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.
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.
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.
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.
Last year’s runner-up Ding Junhui trailed Daniel Wells three times in the penultimate qualifying round of the MrQ UK Championship but hit back to win 6-4 and keep alive his hopes of winning the event for a fourth time.
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Ding goes through to the final round – Judgement Day – and will face Robbie Williams on Wednesday with the winner to go through to the televised stages in York. The Chinese cueman won this title in 2005, 2009 and 2019 and was beaten in the final by Mark Allen last year.
Zhang Anda’s recent victory at the International Championship meant that Ding was knocked out of the world’s top 16 so he has to go through qualifying for this event. And he was in danger of defeat tonight when Wells led 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. But Ding recovered with breaks of 96 and 89 to lead 5-4, then enjoyed a massive fluke early in frame ten when he missed an attempted long red, only for two other reds to drop into pockets. He took advantage by compiling a match-winning 64.
“It was a close game, Daniel played well,” said 36-year-old Ding. “From 4-3 I knew I needed to make some breaks and put him under pressure. The fluke in the last frame was so lucky. The safety was difficult and I saw the long pot and thought I could get the white back to baulk, but I totally missed it and the two reds went in.
“It’s down to me to stay in the top 16, I have to win matches not rely on other players’ results. This is good match practice and if I make it to York maybe I’ll be ready. I love playing at the Barbican – even if I’m not playing well I always feel good there. I was really happy for Zhang to win the International. He tries so hard. It’s good to see more players from Asia winning titles.”
Williams beat Matthew Stevens 6-5 by clearing from brown to black to snatch the deciding frame.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh fired breaks of 117, 84, 87, 70, 135 and 76 as he beat Andy Hicks 6-2. He now meets Ricky Walden, who got the better of a dramatic finish to beat Marco Fu 6-5. In the deciding frame, Fu trailed 68-0 with five reds left, but got the snooker he needed and had a chance to clear, only to miss a tricky final pink with the rest. Walden slotted in the pink to secure his progress.
Wu Yize top scored with 136 in a 6-2 defeat of David Grace while Michael White made a 67 clearance in the decider to beat Si Jiahui 6-5. On a night of close finishes, Noppon Saengkham recovered a 41-0 deficit in the last frame to beat James Cahill 6-5 with a 78 clearance.
In the previous round, Ken Doherty, who has reached the final of this event three times but never lifted the trophy, earned a 6-3 win over Duane Jones with a top break of 95.
“I’m delighted to win,” said Doherty, who now meets Northern Ireland Open finalist Chris Wakelin. “I love this tournament. It’s hard to win matches these days because the general standard has gone up but my standard has gone down. I would love to get to York but it will be a very tough match next against Chris. I am under no illusions, I will just try to relax and enjoy it.
“When Jimmy White qualified for York last year, I was commentating on that match and when he walked in the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I got a bit emotional. So to have a moment like that myself would be wonderful.”
Mark Joyce made a 77 clearance in the deciding frame to edge out Iulian Boiko 6-5 while York’s Ashley Hugill took a step towards qualifying for his home tournament with a 6-3 success against Dean Young.
Ronnie O’Sullivan hid nothing from the cameras in his brilliant new documentary (Picture: Getty)
Snooker fans have waited a long time to see Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything and their patience has been rewarded because it is so much more than expected.
Cameras followed the Rocket closely in the build-up to the 2022 World Championship and throughout his campaign in Sheffield as he hunted down a record-equalling seventh title at the Crucible.
A behind-the-scenes, access-all-areas look at the GOAT preparing for the sport’s biggest event and then living through the iconic tournament was what appeared to be in the pipeline.
The Edge of Everything delivered what was promised on that front, but the film is a lot more than just documenting a snooker competition; it heads all the way back to the start of O’Sullivan’s epic career, unveiling the pain and torment he has dealt with and still struggles with at times now.
Many of the film’s most remarkable moments come from the relationship between O’Sullivan and his father, Ronnie Sr, with that thread running through the documentary to the brilliant climax.
The relationship between elite sportspeople and their fathers is often integral to their story. The recent David Beckham documentary made that clear, while the endlessly headline-grabbing involvement of John Fury in Tyson’s career continues to rumble on.
