The 2023 Ability Sports Games are underway in Thailand and snooker is represented in them. Matt Huart traveled with the WDBS players and WPBSA has published this report:
The opening day of the landmark snooker competition at the 2023 World Abilitysport Games has been successfully completed in Thailand as athletes from across the world battle to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Held at the Centara Korat in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, snooker has been included in the World Abilitysport Games for the first time and will see up to 34 players from five different classification groups battle to take home the gold, silver and bronze medals within their respective competitions.
The Games were launched as part of a spectacular opening ceremony earlier this week at His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary, 5th December 2007 Stadium, during which several players participated within the march alongside several other sports and athletes from around the globe.
THE GAMES
The on-table action got underway on Tuesday morning with matches from all competitions contested throughout the day on six tabled supplied by Rasson Billiards and installed by Thailand Pool Tables.
Each classification group began with a round-robin group stage, which will see four players progress to semi-finals and subsequently gold/silver and bronze medal matches. A varied field of established WDBS players and newcomers to the WDBS circuit contested 45 matches on the opening day, with the group stages set to conclude on Wednesday.
GROUPS 1-2
Featuring four players, Group 1 encompasses wheelchair users with poor trunk control and impairment of one or both arms. All four players will progress to the knockout rounds, with group stage positioning set to determine the semi-final draw.
It has so far been a winning start for two-time WDBS Belgian Open Kurt Deklerck, who won both of his opening matches to top the group after day one. He leads former Stockport Open champion Gary Swift and Thailand’s Numpol Thongpusawan – who have one win apiece so far – ahead of the second Thai player in the group Chatchai Khamklon, who lost both his matches today.
In Group 2, which features wheelchair users with better control of trunk and arms, a single group stage of seven players will see the top four players secure last four berths for the tournament.
Following the opening day it is Wei-Te Cheng of Chinese Taipei who tops the group with a perfect record of three wins from three, ahead of top ranked WDBS wheelchair user Tony Southern of Great Britain with three wins.
The remaining two qualifying positions are set to be contested between Great Britain’s Darren Taylor, as well as Thai duo Niwat Kongta and Surasit Loisaratrakul, who each have two wins to date.
GROUP 3
Aimed at ambulant players where one or more upper limbs is absent or severely impaired, Group 3 comprises an impressive nine players, who have been split into two groups with the top pair from each set to move forward into the semi-finals.
The star of day one would prove to be home hero Thanapol Seekao, who impressed onlookers by claiming all eight frames played to top Group A and guarantee his place in the knockout draw.
He is currently followed by former WDBS Hull Open winner Andy Lam of Hong Kong on two wins, ahead of Kal Mattu and Kit Kennedy of Great Britain, as well as Bohumil Vanek of the Czech Republic.
In the second section, two-time WDBS champion Adam Wilk of Poland currently leads the way with a 100% record, ahead of current WDBS Group 3 Champion of Champions Joe Hardstaff and Thai pair Kaisorn Thongla and Sutat Yamee.
GROUP 4
Group 4 comprises ambulant players where one or more lower limbs is absent or severely impaired and sees six players compete across a single group over three days in Nakhon Ratchasima.
A section dominated by players from Great Britain, it is currently led by Carl Gibson who has yet to drop a frame with three matches won, ahead of compatriots David Church and Nigel Brasier on two wins apiece and Steve Cartwright and Andy Johnson with a single win at this stage.
GROUP 5
Featuring ambulant players where one or more upper or lower limbs are slightly impaired, Group 5 has seen eight players compete across two groups, with Thailand’s Songkiat Raebankoo and Belgium’s Gerdy Dupont currently in pole position with two wins from two in their respective sections.
In Group A, Great Britain’s David Moore and Robert Marriott look set to battle it out for the second qualification position, while Dave Bolton and Dean Simmons also have one win apiece in Group B with a head to head meeting set for Wednesday.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The action will continue on Wednesday 6 December with the conclusion of the group stage matches, to be followed by the best of five frames semi-finals from all groups later in the evening.
The latest scores, standings and match schedule can be accessed via WPBSA SnookerScores, with live streamed matches from table one and further news, images and content available via the WDBS Facebook and X social media channels.
Those players deserve our unreserved admiration. What they manage to do is extraordinary. I used to travel to a lot of WDBS events and I was in awe all the time. Many of those disabled players have little money and are lonely. One of them once told me that WDBS is the only family he has. I can only advice you to attend their events if you can.
Make sure to look at Matt Huart’s pictures. He’s doing a fantastic job with his camera. I may have played a small part in that by passing him the photo virus and he got hooked. Matt once told me that taking the pictures has become the most enjoyable part of his job and it shows in the quality he produces! BTW Matt was also a terrible traveler … now he’s a globe trotter!
Matt’s pictures show that the host nation, Thailand, has done a sterling job in welcoming the participants: the opening ceremony looked absolutely fantastic. For many of those disabled sportspersons this will be a once in a lifetime experience. It should be an unforgettable one, full of beautiful memories, no matter their results.
