The much anticipated 2024 All Star Challenge in Hong Kong proved to be a rather disappointing event on many accounts. I already mentioned the overpriced tickets and the seating disaster.
Unfortunately there were even more issues …
Patsy Cheung and her family are huge fans of the sport and have, in the past, been involved in the staging of the General Cup. I know that for sure because they contacted me at the time, asking if I could help with pictures for the posters. Patsy has become close friend with some of the top players, notably Mark Williams, with whom she went out for dinner this week in Hong Kong. She posted pictures on her Facebook page..
Also on her page, she shared a post in Chinese that translates like this:
Me myself had wonderful two days with the super stars on and off the snooker table. But the event itself is terribly disappointing, not professional at all. As a close friend of Mark Williams, they claimed he was sick the 2nd day and skip the match. But actually he already has another tournament scheduled months ago, so he could only play one day in HK. Fans may misunderstand him as being not professional. Any respect to the stars in all aspects?
This is extremely disappointing and concerning. Misrepresenting the players damages their image and selling a match when you know full well that one of the players will not be available is dishonest. Credits to Patsy for trying to put things right. She genuinely loves snooker and does share a genuine friendship with some of the players.
Here are some of her pictures notably showing her with Willo’s family and Kyren Wilson, eating by the river.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Yes, Mark Williams is playing in a Joy Series pool event in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province. It’s a double elimination format where Chinese players and overseas players are kept separate until the last rounds. Other players include Dave Lilley, Ricky Walden, Matt Selt, Graeme Dott, Stephen Maguire, Jimmy Roberton, Stuart Bingham, Lee Walker, Michael Georgiou. Asian players in this huge event include Noppon Saengkham, Moh Keen Hoo, Passakorn Suwannawat and Chen Zhe.
That’s a lot of snooker players who are making use of the gap in the calendar by crossing over.