Month: August 2024

Eve of the 2024 Xi’an Grand Prix … in pictures

Monique Media, Professional snooker tournament ,

As always in China, the day before an event the players are requested to participate in the opening ceramony, often followed by a banquet. The 2024 Xi’an World Grand prix is no exception.

I can’t rival Kalacs, our master “images and videos” hunter …

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN KALACS

… but I did some image hunting myself on Weibo and here goes …

Enjoy!

This is WST report on the day

XI’AN GRAND PRIX OPENING CEREMONY

Snooker’s greatest players gathered together with officials from the Shaanxi Province on Sunday, on the eve of the new Du Xiaoman Xi’an Grand Prix.

The players were welcomed by fans and media with a red carpet ceremony, followed by special performances from traditional dancers and musicians, then a banquet as the event was officially opened.

The new £850,000 world ranking event gets underway on Monday with the likes of Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, Judd Trump and John Higgins all in action at the Xi’an Qujiang Sports Centre.

…

In his welcome address, WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “It is a great honour for everyone on the tour to visit the incredible city of Xi’an for the first time. We have staged events in many parts of China and we are excited to meet new friends and discover the traditions of the Shaanxi Province.

“Xi’an is one of the most historic locations in the world, as one of the four ancient capitals of China and the starting point of the Silk Road. These extraordinary stories stretch back for thousands of years, and it is a great privilege for all of us to visit the province and learn more about the past, and ambitions for the future. We share the ambition to grow and develop our sport and to build a bright future for everyone connected with snooker. This event is another huge step forward on this adventure.“

DID YOU KNOW?

XI’AN’S EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY

Xi’an is most famous as the home of the Terracotta Warriors, a collection of over 8,000 stone sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, considered the first emperor of China. The sculptures were buried with his body when he died around 209BC, then lay undiscovered until 1974 when a group of farmers, while digging for water, made one of the greatest ever archaeological finds.

Xi’an was one of the four ‘ancient capitals’ of China, going back over 3,000 years to the  Western Zhou dynasty. It was also renowned as the furthest eastern point of the ‘Silk Road’ trade routes which stretched 4,000 miles from Europe to China from around 100BC to 1450AD.

About Exposure …

Monique Eurosport, Media, opinion, Snooker , ,

No, this isn’t about photography… 😉 … I wish it was though. This is about the exposure snooker is getting and why the latest developments got me very concerned.

True, we now have more good statistical sites, podcasts and youtube channels dealing with snooker than ever before but … BUT the next professional event, the Xi’an Grand Prix, is starting on Monday next week and, apparently, for us fans in Europe, the only way to watch it will be via matchroom.live. This means that we will get at most two tables but that’s not the worst of it. Unless Matchroom improves their streaming platform for the occasion, it also means that, if for any reason we can’t watch the action when it’s happening, we won’t see it at all1. This is a tournament held in China. Some matches, in the early rounds, will be played at ungodly hours – very early in the morning – and MOST matches will be played during what is for us, Europeans, working hours.

Eurosport branded themselves “the home of snooker”. The Eurosport player was fantastic.

Discovery+ , Eurosport alleged replacement, doesn’t seem to be too keen to offer the same service.

The BBC will only show the UK, the Masters and the World. The ITV tournaments will be on ITV … but those platforms are not supposed to be available to the fans in mainland Europe, or in general outside the UK/Ireland2.

If WST/WPBSA want their sport to be successful this is an issue that needs to be addressed properly and urgently. As we say in French “Loin des yeux … loin du coeur.”3 For any sport to grow and succeed, exposure is vital, and not just exposure, “quality” exposure. Quality is not just about content, it’s also about availability to all fans, no matter their location, their occupation and their time constraints. Eurosport player was offering that, at a price, but it didn’t cost a fortune. Now that option is gone … without actual alternative.

  1. Actually this is not entirely true, you might get some highlights later, but there is no guarantee whatsoever. ↩︎
  2. Yes, I know, VPNs exist BUT… that’s a workaround and not available to all. ↩︎
  3. “away from the eyes… away from the heart” ↩︎

Massive Prize Money announced for the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters

Monique Snooker

This was announced today on the WST website:

TOP PRIZE OF £500,000 AT SAUDI ARABIA SNOOKER MASTERS 

The prize fund for the new Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters has been announced, including a top prize of £500,000 which matches the winner’s reward at the World Championship. 

