Yesterday was the “première” of Ronnie’s film, “the Edge of Everything” and, from what transpired, it was certainly a mediatic success with some well known figures attending the event, along with Ronnie’s family and friends.

From what transpired, Judd Trump attended as well. Good on him.

Phil Haigh reported on the experience …

Ronnie O’Sullivan admits documentary was ‘hard to watch’ and tells fans not to worry about him

Phil HaighTuesday 21 Nov 2023

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything is released this week and the subject of the film admits it was a hard watch for him.

The film will be shown in selected cinemas on Tuesday 21 November before a release on Prime Video two days later and it is a treat for fans of the Rocket, snooker and sport in general.

It was not necessarily a treat for O’Sullivan to watch back himself, though, with the documentary offering a really intense look at his life and the experience of competing under the pressure of the World Championship at the Crucible.

The documentary follows O’Sullivan’s campaign at the 2022 World Championship and at times, specifically in the final against Judd Trump, the level of pressure is enormous, with the Rocket admitting he was struggling badly to deal with it.

The 47-year-old says things were actually not as bad as they appear on film and seeing himself in that state was tough to watch.

In a video posted on Instagram, O’Sullivan said: ‘To give you a little insight, it’s quite sort of live, not staged, warts and all. I have watched it and I must admit it was quite weird to watch yourself in them moments.

‘I can honestly say it didn’t feel anywhere near as bad as it looked. It was a hard one for me to watch back. But don’t worry for me, I’m all good, I’m healthy, I feel great, I’ve loved every minute of my life. I do love the pressure, I enjoy it. I thrive in it. I just find it hard to contain it.

‘I’m getting better and I’m learning. It is a skill but I do deliver, evern under the most extreme pressure and you’re going to get to see that in his documentary. Live, not staged, warts and all.’

Clearly seeing himself suffering on screen has had an effect on O’Sullivan, also posting on X: ‘I look back and I think, “wow, how have I got through that?” It’s so important to look after your mental health!’

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything is available exclusively in cinemas across UK & Ireland on November 21 and launches on Prime Video on November 23.

There were a few short snippets of the film shared on social media in the last couple of days.

Also these:

The 2023 UK Championship Qualifiers…

Today, the lat round of the 2023 UK Championship qualifiers will start with eighth matches. They will be covered extensively in “Judgement Day” style.

Here is WST report on what happened yesterday

Doherty And Maguire Into Final Round

Veteran Ken Doherty remains on course to reach the last 32 of the MrQ UK Championship for the first time since 2014, as he upset the form book with a 6-4 win over Chris Wakelin in the penultimate qualifying round.

Wakelin was runner-up at the recent Northern Ireland Open but couldn’t reproduce that form as he was knocked out by 54-year-old Doherty, who was runner-up in this event in 1994, 2001 and 2002.

From 2-1 down, Ireland’s Doherty won three frames in a row to lead 4-2. Wakelin battled back to 4-4, but Doherty got the better of the last two frames and now faces a Judgement Day clash on Thursday afternoon with China’s Yuan Sijun, who top scored with 135 in a 6-5 win over Alexander Ursenbacher. All winners on Wednesday and Thursday will go through to the final stages in York, which start on Saturday.

“Chris has been playing well so I was just delighted to be keeping pace with him,” said 1997 World Champion Doherty. “I made some good breaks. I’m as surprised as anyone! It would be fantastic to walk down those stairs at the Barbican, but this game is difficult and the last round here will be tough. I’m still a competitor and I love that side of the game.”

Stephen Maguire, the 2004 UK Champion, showed signs of a return to form in reaching the quarter-finals of the recent International Championship and he rattled in breaks of 124, 75, 140, 77 and 115 in a 6-4 defeat of Ashley Hugill.

Hossein Vafaei fired runs of 133 and 109 as he whitewashed Martin O’Donnell 6-0. Stuart Bingham’s hopes of adding the UK title to his World and Masters crowns will have to wait another year as he lost 6-2 to David Lilley.

Matthew Selt fired runs of 84, 59, 127, 52, 95 and 73 as he saw off Dylan Emery 6-4, wile Anthony McGill top scored with 89 in a 6-3 defeat of He Guoqiang. Zak Surety sprang a surprise 6-3 victory over Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson, while David Gilbert’s top break of 93 helped him beat Julien Leclercq 6-1.

Joe O’Connor made a 68 clearance, from 53-0 behind, in the deciding frame to beat Oliver Lines 6-5. Germany’s Lukas Kleckers, enjoying his deepest run in this event, top scored with 105 as he beat Ryan Day 6-2.

Once again this report focuses mainly on the older players – known figures – and on the UK/Irish winners. Lukas Kleckers is the only “non UK/Irish” winner mentioned despite the fact that Hossein Vafaei, Lyu Haotian, Pang Junxu, Zou Yuelong and Yuan Sijun all won as well.

All the results are on snooker.org as always.

Meanwhile, this article by the BBC , confirms that Ronnie faces disciplinary sanctions for supporting the “Macau” players. I know that Grump will disagree, and I’m ok with that, but personally, I’m still firmly of the opinion that self-employed players should be allowed to take the best offers for them. WST argument is that their absence is detrimental to their business. Possibly, but why? Mainly because they still rely on UK/Irish players nearing their 50th for their main promotion… as the above article shows again. Those players were always going to age, and, as they near the end of their career, they were always going to look for future opportunities away from the main tour. It’s normal, it’s wise on their part and it was totally to be expected. In addition to that, they should remember how Barry Hearn grew to fame: by taking the then top players for exhibitions/tournaments all over the world and away from the “established” tour. That’s how he grew the game and, as such, he has no right to criticise those “current” players who see opportunities away from the WST tour because that’s exactly what he did at the time and it did the sport no harm, quite the opposite.