It is Beckham’s production company that is behind the O’Sullivan film, but this is very different to the enjoyable but relatively tepid PR exercise on the footballer. Equally, the father-son relationship is far from the same across the two pieces.
The Rocket’s relationship with his father is very different to most and The Edge of Everything does not shy away from the details of Ronnie Sr’s conviction for murder and how that left his young son as a huge fish in the snooker pond but struggling to keep swimming.
Ronnie O’Sullivan Sr, far left, has a key role in the documentary (Picture: Getty)
The man once known as the Essex Exocet says in one scene that he would be a ‘loser’ without the input of his dad and the push to make him the best player in the world from as young as nine years old has ultimately been successful.
There is no shortage of pain and torment, though, as illustrated in a tearjerking message from Ronnie’s mother Maria at one stage, remembering how she had to tell her son his father had been jailed.
Pain and torment are prevalent on the snooker side of things as well, with O’Sullivan living up to the title of the film by appearing very much on the edge during the World Championship final against Judd Trump.
What is going through a player’s head and what is being said behind dressing room doors have always been fascinations of snooker fans as the cueists sit silently in their chair before disappearing out of the arena. We are granted a look behind the curtain at both and it is intense.
As Trump fights back at O’Sullivan in the showpiece we are given a glimpse into what it is like when a snooker player says they are ‘gone’ and it looks like a bleak place to be.
O’Sullivan describes the World Championship as an ‘evil tournament’ earlier in the piece and it is hard to understand that phrasing at the time, but as we watch him start to unravel it begins to make sense.
Whenever the Rocket claims not to care about the sport, we can now clearly see that is untrue, but it also becomes very obvious why he tries not to hand over the fate of his feelings to snooker.
The intensity of the piece is increased by the brilliant addition of a microphone on O’Sullivan while he is playing, picking up every utterance while he’s in the arena, even to the point of his breathing.
The incredibly unique pressure of snooker is expertly shown in one scene of near silence as Ronnie tries to solve a puzzle at the table. Only his breathing and muttered frustrations can be heard as focus switches between his furrowed brow and a packed Crucible crowd.
We also get to listen to the emotional chat between O’Sullivan and Trump at the end of the final as they shared one of sport’s longest ever hugs and the Rocket’s emotions poured out.
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Trump shared a mammoth embrace at the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images)
This is very much a Ronnie O’Sullivan documentary, but anyone discovering snooker for the first time should leave with healthy respect for the mentally punishing game, so vividly represented.
If there is one thing lacking, and it is a minor gripe, but the fly-on-the-wall nature of much of the film means some things were brilliantly documented, but not questioned.
The memorably feisty interaction between O’Sullivan and referee Olivier Marteel during the final was shown in detail, but there was no further explanation from either man involved, leaving us to wonder exactly what sparked the row as confusion seemed to reign.
It is the tiniest complaint, though, of a film that does not lack insight into the man, his life and the game that has made him one of Britain’s most fascinating sportsmen.
The complexity and intensity of O’Sullivan and his sport will have you gripped throughout and if you like Ronnie Wood quoting Anton Chekov, well, it’s got that too.
I hope being able to watch it in a not too far future … as I’m living between Belgium and Greece it’s not available to me at this moment.
MARK ALLEN CROWNED CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS FOR SECOND TIME AFTER BEATING JUDD TRUMP
MARK ALLEN lifted the Cazoo Champion of Champions trophy as he swept aside Judd Trump 10-3 in Sunday’s final.
The Pistol upset the odds to take the prestigious title for the second time in his career after winning in 2020, and with it the £150,000 first prize.
World Number 4 Allen put himself in control by storming into a 7-2 lead in the afternoon session, which left him needing only three frames in the evening to clinch the best of 19 final. Trump pulled back the first frame of the session, before Allen eased to victory.
This was World Number 2 Trump’s third consecutive Champion of Champions final – he won it in 2021 – and fifth final already this year, but the Ace in the Pack was out of sorts against his Northern Irish opponent, who made it 14-11 in head-to-head clashes.