Ronnie turns 48 today … where have all those years gone??? I’m older than his mother, he’s not much older than my son … What happened there??? For once he will not be in York, bringing cakes to the media gang. Hopefully he has the best of celebrations with his loved ones. 🥂🎂🫖💝
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN RAISED THE BAR AND SHOWED HE IS ‘SNOOKER’S GREATEST ASSET’ WITH TRIUMPH AT UK CHAMPIONSHIP
BY DAVE HENDON
Eurosport’s Dave Hendon breaks down how Ronnie O’Sullivan showed the world that he is “snooker’s greatest asset”. The world No. 1 made history by becoming the youngest and oldest winner of the UK Championship after he clinched a record-extending eighth title on Sunday. O’Sullivan’s classy performance was too much for Ding Junhui and he lifted the title 30 years after he first won it aged 17.
How many more times can the bar be raised?
Even by Ronnie O’Sullivan’s extraordinary standards, his dash for the winning line to land a record-extending eighth UK Championship title last night was something special.
The crowd inside the Barbican Centre were in awe as O’Sullivan crunched in long pots, exercised perfect positional control and sank ball after ball to move from 7-7 with Ding Junhui to run out a 10-7 winner. The final three frames lasted 32 minutes.
In the blink of an eye, 30 years fell away. We were back at Preston Guild Hall watching the 17 year-old O’Sullivan announce his arrival on the big stage by stunning Stephen Hendry to become the youngest UK champion in 1993.
Now, on the eve of his 48th birthday, he is the oldest. When the audience in York rose to acclaim him, they did so recognising they had witnessed something close to magic, a mercurial burst of inspiration only possible from sport’s true greats.
It means a 40th ranking title, four more than Hendry in second place. O’Sullivan’s eighth UK Championship triumph is one of 22 ‘Triple Crown’ titles to his name. He extends his lead at the head of the rankings. In every possible measure, he is the greatest.
Standing next to him at the trophy celebration was Steve Dawson, the chairman of World Snooker Tour, whose organisation can take credit for an excellent event, well promoted, with record ticket sales and an enjoyable vibe throughout.
But Dawson must surely also realise that WST need to mend relations with O’Sullivan, who is the subject of disciplinary action pertaining to comments he made about exhibition engagements in China and player freedom.
Whoever is right or wrong in that debate, the facts are plain: O’Sullivan is snooker’s greatest asset. We need him playing as much as possible. Off table rows are distractions that we could all do without and it’s doubtful most ordinary fans care about those issues.
What they want is to watch Ronnie play snooker. WST should do everything to ensure he feels able to continue doing that in established tournaments which have meaning, rather than in exhibitions which have little.
O’Sullivan is hardly a blameless character but has more than earned the right to have his say about the sport, how it is run and what he wants to prioritise going forward.
He has become a huge draw in Asia, where promoters are willing to pay for his presence in exhibitions and tournaments. Anyone watching last night’s final will consider this money well spent.
If the weekly grind of tournament life is less to his liking these days, then this is hardly surprising, but it’s clear he still gets himself up for the big occasions. More importantly, he is still capable of thriving in such occasions.
As for O’Sullivan’s week in York, he was not at his brilliant best all through the event, but does not need to be when opponents freeze at the prospect of beating him.
Robert Milkins had three chances to do so in their decider. Zhou Yuelong had him on the ropes at 5-4 but made little impact on the last two frames. Hossein Vafaei had played the snooker of the week going into the semi-finals but wilted in the presence of The Rocket.
This is the aura of greatness which surrounds O’Sullivan. It gives him almost superhuman strength while sending the legs of rivals to jelly. Even when things are going badly wrong, the very fact of who he is, what he has done and what he is capable of makes the difference.
To Ding’s credit, he fought hard and put pressure on. At 7-7, the final was firmly in the balance. He did not do much – if anything – wrong in the closing three frames, which went by in a blur of brilliance.
Ding had to qualify for York but is now back where he belongs, as a member of the top 16 and qualified for the key events coming up in early 2024.
So what is next in the compelling drama that is Ronnie O’Sullivan’s career?
He hasn’t entered this week’s Shoot Out and will possibly skip the Scottish Open to recharge the batteries. He has been invited to a lucrative exhibition event in Macau over Christmas, then it’ll be back for the Masters in January he will face Ding in the first round.
Soon, the drumbeat towards the Crucible, where he will be attempting to win a record eighth world title, will begin.
His great friend and fellow Eurosport pundit, Jimmy White, believes he can get to 10 victories in each triple crown event. Such numbers seem fanciful on paper, but performances like those against Ding make you think again.
It seems every apparent last hurrah is succeeded by another. This remarkable, unique sporting figure just keeps amazing us.
How many more times can the bar be raised? Over to you, Ronnie.
As ever, David tries to express a balanced opinion and present both sides of the story in a fair way. Thank you Dave for that.
The real question for me is this one: why is WST so reliant on the “older” “big names”? Why is there such a culture of nostalgia in snooker? Why do most of their reports or announcements focus on the older players? Why do we still hear about the 85 final all the time? Or about Alex Higgins? Celebrating history is fine, good even, but promotion has to be about the present, the current players, and about the future, the up and coming ones. You will tell me that WST are about “recognisable” names when doing promotion. I get that but those “recognisable” figures will not be around forever and they were unknown rookies when they started. WST need to create “new” recognisable figures and that work has to start when those players are young and not well known yet.
