It’s semi-finals day in Macau…
In the afternoon match, Mark Williams beat Judd Trump by 6-2.
I didn’t find much details about the match. Mark Williams had a century of exactly 100, and finished the match with a one-hand shot. 😊 Mark youngest son, Joēl, who shows some very promising talent at snooker tried himself at the table and stated that he wants to play in the event next year … the future is bright! 🙂
Ronnie was sat in the audience and watched the game
In the evening match Jack Lisowski beat Marco Fu by 6-2
Jack Lisowski made a dream start and lead 3-0. Although Marco Fu subsequently scored breaks of 89 and 95 to reduce the gap to 2-3, it was in vain: Jack won by 6-2 and advanced to the final where he will face Mark Williams. (according to CCTV Sports on Weibo)
In an interview with CCTV after his first round win over Ronnie, Marco Fu revealed that his daughters are learning to play snooker. He insisted on the importance to attract more kids to snooker and for young players to find enjoyment in their sport.
Mark Williams and Jack Lisowski will compete in the final tomorrow for the £150,000 championship prize! Not bad eh?
Some information about the exhibition in Lhasa, Tibet
Ronnie and Ding will head to Lhasa, capital of Tibet, for an exhibition.
There will be three matches played actually.
On December 31st 14:30 (local time): Ronnie O’Sullivan vs qualifying event runner-up Geng Yuan
On December 31st 19:30 (local time):Ding Junhui VS qualifying event champion Wu Jinduoji
These matches will be best of 9 frames.
On January 1st, 2024 19h30 (local time): Ding Junhui vs Ronnie ·O’Sullivan
This match will be best of 11 frames.
The city is at an altitude of 3,656 m. That’s very, very high. Ding already hinted at the fact that he might suffer from “altitude sickness”. Altitude sickness is caused by ascending too rapidly, which doesn’t allow the body enough time to adjust to reduced oxygen and changes in air pressure. Symptoms include headache, vomiting, insomnia and reduced performance and coordination. Ding already hinted at the fact that he might play quite slowly… Ronnie may suffer as well of course… and really should avoid smoking while he’s there.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Pics:
https://weibo.com/1638781994/NzgOFlVSa
https://weibo.com/1819318401/NzgyJb9gw
https://weibo.com/1819318401/NzeaQ6j16
lot’s of pictures & videos: https://www.instagram.com/stories/wynn.palace/
https://sports.cctv.com/2023/12/28/PHOAYKGYWPSapGW8rUOkfDRi231228.shtml?spm=C67245673465.PEcHSaWSvzLX.0.0#wfishcpr2myw231228_1
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEuFHvQ0Etc&ab_channel=LCP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyOgqXn0Nfw&ab_channel=LCP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3zcpc_2MG4&ab_channel=LCP
https://www.ixigua.com/7317580853281096244?logTag=8578a27be7a8a7d3d08a
https://www.ixigua.com/7317522023599571491?logTag=0c4de27498b9c478538f
Thank you again Kalacs! 👍
oops i forgot these links:
https://sports.cctv.com/2023/12/28/PHOAa4E4CikPlDveAJjbk2EA231228.shtml#q5RJCxhMcojw231228_1
(these 2 youtube links might be copied from other sources i don’t have time to check these links)
David Hendon said on his Christmas special podcast episode that there exists a “contractual thing” that forbids to play the Chinese events in short time after another (minimum gap of 3 weeks or so?), which would be too long to form a Chinese series. I already commented that I understand the Chinese position here for once and therefore support this tactics.
Well here these are exhibitions and don’t fall under any contractual agreement signed by WST. And I don’t understand what benefits this agreement brings anyway. It’s more costly and more tiring for the players.
I know these posts are about exhibitions of course. I just wanted to tell here what I’ve heard in the podcast in case it would be news to anybody, because for me it was. I commented on my position, seeing the benefits it brings in a longer post weeks ago.
If there were no qualifiers – as it should be – it would bring no benefit at all to the players. It’s just more costly and more tiring to travel back and forth between time zones several times per year. Yes, for the Brits it would mean being away from family for some time. So what? That’s exactly how it is now for everyone else. The reason behind this is probably in the television/broadcasting contracts.
I’m just in huge agreement with David Hendon here as well that we all can come up with a more logical season schedule, but that doesn’t mean we definitely could run the whole game better than it is now, because managing a sport is about making compromises.
I agree that it isn’t easy, and for sure there are constraints, and habits but that doesn’t mean that some things can’t be improved. The calendar is one of them … and don’t get me started on the scoring system 😆
Yes, don’t get me wrong, for us, as snooker fans, I understand it’s our hobby to discuss the possibilities of improvements on every occasion. But I for myself think what’s the point in getting over the top passionate about it, if we just never will know any detail of any contract, like in this instance.
*every single detail of every single contract
Yes, there are many contractual clauses, and some of them fairly urgently need to be renegotiated, or dropped. You can’t run a sport successfully when tying yourself in knots with the schedule. The meaning of the word ‘compromise’ implies a per-event agreement.