The total prize pool is bigger than any tournament other than the World Championship and reflects Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to help grow snooker in the Kingdom and across the Middle East.  

The world ranking event in Riyadh also includes a possible £50,000 bonus for a 147 maximum break.  

In addition, the event will count towards a potential £147,000 bonus, which will be awarded to any player who makes two maximum breaks across the counting events. 

Last season the bonus was only in operation for snooker’s Triple Crown tournaments, the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship. This has now been extended across the sport’s four majors, to include maximums made in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. 

The full breakdown is: 

Winner: £500,000 
Runner-up: £200,000 
Semi-finals: £100,000 
Quarter-finals: £50,000 
Last 16: £30,000 
Last 32: £20,000 
Last 48: £11,000 
Last 80: £7,000 
Last 112: £4,000 
Last 144: £2,000 
147 Break: £50,000 
Total £2,302,000 

The massive total fund gives the entire snooker circuit a chance to earn significant prize money and ranking points early on in the season. Australia’s 23-time ranking event winner Neil Robertson is seeking to take full advantage.  

“We need to break into new territories. Saudi Arabia is investing in sport to help inspire its young population to get active and lead healthy lives and it’s great that snooker is now part of this strategy,” said 2010 World Champion Robertson. 

“We are getting more tournaments, with more prize money, more ranking points and earning opportunities for all of the tour. The fact that all the players will be out in Saudi Arabia from round one is pretty exciting. I can’t think of too many tournaments where we have done that before. I’m looking forward to that and I’m sure they aren’t going to spare any expense making sure it is a great experience for everyone.” 

The tournament will run from August 30th to September 7th in Green Halls, Riyadh, featuring 144 of the world’s top players. It is part of an exciting legacy commitment with the Ministry of Sport for Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation, aiming to develop snooker and pool in the region over next decade. 

President of the Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation Nasser Al-Shammari said: “We’re excited to partner with Matchroom and the WST to host the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.  The prize fund reflects our commitment to help grow snooker in Saudi and throughout the Middle East, inspiring our young population to take up the sport.  Hosting international events is just one element of our strategy, which also includes grass roots facilities, events and promotions.  We look forward not just to an exciting event, but also the long-term impact it will have.”

Whether we like it or not, such prize money means “business”. They want this event to be seen as a major, and tradition or not, with this kind of money – and ranking points – on the line for the players it will be a major. Tradition doesn’t buy you food, and doesn’t pay your bills. Money does.

I have absolutely no doubt that, if this season’s event is a success, when the “Crucible” contract comes to an end, the will come up with a massive offer, so massive that it will be impossible to match by Sheffield’s authorities, or any other country except, maybe, China and I’m not sure that China would be actually interested.

The times they are’a changin … and this has a feeling of inevitability, as I wrote above, whether we like it or not.

In other news …

It has been announced that the Xi’an Grand Prix will be free to watch for all on matchroom.live. No other broadcaster has been announced. Strange… and somewhat worrying.

Women’s Tour News – 12 August 2024

Monique Amateur, News, Snooker , ,

On Yee Ng produced a stunning performance over the week-end to win the 2024 Women Snooker US Open Championship. Mind you… she didn’t lose a single frame all week-end and made 7 breaks over 50 during the event.

Here is the report by WWS

Outstanding On Yee Is US Open Champion!

Hong Kong China’s Ng On Yee has defeated Anupama Ramachandran 4-0 to complete a dominant performance at the WineCellars.com US Women’s Snooker Open and earn her 21st ranking event title at Ox Billiards, Seattle.

The victory sees the world number two ranked player continue her rich vein of form on the World Women’s Snooker Tour, which has seen her lift titles in Albania, the UK and now the United States during 2024.

It was a particularly impressive showing throughout the three day event as she did not drop a single frame throughout, matching her feat at the 2018 World Championship. She also compiled the four highest breaks of the competition, highlighted by a run of 90 during the round robin stages.

Having seen off Frances Tso and Tessa Davidson in the knockout rounds to reach her sixth final from the last eight events, Ng would face India’s Anupama Ramachandran, who enjoyed a breakthrough event in Seattle.