You will tell me “right but how?”. Here are some ideas:
Scrap the qualifiers in flat draw events. Bring everyone at the venue, yes, even in China or Germany.
Have a stream of all tables. The cameras are already there.
Have more events with a tiered format and the type of coverage we get for the World and the UK. Not focusing on one table but hoovering through interesting phases on all tables.
Interview more players “live” and allow them to be themselves. Don’t pander the politically correct brigade. Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, Ronnie … they don’t fit in that mould and that’s why they are talked about and remembered. Times have changed? Maybe, but fundamentally human nature hasn’t.
Adopt a rating system instead of the stupid money list. It will bring a much needed flexibility. For instance, it would allow to organise a “rookies” cup at the start of each season – as Lewis suggested – without distorting the “rankings”. Do it with maximum exposure, in a nice venue, and free admission. Make it something festive and fun. Build the rookies profiles up. Yes. it would cost; it’s called investing in the future.
Ok guys… please come up with your “innovative proposals” … what would YOU want to see?
I’m not a fan of the Shoot-out being ranking in the current system, I wouldn’t object to it if we had a rating system though.It is what it is and I will try to enjoy it.
Now that the UK Championship is over, the draw1 and schedule for the Masters in January 2024 has been finalised.
Masters Match Schedule
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui will clash again in the first round of the Masters at Alexandra Palace in London next month, with the fixtures for snooker’s biggest invitation event now confirmed.
The tournament will run from January 7-14, 2024 …
World Champion Luca Brecel will face Jack Lisowski in the opening match at 1pm on Sunday January 7th. On Monday January 8th at 1pm, O’Sullivan will meet Ding in a repeat of the UK Championship final, which the Rocket won 10-7 to capture his 22nd Triple Crown title.
The full schedule is below, with seedings of the top eight in brackets.
Sunday January 7th 1pm: (2) Luca Brecel v Jack Lisowski 7pm: (7) Shaun Murphy v Zhang Anda
Monday January 8th 1pm: (3) Ronnie O’Sullivan v Ding Junhui 7pm: (8) Mark Williams v Ali Carter
Tuesday January 9th 1pm: (1) Judd Trump v Kyren Wilson 7pm: (6) Neil Robertson v Barry Hawkins
Wednesday January 10th 1pm: (4) Mark Allen v John Higgins 7pm: (5) Mark Selby v Robert Milkins
Quarter-finals Thursday January 11th 1pm: QF3 O’Sullivan or Ding v Robertson or Hawkins 7pm: QF4 Brecel or Lisowski v Murphy or Zhang
Friday January 12th 1pm: QF1 Trump or Wilson v Williams or Carter 7pm: QF2 Allen or Higgins v Selby or Milkins
Semi-finals Saturday January 13th 1pm: Winner of QF3 v Winner of QF4 7pm: Winner of QF1 v Winner of QF2
Judd Trump will be defending the title having beaten Mark Williams in last season’s final. As always, the field is packed with snooker’s greatest stars, as only the world’s top 16 earn the chance to compete for the Paul Hunter Trophy and £250,000 top prize.
In recent years the Masters has gained a reputation for its extraordinary atmosphere, with up to 2,000 fans packing the fabulous Alexandra Palace arena. And aside from the action on the baize, there is so much to experience for fans at the venue including interactive games, the chance to play snooker and receive free coaching in CueZone and the opportunity to watch the pros practising.
The Masters is one of snooker’s most historic events, first held in 1975 so this is the 50th staging of the tournament. It will be televised by BBC, Eurosport, CCTV5 and a wide range of broadcasters across the globe.
The draw was made during the 2023 UK Championship semi-finals but could only be finalised after the final ↩︎
Ronnie beat Ding Junhui by 10-7 yesterday night in York to win a record extending 8th UK Championship, bringing his tally of ranking titles to 40. This comes 30 years after he had won his first one in Preston in 1993 and became the youngest UK champion, yesterday he became the oldest.
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan secured a record extending eighth MrQ UK Championship title with a 10-7 win over Ding Junhui in York.
O’Sullivan is already the youngest ever UK Champion and today’s victory sees him become the oldest. Just two days shy of his 48th birthday, O’Sullivan eclipses the previous record set by Doug Mountjoy, who was 46 years and 172 days old when he won the title in 1988.
The Rocket’s eighth crown comes 30 years on from the first. He was only 17 years of age when he defeated Stephen Hendry 10-6 to lift the famous trophy in the Preston Guild Hall in 1993. O’Sullivan went on to add further UK Championship wins in 1997, 2001, 2007, 2014, 2017 and 2018, as well as his triumph this year.
Most UK Championship Victories
Ronnie O’Sullivan – 8
Steve Davis – 6
Stephen Hendry – 5
Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Neil Robertson – 3
The Englishman has now amassed an incredible 22 Triple Crown titles and today sees him capture a ranking event trophy for the 40th time in his career. Those statistical feats further cement his status as the greatest of all-time, with his nearest challenger Hendry sitting on 18 Triple Crown victories and 36 ranking titles.
