overcoming Mark Davis 5-1. Elsewhere, John Higgins was sent packing in round two after losing by the same scoreline to Mark O’Donnell, in a day of shocks following the exits of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson. Meanwhile, Chinese player Ding Junhui lost 5-0 to his compatriot Yuan Sijun.
Ronnie O’Sullivan cruised into the third round of the Wuhan Open after claiming a comfortable 5-1 win over Mark Davis.
It was a second successive 5-1 victory for the Rocket after beating Ken Doherty on Monday, with breaks of 69, 101 and 62 doing the damage.
O’Sullivan will next face Pang Junxu on Wednesday.
The Rocket won the first frame after Davis left a long green over the centre pocket, which he potted, before moving onto the brown and blue to move 1-0 ahead.
That lead was doubled with a break of 69 after Davis relinquished his hope of restoring parity after missing a black, and the Rocket potted the yellow and green.
The world No. 1 was motoring towards a whitewash victory when he extended his advantage with a break of 101 to claim a first century appearance of the week.
Those hopes of a whitewash were extinguished though, as O’Sullivan could only watch Davis build up a very respectable frame-winning break of 75 to get off the mark.
Davis then left a red over the middle pocket and Ronnie motored to break of 68, only to be thwarted be a red himself and give Davis a chance to save the frame.
It would be a brief reprieve though, as Davis failed on a pink, and O’Sullivan cleared up the remaining reds and all the colours up to the black to move one frame away from victory.
The fifth and final frame gave O’Sullivan some nervy moments after he missed a red, before Davis left another over a corner. There was hope for Davis again, as the Rocket missed an awkward blue.
A brief safety battle ensued, before the world No. 1 eventually prevailed 78-50 to win the match with relative comfort.
WUHAN OPEN 2023: RONNIE O’SULLIVAN AFTER MARK DAVIS WIN – I’LL KEEP PLAYING SNOOKER UNTIL I DIE
BY EUROSPORT
Ronnie O’Sullivan insists he is happy to compete on the snooker table even when he is not at his free-flowing best. The seven-time world champion eased into the last 32 of the Wuhan Open in China on Tuesday with a 5-1 win against Mark Davis. He next faces Pang Junxu on Wednesday afternoon. “I love competing. This is a big tournament and you want to do well in the big tournaments,” said O’Sullivan.
Snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan insists he will happily keeping playing snooker until he dies.
Speaking after his 5-1 win over fellow Englishman Mark Davis in the last 64 of the Wuhan Open on Tuesday, the world No. 1 admitted he has no plans to hang up his cue as long as he is fit and healthy.
“I love the game, I enjoy it,” O’Sullivan told reporters. “Sometimes it frustrates me, but I love the game, so why not? Keep playing until I die.“
“I can’t really comment on my form. I’m just playing and trying to be resilient,” said O’Sullivan as he remained in the hunt for the £140,000 first prize.
“I try to fight for every ball and every match. You don’t always play great, but sometimes you have to find a way to win.
“I love competing. This is a big tournament and you want to do well in the big tournaments.”
“I don’t look no further than my next match,” added the Shanghai Masters winner, whose last ranking title success came with his seventh world title victory in May 2022.
“Sometimes you win, but I lose in 90% of the tournaments I play in.
“I probably win one in 10. So you try to do well in the big tournaments. When we play in a venue like this, good crowd and good venue, it makes you want to play well.
“That is what is important to the top players when you have a good crowd watching..the top players usually respond to that occasion.”
And they shared the end of the match on their YouTube channel
There were alsome some pictures shared on weibo
That came on a day where Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, John Higgins and Neil Robertson all bowed out, whilst a lot of Chinese players, including young ones, are doing well.
Neil Robertson admitted that being away from his family has been taking his toll on him and he intends to skip a few events to to back to Australia for some family time.
Meanwhile the sport we love is facing a major crisis and I’m not sure that WST answer to it is the right one but that’s for another post probably later today …
Ronnie O’Sullivan scored a 5-1 win over Ken Doherty on day one of the inaugural Wuhan Open, to prevent himself falling from the summit of the world rankings.
Defeat for the Rocket would have seen World Champion Luca Brecel become world number one for the first time. O’Sullivan will stay on top for now, but Mark Allen could still dislodge him this week if he were to win the event.
The Wuhan Open marks a significant return to ranking event action in Asia, after four years off the calendar. A raucous crowd welcomed two snooker superstars to the show tables this evening, with 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan competing in tandem with Chinese number one Ding Junhui’s game against Ashley Hugill.
It was 1997 Crucible king Doherty who took an early lead, but a break of 88 saw O’Sullivan restore parity and he then took a tight third to move 2-1 in front.
From there, the seven-time World Champion blitzed to the line. He crafted further breaks of 89 and 82 on his way to making it five on the bounce and ran out a comfortable victor.