Trump’s only consolation at Bolton’s Toughsheet Community Stadium was a runners-up cheque for £60,000, as he was pipped to the title for the second year running. Last year he was beaten 10-6 by Ronnie O’Sullivan despite hitting a 147 break.
Allen joined O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson as a multiple winner of Matchroom’s Champion of Champions. He dedicated his win to a close friend, Joe Shortt, who sadly passed away this year.
“That was for Joe,” said Allen. He added: “Judd has been outstanding this season and I am fed up texting him after every tournament to say ‘well done’ so it is nice to get one back on him.
“I’ve been working so hard to get my game back, so to come here and find some form, I really enjoyed it.”
The battle of the left-handers saw Allen settle first in the afternoon session, taking the opening frame with breaks of 30 and 59 as Trump failed to pot a ball. Trump responded with some sensational snooker as he levelled the match with a clearance break of 123.
Allen stole a tight third frame, and then came from behind to take the fourth by one point and lead at the interval.
Trump was the one making more errors of the two and Allen won the next to open up a 4-1 lead. The Antrim man was clinical and a fine break of 137 increased his lead further. It was his fifth century in this year’s Champion of Champions to put him halfway to the victory mark.
Allen turned the screw against out-of-sorts Trump in a scrappy seventh frame, moving into a 6-1 lead, and went further ahead with a 65 break in the next. The final frame of the afternoon session gave Trump a glimmer of hope as he claimed it to trail 7-2 at the break.
Trump gave the capacity crowd an immediate lift when he potted a long red with his opening shot of the first frame of the evening, and later compiled a 77 break to pull one back. Allen is known for his steely temperament, however, and he took the next two frames to move to 9-3 and within one of victory.
That victory was sealed soon after as Allen put together a break of 75 to complete a dominant display.
Trump, 34, has been the dominant player on the circuit so far this season by winning four titles, including successive ranking tournament triumphs at the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open. However, it was Allen’s night.
Mary Talbot-Deegan has ended a 29-year wait for her maiden world ranking title after she dramatically defeated Jamie Hunter 4-3 to win the Eden Women’s Masters at Frames Sports Bar, London.
The breakthrough victory represents the biggest success of Talbot-Deegan’s career to date as she joins an elite band of Reanne Evans, Ng On Yee and Mink Nutcharut to have won the prestigious event since it was introduced to the calendar in 2013.
The 43-year-old returned to the World Women’s Snooker Tour in September 2021 following a break of 19 years from competition and becomes the fourth different ranking event winner of the 2023/24 season so far.
Talbot-Deegan also becomes the first ever player to have won WWS titles at Main, Under-21, Seniors and Challenge Cup level throughout her career and completes a career-best 2023 which also saw her lift the World Women’s Seniors title for the first time in Thailand earlier this year.
Having topped her round robin group stage with victories against Laura Killington, Gillian Hayes and debutant Shabnam Younus-Jewell, Talbot-Deegan overcame Sophie Nix, Tessa Davidson and Sarah Dunn to reach her first-ever ranking event final, eclipsing her run to the last four of the US Open in 2022.
Awaiting her in the title match would be two-time ranking event winner and world number five Jamie Hunter, who progressed with victories against Laura Killington, Jasmine Bolsover and most notably current professional Rebecca Kenna 4-2 in the semi-finals. The win against Kenna ensures that the pair will swap places in the world rankings with Hunter set to climb to a career-high fourth.
In a match that would feature high-quality safety play throughout, it was Talbot-Deegan who claimed the early advantage at 2-1 and a significant lead in the third frame, only for Hunter to hit back with a clearance of 39 to restore parity at 2-2.
Hunter added the fifth and looked set to complete a green to black clearance in frame six to secure her third ranking crown, but a missed pink was to prove a crucial turning point as Talbot-Deegan duly potted the final two balls to force a deciding-frame.
Both players would have chances, but it was Talbot-Deegan who maintained her composure to pot the final pink and seal a milestone victory almost 30 years from her debut at the 1994 World Championship.
The success would complete a perfect weekend for the English player as she also compiled the highest break of the weekend with her run of 84 during her semi-final win against Sarah Dunn, while her performance in the main competition will also see her climb to a new career-high world ranking of number six following the event.