Today’s final was a meeting between snooker’s two biggest global superstars. Whilst O’Sullivan shot to fame with his 1993 win, Ding rose to prominence when he followed up his 2005 China Open win with a maiden UK title later that year. The Chinese sporting icon added further victories in 2009 and 2019 to take his UK Championship tally to three.
O’Sullivan scoops the £250,000 top prize and consolidates his position as world number one. The £100,000 earned by Ding secures his place in the top 16 of the world rankings and qualification for the Masters, where he will face O’Sullivan in the first round.
The afternoon session saw Ding set up a grandstand finish, after he fought back from 4-1 down to level at 4-4 heading into tonight. O’Sullivan stopped the rot as the evening session got underway, firing in a superb 84 break to regain the lead at 5-4.
The pendulum continued to swing, with Ding restoring parity in the tenth, before O’Sullivan took charge with contributions of 87 and 79 to establish a 7-5 lead at the mid-session interval.
With the finishing line beginning to appear on the horizon for his opponent, 14-time ranking event winner Ding summoned a charge to get himself back into contention. Runs of 52 and 104 helped him to take two on the bounce and once again square the match at 7-7.
Typically, when the pressure was at its greatest, O’Sullivan found a way to push himself towards victory. Breaks of 100 and 74 moved him within one frame at 9-7. He then sent a raucous crowd into raptures in the 17th, with a spellbinding 127 break which was greeted with a standing ovation as he secured glory in York once again.
“I love it. I love competing, I love performing, I love playing and I love that I went out there tonight and I used my head. Because at the end of the day I have this thing in my head that people want me to play perfect snooker. My friend said to me the other day that they don’t. He said they love your thoughts and love all of the ups and downs of it. I just wanted to go out there today and try hard to be professional and honest. If I won great and if I didn’t then at least do my best,” said a delighted O’Sullivan.
“It was an honour to play Ding. He’s such a classy player and such a classy guy. To share the table with him in that venue and in that final was an honour. I know there will have been so many people in China watching that final supporting Ding and supporting me as well. We’ve put on a good show.
“You get a different appreciation for it. I am really experienced now so I don’t panic as much and I don’t worry. I get times when I think I’m 7-5 up and haven’t really flew. That is because my base level B and C game is still pretty high. You just have to focus, so now I think I use my head more and win matches with my experience more.
“It’s just bonkers isn’t it? That we’re 48 and still winning tournaments. I just don’t get it. Sheffield will be a hard thing to do, because it is 17 days. Physically that will be a tall ask of me, John (Higgins), or Mark (Williams) to win. These tournaments that are a week we can still do it.”
Ding said: “It was a very good week. I knew it was going to be very tough tonight. I missed a couple of shots to win frames in the first session. I tried to get more points and fight to win a frame then get another and see what happens. To be 4-4 was not too bad but he played better tonight.
“I have really taken the crowd here to heart. Thanks for the support every game. I love playing here.”
Here are the scores:
And Ronnie’s reaction on social media
Some videos shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel:
Century in frame 15 …
The final frame …
Trophies…
Interviews on the floor
Interview in the ES studio
And this concludes an incredible week…
With this win, Ronnie has secured his place in this season World Grand Prix and Players Championship certainly, and most probably (I didn’t do the maths) in the Tour Championship as well. Csilla can relax … he won’t be out of the top 16 at the start of next season. 😊
Ronnie will face Ding Junhui in the Final of the 2023 UK Championship today at the Barbican in York. This is Ronnie’s 9th appearance in a UK Championship Final and he has won 7 of the 8 he’s played before. The task ahead for Ronnie isn’t easy though as Ding is a three times UK Champion himself and the man who beat him heavily in this tournament last season.
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan scored a 6-2 win over Iran’s Hossein Vafaei to make the final of the MrQ UK Championship in York.
Tomorrow will see the Rocket take centre stage in the UK final once again, 30 years on from his maiden triumph. O’Sullivan famously won the 1993 UK Championship as a 17-year-old, becoming the youngest ever winner of a ranking event. Since then he has gone on to amass seven UK Championship wins and 39 ranking titles, both are record tallies.
O’Sullivan will take to the baize tomorrow in his ninth UK final. As well as in 1993, he’s lifted the famous trophy in 1997, 2001, 2007, 2014, 2018 and 2019. The only UK final he’s ever lost came in 2016 at the hands of Mark Selby.
O’Sullivan and Vafaei have a history against each other, after a war of words broke out ahead of their World Championship clash earlier this year. Tensions arose between the pair when O’Sullivan smashed the reds open from the break in a 5-0 win for Vafaei in 2022 German Masters. He returned the favour at the Crucible, but succumbed to a thumping 13-2 defeat at the hands of the Rocket, who had his retribution. After the match they appeared to have made up as they embraced walking out of the arena. Today saw O’Sullivan once again assert his authority in their rivalry.
Defeat for Vafaei ends his hopes of moving into the world’s top 16 and confirms that Jack Lisowski is safe in 16th position in the Race for the Masters. O’Sullivan will remain on top of the world rankings unless Judd Trump wins the event, he’s in action against Ding in this evening’s second semi-final.
Vafaei had the first chance in the opening frame, but failed to convert and O’Sullivan earned the advantage. A century run of 113 doubled O’Sullivan’s lead, before Vafaei responded with 112 to make it 2-1. The last before the interval went the way of the Iranian and they went in all-square at 2-2.