The 22-year-old notably ended the title defence of Mink Nutcharut with a deciding frame win at the quarter-final stage, before toppling 2022 runner-up Rebecca Kenna to reach her first ranking final on Sunday.

The final would prove a step too far, however, as three-time world champion Ng dominated from the outset. Breaks of 52, 43 and a further 43 propelled her to a 2-0 lead, before a sublime 73 clearance took her to within one of the title. Ramachandran would have a chance in the fourth frame, but a further clearance of 83 would seal the match and the title for Ng, who finished the match with a pot success of 95%.

Side Tournaments

In the Seniors side-tournament it was England’s Tessa Davidson who won her 11th crown since her bow in the over-40s category in January 2022 to consolidate her position at the head of the Seniors rankings.

The 55-year-old defeated Tour debutant Kara Cox in the semi-finals, before seeing off Canadian veteran Maryann McConnell 2-0 to seal the title and cap a successful week which also saw her reach the semi-finals of a main ranking tournament for the first time since the 1999 British Open.

There was also consolation for McConnell in the Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the quarter-finals of the main event. The 74-year-old won a close contest 2-1 against home player Kaarin Lysen to take home the winning trophy.

World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to another hugely successful US Women’s Snooker Open, including title sponsors WineCellars.com, our hosts at Ox Billiards and of course the players and officials without whom the event would not have been possible.

The 2024/25 season continues with the return of the Taom UK Women’s Snooker Championship from 6-8 September 2024 at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds, England.

The Ox Billiards in Seattle is an beautiful club, run by passionate and very welcoming people. The coverage has been excellent. Table one was streamed throughout and you can watch the action again on the club’s YouTube page.

All the detailed results, including for the side events are available here.

I have no doubts that On Yee wants to get back on the main tour and wants to give a better account of herself as well now that she has a better understanding of the Tour and what it takes to succeed on it.

Another Exhibition event in China … 10 August 2024

Monique Snooker

Some of the top players are in China already well ahead of the Xi’an Grand Prix for yet another exhibition.

Please check the comment section where Kalacs – our “Master” in pictures and videos hunting has shared a lot of great content. Thank you Kalacs!

Ding beat Ronnie, and beat him well, by 5-1, in the first match of the event.

Me… I have my daughter and grandson with me for two weeks so snooker will come second I’m afraid. Therefore I’m even more grateful to Kalacs for their wonderful contributions to this site. 🙏🏻

2024/25 Q-Tour Europe- Event 1 Draw and Schedule

Monique Amateur, Snooker ,

WPBSA has published the draw and format for the 2024/25 Q-Tour Europe Event 1

Q TOUR EUROPE 2024/25 | EVENT 1 DRAW & FORMAT

Tournament information including the draw and format for the first event of 2024/25 WPBSA Q Tour Europe is now available to view via WPBSA SnookerScores.

The event will take place at the Northern Snooker Centre, England with a record 154 players in the draw. This means that 34 matches must be played on Thursday 15 August, with the remaining rounds to be played from 16-18 August.

Q Tour Europe will be made up of seven tournaments and is part of the expanded WPBSA Q Tour Global, which will for the first time incorporate regional events held around the world, each offering access to an extended Q Tour Global Playoff at the end of the season.

Learn more about WPBSA Q Tour.

154 entries is impressive, of course it is, but for this event held at the excellent Northern Snooker Center in Leeds, England, nearly two third of the field in English (98 out of 154 if I counted correctly). I wish it was different but I’m not surprised. Where I am surprised is that there is only ONE player from Ireland, and only three from Northern Ireland. How come??? Nepal has two !!! Germany has 5 players in the draw.

I counted two female players in the draw: Rebecca Kenna who certainly can play and Corina Maracine form Romania, who played in numerous PTCs in the past but who, as far as I remember, never won a match in them.

There are players in the draw, amongst the top seeds, who have already withdrawn, notably Paul Deaville, Dylan Emery and Kayden Brierley. Deaville and Emery are due to play in the Xi’an Grand Prix of course and that’s surely the reason for their withdrawal. It’s a shame through as it puts them at a disadvantage in the Q-Tour right from the off.