“It feels amazing, I am buzzing,” said Talbot-Deegan following the final. “I always believed that I could win a title, I didn’t think this soon, but I’m on top of the world at the minute. I’ve put in a lot of hard work and am really enjoying it.
“I would like to thank everyone who has supported me including Frames Sports Bar and its owner Tony Thompson, my family, friends and Mandy [Fisher] and Matt [Huart] from WWS who have been really supportive. And all the girls on Tour who have been so supportive, that’s what I love.
“It means everything, to do it here and to hold myself together. I’ve never done it before, won a major tournament so I proved that I can do it, I didn’t bottle it and I’m really proud of myself.”
SIDE-TOURNAMENTS
The Under-21 competition was won by Scotland’s Sophie Nix as the 15-year-old edged out England’s Zoe Killington in a deciding frame to earn her first ever junior title.
The top ranked duo each progressed to the final following narrow semi-final wins against Ellise Scott and Laura Killington respectively, before Nix won the title to improve upon her final runs at last season’s Scottish Open and British Open events.
In the Seniors tournament there was a repeat winner as Tessa Davidson downed Sarah Dunn 2-0 to complete the successful defence of the Masters title that she won for the first time 12 months ago. Victories against Gillian Hayes, Annamaria Wilkins and Dunn were enough to earn her seventh Seniors title from the past two years and consolidate her position at the head of the ranking list.
The Six-Red Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the knockout stages welcomed a first-time champion as Mariia Shevchenko defeated Sarah Milne to claim a popular win. Competing in her first tournament since the 2022 World Championship, Shevchenko toppled Gillian Hayes, Annamaria Wilkins, Emma Powers-Richardson and finally Milne to secure the title.
Finally, there was further success for Mary Talbot-Deegan at the very start of the event, after she edged out Tessa Davidson in the heldover final of the UK Seniors Championship from September to complete a title double in Coulsdon.
World Women’s Snooker would like to thank event sponsors Eden Resources, our host venue Frames Sports Bar and Parris Cues – who donated a number of cue care gift bags for players – for their wonderful support of the event once again in 2023.
The WWS Tour continues in January with the staging of the Belgian Women’s Open at The Trickshot, Bruges. The event runs from 19-21 January 2024 and entry remains open via WPBSA SnookerScores.
Mink Nutcharut narrowly failed to become the first woman this century to win two consecutive matches in a ranking event as she lost 6-5 against Michael White in the second qualifying round of the MrQ UK Championship.
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Thailand’s Nutcharut led 5-2 but missed chances to win the match and was eventually beaten in a tense deciding frame by two-time ranking event winner White.
Nutcharut beat Adam Duffy 6-3 in the first round on Saturday and victory today would have made her the first woman to win back-to-back ranking event matches since Kelly Fisher in 1999. She compiled breaks of 50 and 60 in taking a 5-2 lead and held a 36-0 advantage in the eighth, but Welshman White battled back to take that frame and that proved a turning point as he recovered to 5-5.
A 45-minute decider came down to the last few balls and Nutcharut trailed 50-39 when she potted a long blue, but then missed a tricky pink to a centre pocket. White got the better of a safety exchange and converted the pink to set up a third round meeting with Si Jiahui. He needs two more wins to reach the final stages in York.
Julien Leclercq needed a half-time pep talk from his girlfriend as he hit back from 4-0 down to beat Peng Yisong 6-5. Breaks of 62 and 54 helped the Belgian 20-year-old to take six of the last seven frames.
The Shoot Out runner-up said: “At 4-0 I called my girlfriend Chloe and told her was going to lose and I wanted to go home. She told me this is my job and I have to stay motivated. She said I would win the match for her. After that my mindset was better. I was too negative to start with, but after the interval I started to get angry and that helped me play my game.
“My target this season is to get into the top 64. Hopefully I can have another great moment, like I had at the Shoot Out. If I can qualify for the final stages of this event that would be fantastic.”
Xu Si made the first 147 of his career during a 6-1 win over Ma Hailong, which puts him halfway to a huge £147,000 bonus available for any player making two maximum breaks during this season’s Triple Crown events.