When play resumed, O’Sullivan took complete control of proceedings. Breaks of 60, 52, 50 and 90 saw him storm to four on the bounce and earn his place in the final.
“If he played like he did in the previous matches he probably would have beaten me today, but he missed a few balls and let me off the hook a few times,” said 47-year-old O’Sullivan.
“It is just survival. I think sometimes that is the difference with the chance of winning tournaments. If you can win when you aren’t playing your best you can win tournaments. I think that is what is happening with John Higgins, he isn’t winning when he’s having those bad matches. I think that is something we don’t really appreciate.
“I’m at that stage where I’m hanging around so people don’t get as good of a career. If I can beat Selby here and Judd there. I’m here to spoil there parties and ruin their CV!
“It was an amazing time (winning the 1993 UK Championship). The Preston Guild Hall, early in my career. It was an amazing venue and to win a tournament there. I played Steve Davis and then Stephen Hendry in the final. Beating my two heroes in the same tournament was weird. It was quite surreal and a good time.”
Vafaei said: “In front of my hero I don’t have that heart like I have with other people. I don’t know what is wrong with me but all of a sudden my body felt so heavy. I don’t know, I felt completely different. All of a sudden it was like somebody threw cold water on me. To be honest with you I had a good tournament. I started two weeks ago. It was a good run and it was only one man that could stop me, Ronnie O’Sullivan.”
Ronnie played better than he had all week so far yesterday. Here are the scores.
And some more images shared on social media by WST
Ding Junhui is through to his fifth MrQ UK Championship final after an epic 6-4 semi-final defeat of Judd Trump in York.
The UK Championship has provided some of the greatest moments in Ding’s career so far. The Chinese legend burst to prominence in 2005, when he followed his China Open win up by beating Steve Davis in the UK final to claim maiden Triple Crown glory. He claimed the title in 2009 and 2019, beating Scotland’s John Higgins and Stephen Maguire respectively. Ding was runner-up last year to Mark Allen.
Tomorrow’s showpiece clash will be a meeting between snooker’s two biggest global superstars. It is the first final between 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan and 14-time ranking title holder Ding since the 2018 World Grand Prix, when the Rocket prevailed 10-3. However, Ding won their most recent meeting at last year’s UK Championship, storming to a 6-0 victory.
This evening’s tie saw Ding take down the player of the season so far. Trump captured three consecutive titles at the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open and was runner-up at the recent Champion of Champions, but fell short of another final this week.
The first four frames were shared, before Trump burst into life with a fine break of 124 to take the lead at 3-2. Ding controlled the sixth to restore parity and a century run of 110 saw him lead 4-3. Trump hit back with 105 to draw level once more, but it was Ding who edged towards the finish line with a fine break of 88 to lead 5-4.
The tenth frame saw Trump have the first significant contribution, but just as he looked set to force a decider he missed an unexpected red to the middle on 31. Ding stepped up with a match winning 84 to secure his place in the final.
“I have the feeling here (in York) that I can play well. It started in 2005,” said 36-year-old Ding. “I’m happy to see myself get back into form like this. Normally I don’t fight like this in a tough match. I did well today, I said come on to myself and I keep running and running.”
“I needed to play my best because he has had an amazing start to the season. He is confident and has done well in many tournaments.You can’t see anyone not playing well in a semi-final.
“It is great to play Ronnie in the final. We haven’t had that many chances to face each other. The Chinese fans especially love to see it. I love to play against Ronnie. I want to play well and maybe win the match. This is what I dream of, he was my hero when I was a little boy.”
Trump said: “I don’t feel like I played particularly well in the whole tournament. I was just scraping through and relying on my opponent missing. Ding didn’t really miss anything easy throughout the whole game. I was making little mistakes and the balls just weren’t going perfect like they were in the first couple of games. It is little fine margins.”
Of course I want Ronnie to win today, but I will be happy no matter the result as long as both play well. I like Ding, he’s a beautiful player and what he achieved when he started playing in the UK as a shy teenager is badly underestimated. Neil Robertson has often spoken about how hard it was for him to expatriate, it still is hard actually. Yet, he spoke the language and the cultural shock he faced wasn’t that huge. He was lonely, but at least he was able to communicate and I’m sure that he never faced racist abuse or prejudices from random passer-byes because of the way he looks.
I first met Ding around 2006/2007 at the Premier League events. He didn’t speak much English at all, and didn’t really want to speak by fear of embarrassing himself. He kept himself to himself. He was terribly shy.
I found back this video on Youtube of Ding playing Hendry in the Premier League in 2007. The quality isn’t great unfortunately.
Those of you who are old enough will remember what happened at the 2007 Masters. It was awful. Ronnie helped Ding on that day. Comforting a distraught young man was much more important than winning the title. It sealed their friendship and made Ronnie a hero in China, but nothing of that was on Ronnie’s mind there and then. He had walked out of a match at the UK championship only the previous month because he couldn’t cope mentally and emotionally and was in deep trouble with the authorities. He saw his young opponent on the verge of a similar breakdown and wanted to help him. That particular moment remains one of Ronnie’s career highlights for me, the reason I became his fan and will always be even if he never wins a thing again.