Afterwards he admitted he enjoyed sharing the stage with his old practice partner Doherty and playing on the table next to Asian legend Ding, who progressed with a 5-3 defeat of Ashley Hugill.
“I played a lot with Ken when I was a kid, well I was a kid and he was an adult. I learned a lot from him,” said the now 47-year-old O’Sullivan.
“I call Ding the Godfather of snooker in China. He put snooker on the map here. He came along at an early age and was winning tournaments. He is a great player and has been a constant of the game for 20-years, so Ding is a legend in China. He is a credit to himself, his family and everyone in China. To share the venue with Ding was nice. He got an amazing cheer which was nice to see.”
Snooker in CRISIS with Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel leading a player mutiny – as Ronnie O’Sullivan brands governing body’s stance ‘b****cks’
Selby, Higgins and Brecel are among five players to have snubbed a key event
The trio have shunned this month’s Northern Ireland Open to play in Macau
Mark Selby, John Higgins and world champion Luca Brecel are leading a player mutiny – handing an embarrassing snub to snooker bosses.
Four-time world champions Selby and Higgins plus the reigning Crucible king Brecel – along with Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh – have shunned this month’s official Northern Ireland Open.
Despite threats of legal action from World Snooker Tour, the five decided not to enter Belfast and opt instead for a lucrative Macau exhibition.
WST bosses sent first emails and then strongly-worded letters claiming if the players took part in Macau they would be breaching contracts, harming the game and facing disciplinary action.
But lawyers representing the players reckon the threats are baseless since they did not enter the Northern Ireland event, and believe they are just doing what they want on their own time.
Both John Higgins (left) and world champion Luca Brecel have shunned the Northern Ireland Open
And world No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan, himself playing in a Shanghai exhibition this month, has backed the ‘Macau Five’ – describing WST’s stance as ‘b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that’.
Many of the players involved are furious over what they see as heavy-handed tactics. Part-organiser Victoria Shi, owner of a Sheffield academy, has also been threatened with action.
Selby, who has suffered badly with mental health issues in recent years, is understood to have requested he receive no further correspondence on the matter.
This comes with another highly-paid unofficial event featuring O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski and Ding Junhui looming even sooner this month in Shanghai.
The Shanghai exhibition takes place during the Northern Ireland Open qualifying event. Top-16 players involved could still appear at the final stages given their opening rounds are held over.
But WST were also unhappy with big names playing this event – believing it will leave the qualifiers in the shade. They originally banned the players from taking part – before softening their stance.
And they issued similarly threatening letters to players insisting they keep all involvement in Shanghai quiet demanding a social media and news blackout – and participation in Belfast, for which only Williams is confirmed.
The player-power situation presents a huge challenge for the governing body going forward, with big-name stars openly flouting their authority – and lawyers no doubt licking their lips.
With Chinese tournaments back in the calendar this season after three years following the Covid pandemic, WST had been hoping for a smoother ride in 2023-24.
But after those years of reduced earnings new opportunities are opening up in the Far and Middle East. Players want to cash in – leading to the current row.
And events of the week have highlighted a chasm between the best players and the game’s rulers. There has even been hushed talk of a boycott of January’s prestigious Masters.
O’Sullivan has been among those fiercely critical of some aspects of the way the tour is organised, the venues used in the UK, and the treatment of the players outside Asia.
He has even in the past suggested the possibility of a breakaway tour – which today sounds less fanciful than it did.
WST were accused earlier this year of attempting to gag players and bar them speaking to the media about a large meeting discussing the future of the sport.
But on this occasion it appears any similar attempts have backfired, with the players involved calling WST’s bluff over both Macau and Shanghai.
O’Sullivan, the sport’s biggest draw, has led calls for players to be able to maximise their earnings.
On the Shanghai exhibition, he said: ‘There is absolutely no reason to try and stop me and other players going to Shanghai during the Northern Ireland qualifiers.
‘That is a small event, we are not involved, and we could still play in the final stages with our matches being held over.
‘Players are just trying to earn money, it is their choice. And they are realising their value. They are trying to restrict us. Those involved in Shanghai were sent letters advising them not to play.
‘I know for the tournament in Macau players were also sent even stronger threatening letters telling them it was in breach of their contract.
‘That with an opportunity to play in an official tournament they were turning it down and choosing to go somewhere else, and it was damaging for the sport.
‘It is b*ll*cks, trying to scare players like that. It’s wrong and I am glad they have taken a strong stance.
‘This is about players being able to earn what they can, and choose how and when they play. They can enter a tournament – but they don’t have to.
‘They used to try and tell me what to say, until I got a really good lawyer who kicked back at them. If they want to play silly games, we can all play silly games.’
WST were asked a number of pertinent questions, and given the opportunity to respond to the story. A spokesperson would say only: ‘WST does not publicly discuss private conversations with the players, or share contractual information.’