Marco Fu got the better of an excellent match with Ben Mertens by a 6-4 scoreline. Hong Kong’s Fu, who showed signs of a return to form in reaching the last 32 of the recent International Championship, knocked in breaks of 90, 51, 104, 116, 78 and 72. He now meets Ricky Walden.
Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko fired runs of 80, 62 and 72 as he beat Liam Pullen 6-1. Chinese amateur Gao Yang beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha 6-3, while former German Masters champion Martin Gould whitewashed Stuart Carrington 6-0.
David Grace got the better of a 57-minute deciding frame to edge out amateur Ryan Davies 6-5. Dylan Emery top scored with 122 in a 6-2 win over Robbie McGuigan, while China’s Jiang Jun came from 4-1 down to beat Jackson Page 6-4 with a top break of 109. Dominic Dale recovered a 5-4 deficit to beat Stan Moody 6-5.
I’m now certain to get another comment by Csilla about how disappointing the women on tour are 😉. I was disappointed as well, of course, I am. The thing though is that she has to learn how to mentally cope with the situation she faced yesterday, being well ahead as the underdog and facing a determined comeback from her opponent. She’s not been in that situation in the women’s tour. She’s a top player there, she knows she can win, she’s confident. She now has the game to compete on the main tour, maybe not against the very top, but against most of the middle ranked pros. She now needs to develop the mentality that goes with it.
Ben and Marco served the fans an excellent match. Really it’s a shame they had to clash as such an early stage of the tournament. I’m disappointed that Ben lost but I’m happy to see Marco playing well again. I couldn’t have both … alas! Glen Sullivan-Bisset was the referee on that match and this is what he posted on twitter in answer to an appreciative comment I made: “It was my great pleasure to referee this match“
Bulcsu Revezs, the 18 years old from Hungary, also played a good match, although the vastly experienced Hammad Miah had too much for him in the end but he made this fantastic break in frame
Mink Nutcharut scored her best win as a professional as she beat Adam Duffy 6-3 in the first qualifying round of the MrQ UK Championship.
Thailand’s Nutcharut goes through to face Michael White in the second round of the qualifiers in Leicester and she needs three more wins to reach the final stages in York, which begin on November 25th.
Nutcharut, age 24, turned pro in 2022 after winning the World Women’s Championship for the first time. In her debut season she partnered Neil Robertson to victory at the World Mixed Doubles, and beat Mitchell Mann in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open. Today she out-played world number 97 Duffy to earn her first win in a Triple Crown event.
After losing the opening frame, she built a 3-1 lead with a top break of 60. Duffy pulled one back before Nutcharut took the next two for 5-2. In frame eight, she missed the final black which would have clinched a 6-2 success. But she kept her composure at the end of the next frame, potting pink and black to seal the result.
“I am very happy and excited,” said Nutcharut. “In the last frame the pressure was on and my heart was beating fast. The last black would usually be easy but the pressure made if difficult. I have ben practising with a lot of good players in Sheffield so I felt confident. I don’t know if I can win another match, I will just enjoy it,”
Marco Fu, who was runner-up in this tournament in 2008, edged out Michael Holt 6-5 in a high quality tussle. Holt made breaks of 91, 117, 70, 56 and 125 but still finished on the wrong side of the scoreline to Hong Kong’s Fu, who compiled runs of 77, 82 and a 71 in the decider. He now meets Ben Mertens.
China’s Xing Zihao top scored with 104 in a 6-2 defeat of Jimmy White.
Evening sessions
Sky’s The Limit For Sykes
Up-and-coming amateur Oliver Sykes won a match in a pro tournament for the first time with an superb 6-1 victory over experienced Alife Burden in the first qualifying round of the MrQ UK Championship.
Currently ranked number one on the English Junior Tour, 17-year-old Sykes is tipped as a star of the future, and he showed his potential today as he beat Burden with top breaks of 54, 56 and 57. He goes through to face Jamie Clarke in the second round and needs three more wins to reach the final stages in York.