Ronnie won his 100th match at the UK Championship yesterday by beating Zhou Yuelong by 6-5. Think about it, winning100 matches in just this one competition! 100 matches over 31 years … and Ronnie didn’t actually play in every UK championship over that period. That’s, on average, more than three matches won in every instance of the event over 31 years. Indeed looking at the career stats, Ronnie has regularly reached the QFs or better in this tournament in tournament.
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan scored a thrilling 6-5 win over Zhou Yuelong to set up a blockbuster semi-final showdown with Iran’s Hossein Vafaei at the MrQ UK Championship in York.
O’Sullivan and Vafaei were involved in a war of words in the build up to their meeting at the World Championship earlier this year. Tensions arose between the pair when O’Sullivan smashed the reds open from the break in a 5-0 win for Vafaei in 2022 German Masters. He returned the favour at the Crucible, but succumbed to a thumping 13-2 defeat at the hands of the Rocket, who had his retribution. After the match they appeared to have made up as they embraced walking out of the arena.
Today’s victory is O’Sullivan’s 100th match win in the UK Championship and sees him reach the 90th ranking semi-final of his career. It means Judd Trump must now make at least the final if he is to knock O’Sullivan from the summit of the world rankings.
This afternoon’s tie saw O’Sullivan get off to a blistering start. Breaks of 125 and 68 helped him on his way to establishing a 3-0 lead. However, Zhou kept in contention by taking a scrappy fourth to head in for the interval 3-1 behind.
When play resumed it was soon 4-1, after a break of 60 saw 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan regain his three-frame cushion. Despite struggling in the first half of the match, China’s Zhou found his feet and managed to claw his way back into proceedings and to the cusp of victory, with a four-frame burst to go 5-4 up.
O’Sullivan was staring down the barrel of defeat, but clicked back into gear just in time with runs of 77 and 122 to fight back and secure a thrilling 6-5 win.
“I’m technically all over the gaff. Out of desperation I started to play alright. When I was going through the motions and plodding away, I was just awful. I was steering the ball, trying to guide the ball in and I was twitching. I was doing all sorts. In the last two frames I thought, just commit,” said 47-year-old O’Sullivan. “I’ve had a result winning one match here. I said to my mate yesterday, we’ve done amazing so far to make the quarters. I’m pleased to be in the semis.
“He (Hossein) is playing great. I saw the breaks he was knocking in and I think he’s a fantastic player. He has that killer instinct and he’s not scared of anyone. He goes out there and attacks the game”
Vafaei earned his place in the last four with an impressive 6-4 win over International Champion Zhang Anda.
The world number 18 now knows that if Ding Junhui fails to make the semi-finals he will dislodge him and move into the world’s top 16, regardless of the scoreline against O’Sullivan.
For the second match in a row, Vafaei hammered home three centuries on his way to victory. He crafted runs of 120, 100 and 106 during this afternoon’s match.
“To be honest with you I don’t know what has clicked. Sometimes in life you need something to click. It gives you confidence and you start believing in yourself that you can do it. All of a sudden you find consistency without thinking. I’m so happy that I’m still in the tournament,” said Vafaei.
“I learned so much from that match (against O’Sullivan at the World Championship). If I didn’t put myself in that situation who knows where I would be. Maybe that is the reason I am here right now. I learned a lot from it and learned to control my mind, myself and my mouth!
“I’m looking forward to it. Any occasion playing your hero and legend and the greatest of all-time. Nobody can play snooker better than Ronnie O’Sullivan lets be honest. He is a genius at his work. I am so happy his documentary came out and people can watch it as well. It is such a good thing for our sport.”
Ronnie didn’t play well yesterday. He started well, finished well but, in between, he was awful. It’s a testimony of his will to win and persistence that he managed to get through. That is a quality that is often overlooked. People tend to remember the times when Ronnie had meltdowns, but he’s won his fair shares of hard ugly battles as well as deciders. Yesterday was one of these occasions, as Nick Metcalfe duly mentioned on twitter,
I won’t lie, I found it hard to watch as it happened but was very happy afterwards!
“When I look back at the first one, I think that it was so nice back then that no one knew me,” Ronnie O’Sullivan told the World Snooker Tour.
“I was just walking through my hotel, through the car park at the Preston Guild Hall. No one stopped me or spoke to me.”
“I could go and do my snooker, but obviously once I’ve won the tournament and gone home, your life changes a bit.
“I do remember just having the peace and quiet of just going and being anonymous.
“Loving the game and not having the pressure of people wanting a piece of you – that’s what I find hard now, people wanting a piece of me.
“I find it difficult when people see me and tell me I’m going to win this or win that. I feel like I just want to tell them to go away.
“I hate it. The more people tell me you can do this, the more I think I’m going to lose, because you get on my nerves.
“I just don’t like it. I just can’t handle it. I’d like to just turn up and play.
“I’ve won seven Masters, seven UKs, seven Worlds. ‘He’s got to win an eighth, he’s got to win a ninth.’ I can’t just have a bit of peace and quiet and enjoy it.
“What will be will be. I don’t find it that important really. I find it difficult, the pressure of what people expect from me. I don’t like it.