I’m not sure why this is seen as a “mutiny”. My understanding was always that players are not obliged to enter any event, and can play in what they want in their “free” time provided that it is not televised or streamed, unless they get permission from WST. After all they are essentially self-employed, although the guaranteed 20000 pounds may have changed that situation slightly. But, as far as I know, the players don’t get anything from WST/WPBSA, when they retire, so they need to secure their financial future whilst they still can. Higgins, Selby and Carter are all over 40 and in the last part of their professional career.
The streaming/television restriction was applied with sometimes ridiculous rigour in the past, notably when Paul Mount was forced to stop streaming the Pink Ribbon, a big charity pro-am, raising funds to support breast cancer research and care, that was happening in the middle of the summer when nothing else was on or even close to happen. But this is much higher profile and it does clash with a WST event.
What has changed of course in recent years is that, even if promoters do not stream or televise events, fans are now taking and sharing a lot of images and videos over social media providing huge exposure totally out of the control of the governing body.
Judd Trump came from 7-3 down to beat Zhang Anda 9-7 in the final of the BetVictor English Open to land his 24th ranking title and first for 19 months.
China’s Zhang, who had never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event, threatened the biggest upset in a final since Fan Zhengyi beat Ronnie O’Sullivan to win the 2022 European Masters. But a missed blue when he had the chance to lead 8-3 proved the turning point as his opponent stormed back to win the last six frames. Trump came from 5-2 down to win his semi-final against John Higgins 6-5 on Saturday, and proved again tonight what a dangerous force he is with the wind in his sails.
Victory ends a long wait for ranking silverware for Bristol’s 34-year-old Trump, stretching back to the Turkish Masters in March 2022. He did win snooker’s biggest invitation event, the Masters, in January this year, but his performances in ranking events had left him disappointed, notably when he was beaten by Barry Hawkins in the final of the BetVictor European Masters in August.
With 24 ranking titles he moves into sixth place on his own on the all-time list, one ahead of Neil Robertson and just one behind Mark Williams. It’s his second English Open crown and he moves top of the BetVictor Series rankings after three of the eight counting events. The series leader after the BetVictor Welsh Open in February will bank the £150,000 bonus which Trump scooped in both 2020 and 2021. He moves up one place to fourth in the world rankings and climbs to second on the one-year list.
Zhang, age 31, has enjoyed the best week of his snooker life, notably knocking out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last 16. He looked composed and in control at 7-3, but faded in the closing stages as he let slip the chance to become the sixth player from mainland China to win a ranking title. The £35,000 runner-up prize is by far his biggest pay day and boosts him from 57th to 40th in the world rankings.
Leading 5-3 after the first session, Zhang raced clear in the first two frames tonight with breaks of 109 and 98 for 7-3. In frame 11 he was on 19 with the reds nicely spread when he missed a tricky blue to a centre pocket. Trump later led 39-26 when he played a clever cross double on the third-last red to a centre pocket which set him up for a break of 29 to take his first frame of the night. And he built momentum with a 135 total clearance to trail 7-5 at the interval.
Frame 13 was a scrappy affair, resolved when Trump dropped the last red into a centre pocket as he closed the gap to just one frame. A run of 53 gave the Englishman control of the 14th and he later added 17 to square the match for the first time since 1-1. A fragmented 15th frame also went Trump’s way as he edged 8-7 ahead, before wrapping up the contest in style with a break of 92, drawing cheers from the packed crowd with a series of flamboyant shots in the victory lap.
“I was up against it the whole day,” said Trump. “In the end I managed to find some momentum and clawed it back. Zhang played well until 7-3 and put me under a lot of pressure, it was only when he missed a couple that I started to turn it round. After he beat Ronnie I knew he was comfortable to get over the line against anyone. He looked at home, I was just hoping that something drastic was going to happen because he was looking like the best player in the tournament. I had to stay patient and dig in because losing in a final is not a nice experience when you have to watch your opponent pick up a trophy.
“I wasn’t getting chances and even when I did I wasn’t scoring. The two frames to get back to 7-5 at the interval, that kept me in it and I was hoping he would feel the pressure of his first final.
“I was struggling with my tip and I lost two of the frames in the first session because of that. After the session I decided to change it and (tournament director) Paul Collier put on a great new tip. I stayed at the venue from 4pm to 7pm just practising with the new tip, I didn’t go back to the hotel at all. I feel rewarded now because I could have just decided it wasn’t my day, or not played with the new tip. I have never had to do that during a match before.
“The crowd here was brilliant all week, it’s great to play in front of a full house and the atmosphere for the semis and final this weekend was incredible.”
In the past, I have often criticised Judd Trump’s attitude when things weren’t going his way, and his seemingly arrogance when they were, but in recent years there has been none of it. He has matured a lot and that makes him much more likeable. It also makes it easier for me to appreciate what he does at the table. It was alway puzzling me that public persona of Judd, because I had met him several times, away from the snooker spotlights, and in those occasions he always came across as a rather shy, well mannered young man.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 