“To beat a player as good as Alfie in a big tournament is incredible,” said Sykes, from Hampshire. “I stayed composed throughout the whole match and enjoyed the experience. Getting on to the tour is my main ambition and there are a lot of big amateur tournaments like the WSF Championships coming up. I’m giving 100 per cent to every event.”
Three other amateurs scored impressive wins as Robbie McGuigan saw off Fergal O’Brien 6-2 with a top break of 103, Ryan Davies beat Anton Kazakov 6-1 and Duane Jones knocked out Muhammad Asif 6-1.
Stan Moody top scored with 103 in a 6-3 win over Filips Kalnins, while China’s Jiang Jun made a 139 as he beat Rebecca Kenna 6-0. Ryan Thomerson made a 108 as he edged out Reanne Evans 6-5, taking a 48-minute deciding frame on the colours.
In a match which finished just after 1am, Sean O’Sullivan beat Baipat Siripaporn 6-5.
Yesterday’s results clearly show why the tired system is a much better one for the young players and female players that the brutal random draw. Several of the best amateurs won their match. Mink won her match and two of the three other women on tour – Reanne and Baipat – forced their opponents to play the full distance to beat them. This experience is much more positive – for the women AND for the young amateurs in general – than a procession of heavy defeats against players ranked much higher than them. Yesterday results show that the women on tour are at or no far away from the level of the male young players. Yes, they are older – although Mink and Baipat are only in their early 20th – but playing on the women’s tour is not the ideal development path once they reach a certain level. Results like those they got yesterday may hopefully encourage them, and other aspiring girls, to play more in the available pro-am events even if the field is almost entirely male AND send the message to the male amateurs that the women are on push-overs and their place is not “behind the bar”.
The Marco Fu v Michael Holt match was a high quality affair and absolutely not the kind of match you expect in the first round of a tiered qualifying event.
Mark Allen set up a final showdown with Judd Trump as he overcame John Higgins 6-2 in the semi-final of the Cazoo Champion of Champions.
Seeking his first title since January’s World Grand Prix, Allen pulled away from 2-2 to take the last four frames in Bolton. It promises to be an exciting best-of-19 final on Sunday against World Number 2 Trump, with the winner scooping this year’s prize of £150,000.
Northern Ireland’s Allen, who won this title in 2020, said: “I’m excited to be playing Judd, he’s the best in the world at the moment but I have a good record against him.
“I am going to enjoy it, I didn’t come her to finish second, and I will have to play really well to beat Judd, but I know I can beat him – and so does he.
“If you had told me three or four weeks ago I’d be in this position I would have laughed because I was in a bad place, but I have been working hard on the right things and my confidence has come back.”
Allen made breaks of 73 and 91 before the interval tonight, while Higgins knocked in 65 and 68. But world number four Allen then dominated, firing runs of 102 and 77 as he swept to victory.
No comment from me here, as I watched the 2023 UK qualifiers …
The 2023 Women Snooker Eden Masters has reached the knockout stage
I will confess that I abandoned watching the first semi-final in Bolton yesterday at the MSI, not because I didn’t want to watch Judd – he was playing very well – but because at that point it looked like this would end on a 6-0 score without any opposition from Barry Hawkins. Barry looked totally out of sorts, his potting was not great, his safety game was poor and nothing worked for him. We have a two hours difference with the UK where I am, the day before I had stayed up very late, I was tired and … I simply had enough of it.
Of course, Barry played better and fought back as soon as I hit the sack… typical! 🙃
Judd Trump has eyes on second Champion of Champions title after beating Barry Hawkins 6-3
JUDD TRUMP was made to fight for his place in Sunday’s final of the Cazoo Champion of Champions after racing into a 5-0 lead.
Needing just one more frame in the best of 11 semi-final, Trump was pegged back by Barry Hawkins who won three straight frames of his own.
The Hawk was unable to maintain the revival, however, and Trump closed out the next to seal the match 6-3.
Trump is one win away from his second Champion of Champions title, and this year’s prize of £150,000. He will face the winner of Saturday’s semi-final between Mark Allen and John Higgins.
“I had to stay patient to get over the line,” said Trump. “It got a bit nervy after the interval but it was important to keep my head out there.