“That’s why I try to stay away from people to be honest, but it’s hard when you’re in a hotel. They just find you, you know.
“I just wish people wouldn’t say that to me. Just say hello and how are you doing? ‘How’s Ronnie? How’s Ronnie today?’ That’d be nice.”
…
The match against Vafaei today will not be easy but Ronnie is still in the draw, he’s still in with a chance to progress further and that looked very unlikely at times yesterday afternoon ! Whatever happens today, Ronnie will be 9th or better in the one year list at the end of the tournament. His spot in the World Grand Prix is safe.
I didn’t see a thing of the Hossein v Zhang match, so I can’t assess Hossein’s form but It’s probably very good and he will be very motivated too! Ouch!
Judd Trump held off a Mark Selby fightback to win 6-3 and earn his place in the semi-finals of the MrQ UK Championship in York.
Victory sees player of the season so far Trump remain in the hunt to dethrone Ronnie O’Sullivan and move to the top in the world rankings. Trump will claim the world number one spot if he wins his semi-final with Ding Junhui tomorrow and O’Sullivan is beaten in his last four clash with Hossein Vafaei.
The Ace in the Pack has already enjoyed a remarkable campaign, having become only the fifth player in snooker history to capture three consecutive ranking titles. Trump won successive silverware at the English Open, Northern Ireland Open and Wuhan Open. He was also runner-up to Mark Allen at the recent Champion of Champions. The 26-time ranking event winner is aiming to capture a second UK title this week. He won the event back in 2011 with a 10-8 win over Allen.
Defeat means that despite some strong showings, 22-time ranking event winner Selby will have to wait for his first title of the season. The Jester from Leicester was runner-up to Mark Williams at the British Open and lost semi-finals at the Shanghai Masters and European Masters.
Trump blitzed to a 4-0 lead this evening, making breaks of 100, 93 and 52 along the way. Selby replied by taking the fourth, but it was Trump who moved to the verge of victory with a run of 95 to make it 5-1.
Selby dug deep and took the seventh, before making 98 to pull within two frames at 5-3. However, Trump wasn’t to be denied and he took the ninth to get over the line and make his first semi-final in York since 2014.
“Whenever you have a big lead you are always relieved to get over the line. Especially when someone looks like they are back in form, like when he went 5-3. A lot of relief to get the win,” said 2019 World Champion Trump.
“It is horrible against anyone when you have that kind of lead. Unless you are really flying, you always feel like they can come back at you. Especially when there have already been shocks in the tournament, you don’t want to be added to that list.
“It is going to be amazing to be back in a semi-final here. It has already been a brilliant season, but until you prove yourself in these really big events then you can easily get forgotten about. You want to be delivering on the big stage as much as possible. It is nice to do it in some of the other events, but a lot of people watch these that don’t watch the other ones so it is nice to go out there and prove it again.”
Ding earned his place in the semi-finals with a thrilling 6-5 win over Welshman Mark Williams.
China’s Ding is a three-time UK Champion, having 2005, 2009 and 2019. His win this evening sees him move within two matches of a fourth title in the event and also secures his place in the top 16 for the upcoming Masters.
With Ding leading 4-3, the pair were involved in a landmark frame. Williams won the eighth by a scoreline of 101-94, making it the highest scoring frame in snooker history. The 195 accumulative points beat the previous record of 192 set by Dominic Dale and Peter Lines.
Williams took the next to make it 5-4, before Ding restored parity and forced a decider. Both players spurned chances in the final frame, but it was Ding who eventually fired in a century break of 105 to seal victory.
Mark Selby fought valiantly from 4-0 down but he had left himself far too much to do. He played awful before the MSI. He went on the practice table during and improved significantly but really It was too late.
I saw nothing of the other evening match.
Here is the end of the mammoth frame played between Ding and Willo … they only spent 20 minutes plus on the five last colours… 😮😲
World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan came through a nervy final frame to beat Robert Milkins 6-5 and make the quarter-finals of the MrQ UK Championship in York.
Victory extends the Rocket’s perfect record against Milkins, in which he leads the head-to-head standings 9-0. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story of a match where O’Sullivan missed a number of uncharacteristic shots and found himself on the cusp of a shock exit.
O’Sullivan has boosted his chances of remaining world number one at the end of the week with victory. Had he lost this afternoon, Judd Trump would have only needed to win his next game to usurp the seven-time World Champion.
Remarkably the win sees O’Sullivan make the 140th ranking event quarter-final of his glittering career. The Essex cueman’s hunt for an eighth UK title will continue with a clash against China’s Zhou Yuelong tomorrow.
Both players missed opportunities in the opening two frames, but it was Milkins who took them to earn a 2-0 advantage. O’Sullivan then clicked into gear and contributions of 86, 53 and 142 helped him to four on the bounce and a 4-2 advantage.
Milkins showed his class by clawing himself back within a frame, before O’Sullivan moved to the verge of victory at 5-3. A break of 120 saw Milkins reduce his arrears and he then took a nervy tenth to force a decider. The first two chances in the final frame fell the way of Milkins, but he failed to capitalise. The Gloucester cueman wasn’t afforded a third, with O’Sullivan getting himself over the line.