“There can be times when it gets tough, but if you have a two or three frame advantage you have to remember you are still the favourite. You forget what has gone before and take each frame one at a time.
“This is an event that suits me – the dress code, the format, everything plays into my hands and I feel relaxed in this event and at home with the format. I feel like it brings out the best in me.”
Sunday will be Trump’s fifth final of the season – and we are barely at the halfway point. It will also be his third consecutive Champion of Champions final.
It was safety first at the start of the match and it was nearly 20 minutes before the first red and colour combination was potted, by Trump. The frame was then determined by who capitalised on his opponent’s mistakes, and Trump edged it on the black.
The World Number 2 won the second frame with a break of 69 and went slightly better to win the third with a break of 71.
Hawkins’ safety play was below par, and he found himself 4-0 down at the break.
Ace in the Pack Trump almost landed the first century of the semi-final in the first frame after the break – missing when he was on 99, but he still moved to within one frame of victory. In the four frames that followed the opener, Hawk scored just 32 points in total.
The Hawk made him wait by finally winning a frame to make it 5-1, and he followed up by taking the next two.
Trump, the pre-tournament favourite, finally clipped The Hawk’s wings to close it out, but Hawkins still went home with a £30,000 prize.
… in other news …
This was Jason Francis reaction to the “double 147” prize announcement
I’m 100% with Jason on this…
And Nick Metcalfe’s reaction after watching Ronnie’s documentary
Commission agrees £691,000 regulatory settlement with MrQ
20th September 2023 | By Zak Thomas-Akoo
20th September 2023
The GB Gambling Commission agreed a £690,947 (€798,643/ $853,793) regulatory settlement with MrQ operator Lindar Media for anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility breaches.
The Commission began its regulatory review of MrQ after it made a compliance assessment in September 2022.
The review found failings in the online bingo and igaming operator’s processes for stopping money laundering and protecting people from being harmed by gambling.
It also found that Lindar Media had breached several of its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). These ranged from AML to social responsibility failings.
The Commission said that, based on these failures and considering the operator’s actions since the assessment, it had agreed a £690,947 regulatory settlement with Lindar Media. This money will be directed to social responsible causes.
Findings of the compliance assessment
The GC outlined the specific failings it had found in Lindar Media’s compliance assessment. These included weaknesses in its implementation of AML policies, procedures and controls.
The regulator also discovered shortcomings in its responsible gambling policies, procedures, controls and practices. It highlighted failures that extended to its reporting as to when key events took place.
Other deficiencies included Lindar’s head of regulatory compliance taking additional management posts without Commission approval.
The operator also did not advertise its products in a socially responsible way. Finally, it failed to make its required research, prevention and treatment contributions to an organisation supporting those harmed by gambling.
“You win some, you lose some”
Responding to the regulatory settlement, Lindar Media said that the breaches happened during a time of growth for the business and that safer gambling policies had been improved since the time of the failures.
“My focus since 2022 has been centred around maturing the day-to-day operations through the development of the senior leadership team,” said Lindar Media chief executive Savvas Fellas.
“We’ve implemented scalable processes that provide consistency as we grow and built technology-driven models that underpin compliance and safer gambling promises to our players; all of which are aligned with our mission of offering progressive, value entertainment – with delight and transparency,” he added.
Money laundering and terrorist financing failures
Licence condition 12.1.1(1) says licence holders must assess their money laundering and terrorist financing (ML and TF) risk.
The Commission said MrQ failed to have an appropriate assessment for these risks. This was because it did not assess risk relating to customers, their means of payment, or additional inherent and emerging risks.
The ML and TF assessment also did not address key risk factors. These include customers associating with higher risk countries, along with a disproportionate spend relative to their wealth and business arrangements taking place in unusual circumstances.
Other risks not accounted for related to a customer being the beneficiary of a life insurance policy as well as when a customer is a foreign national applying for residence in return for transfers of capital.
The Commission also said Lindar breached licence condition 12.1.1(2) which outlines the operator’s responsibility for putting in place ML and TF controls.
Lindar failed to have appropriate measures in place. This included the company’s practice of automatically assigning a “low” level of ML risk to new customers.
The Commission said that, at this point, there would be not enough information to give them a rating. It assessed there was an over-reliance on financial triggers to identify and maintain ML risks.
The Commission also noted that financial thresholds for ML were too high, thereby allowing customers to deposit and lose more than £10,000. The regulator said this “did not appear to be sufficiently risk-based”.
MrQ’s social responsibility breaches
MrQ’s licence condition 15.2.1(4) makes clear licensees must notify the Commission within five working days after a key event takes place.
The operator did not inform the Commission promptly when its head of regulatory compliance left the position in June 2022. As such, the regulator found that the business was in breach of the licence condition between 20 June and September 2022.
The online bingo business also failed to comply with paragraphs 1a, 1b and 2 of the Social Responsibility Codes of Practice 3.4.1 (Customer Interaction).
These rules outline how licensees must interact with customers in a manner that minimise the risk of customers experiencing harms associated with gambling.
Lindar Media failed to identify customers at risk of experiencing gambling harms. Its financial and safer gambling triggers “were not always effective”, especially when dealing with customers depositing at a high velocity.
Disproportionate spend relative to personal circumstances was not considered until large amounts of money had been lost. When MrQ did consider personal circumstances, it did so using County Court judgements and bankruptcy data which was not always effective.
MrQ’s advertising failures
The Commission criticised the company for allowing its agents to use cartoon imagery to advertise the business. This is because of its appeal to children.
Surely such association is much more damaging to the sport’s image, and hence its future, than a handful of top players opting out of a rather minor event in favour of an unstreamed exhibition in China, earning some money whilst sparing themselves a tiring back and forth trip across several time zones…
Any player making two maximum breaks during this season’s Triple Crown Series will be rewarded with a massive £147,000 bonus.
This new initiative applies to the 2023 MrQ UK Championship, the 2024 Masters and the 2024 Cazoo World Championship. A player who makes two maximums (either a 147 or 155) in either the qualifying rounds or the final stages of those three tournaments will earn the huge bonus.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “There is nothing quite as exhilarating in snooker as a maximum break, those moments bring us to the edge of our seats. And we’re making that achievement all the more special this season during our Triple Crown events.
“We’d love to see at least one player make a 147 at the MrQ UK Championship which would give them two more tournaments to chase the bonus. Last season we saw maximums from Kyren Wilson and Mark Selby at the Crucible – imagine the thrill if there was an extra £147,000 on the line!
“The skill level in snooker now is higher than ever and we expect this new prize will give the players extra motivation to go for maximum breaks.”
The bonus would be awarded in addition to the high break prizes for the individual events.
Up to three players could win this bonus, for example if three different players each made two 147s then they would each win £147,000. Or if one player made six maximums then he would bank £441,000!
The counting events are:
MrQ UK Championship. November 18-23 (qualifying rounds) and November 25 to December 3 The Masters. January 7-14. Cazoo World Championship. April 8-17 (qualifying rounds) and April 20 to May 6.
Looks great he? Well the snooker.org team had a good look at the stats. In the history of the game so far, a player having 2 maximum breaks in the course of those three events happened only once, in 2007/08 when Ronnie had one against Mark Selby in the 2007 UK Championship semi-finals, and another one in the last 16 of the 2008 World Championship against Mark Williams. In total there was never more than three maximums made during those three events combined in a season, and, other than Ronnie’s “double”, they were always made by three different players. So, this, in my eyes is just a publicity coup, as WST probably looked at the stats and know that the “risk” they are taking is very, very small … No player in their right mind will take the risk to go for a maximum in the second most important ranking tournament of the season, unless, maybe, if they are so far behind that they have forfeited any serious hope to win the match in progress.
Nutcharut, age 24, turned pro in 2022 after winning the World Women’s Championship for the first time. In her debut season she partnered Neil Robertson to victory at the World Mixed Doubles, and beat Mitchell Mann in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open. Today she out-played world number 97 Duffy to earn her first win in a Triple Crown event.
Mark Allen set up a final showdown with Judd Trump as he overcame John Higgins 6-2 in the semi-final of the Cazoo Champion of Champions.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 