“Rob has played great over the last two years. He’s improved as a match player. He is harder to play now than he ever was. I’m pleased to get through but my cue action isn’t great. I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t feel my backswing. It is just the way it is for me. It’s been like that for 30 years and that is what torments me. Sometimes I can’t make eight out there and others I can’t miss. It is a crazy game,” said 39-time ranking event winner O’Sullivan.
“I just try anything. You want to see the notes I’ve got in my phone. I just try hard and try mentally to stay in there and enjoy the battle. Try to squeeze as much juice out of this tournament as I can. I don’t want to sabotage it because I was good at that. You have to get lucky.”
On the other table, Zhou came through with a 6-3 victory over Scotland’s two-time UK Champion John Higgins.
Zhou fired in breaks of 65, 86, 52 and 63 en route to victory. It’s the second time the Chengdu cueman has made the quarters of the UK Championship. He was a beaten semi-finalist back in 2020 against eventual champion Neil Robertson.
“I had to grind out another win for my sins. It’s a crazy game, it still torments me after 30 years,” O’Sullivan told BBC Sport.
“I thought he deserved to win. I couldn’t feel anything, I was just all over the show. I haven’t got a clue any more, I don’t understand how this game works.
“I gave up a long time ago, I just keep turning up and stinking out gaffs. I stunk it out today and I’ll probably stink it out tomorrow.”
…
“Mentally it’s hard for me. I’m not going to kill myself out there, but I still want to play,” added O’Sullivan, who has never lost to Milkins in a ranking tournament.
“I just can’t be bothered any more. I just don’t want it bad enough, that’s the problem.
“I’m having to dig deep, whereas when I was younger I didn’t have to did deep and I was so hungry.
“Now I don’t really care any more. Competitive sport is really hard, it’s not always about how good you are, it’s about how much you want it.”
…
As usual the whole article focuses on the “can’t be bothered” quotes when, Ronnie’s frustration, anger at himself and persistence during the match actually show the opposite. But of course “controversy”, no matter how artificial, sells.
Anyway… here are some videos, shared by ES on YouTube:
Ronnie’s 142 in frame 5
The deciding frame
Ronnie’s postmatch with Rachel
And some pictures…
I can understand why after 30 years at the top of the game it’s difficult to cope with the inevitable decline. The seventh World title was a colossal effort and Ronnie needed a break after that, but it becomes increasingly hard to come back to your best after a rather extended break when you get older. What angers me when it comes to the media attitude is that they attempt to picture Ronnie’s reaction as controversial when, with emotions running high just after the match, he was just expressing his frustration at a bad performance and that very frustration just proves that he actually cares.
Zhou Yuelong is next for Ronnie and that won’t be easy because Zhou is playing really well, and he is fresh and hungry. As briefly reported above, he beat John Higgins rather easily.
Iran’s Hossein Vafaei earned a place in the quarter-finals of the MrQ UK Championship for the first time with a 6-1 defeat of Matthew Selt in York.
Victory sees Vafaei keep his hopes of qualifying for the Masters alive. Vafaei will secure his place at Alexandra Palace if he wins his quarter-final against Zhang Anda and Ding Junhui loses his against Mark Williams.
Having come through two rounds of qualifying and scored an impressive 6-4 win over Shaun Murphy in the opening round, Vafaei will feel confident of mounting a title charge. He’s aiming to be the first Iranian winner of a regulation format tournament. Vafaei is already the first ranking event winner from his country, having won the Shoot Out in 2022.
The world number 18 has enjoyed success in York before, having knocked four-time World Champion Mark Selby out in each of the previous two years. On both occasions he bowed out in the last 16, but tonight’s display sees him go one step further.
In a sensational showing of break building, Vafaei hammered home runs of 132, 94, 56, 133 and 121 on his way to an emphatic victory.
“I played fantastic today. It couldn’t be any better than that. I started like a dream. Everyone dreams of starting a match like that. I felt really good and playing like that in front of big fans in the York Barbican is an amazing feeling,” said 29-year-old Vafaei.
“It is so enjoyable. You can’t explain that or teach that. I enjoyed tonight a lot. I scored really heavily and as a player you dream of performing like that in an event like the UK Championship.
“It is just a matter of time. I am from a different country and I need to learn lots of different things to compete with legends. It is tough to get to that level, but I am getting there.
“It would be amazing. If I go all the way it is good for the game, it is good for snooker in the middle east, it is good for all of the players and the snooker market. Something would happen after I won and you would have Dubai open, Saudi open and Qatar open. It is going to happen soon I’m sure.”
On the other table, Zhang scored an impressive 6-4 win over World Champion Luca Brecel to book his place in the last eight.
Zhang is enjoying the season of his career so far, having won the International Championship earlier this month, where he made a 147 in the final and beat Tom Ford 10-6 to capture the title. He was also runner-up to Judd Trump at the English Open.
With the scores locked level at 4-4 this evening, Zhang summoned an impressive burst for the line. Breaks of 124 and 68 gave him two on the bounce and saw him wrap up the win.
I can’t really comment, I didn’t see any of it. I’m not surprised by either result though. Vafaei never lacks confidence and that’s a big asset. Zhang’s win over Luca doesn’t surprise me either given how the season has gone for both of them so far.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan 