Mark Allen will be in action today at Ally Pally, before turning his attention to his World Grand Prix defence.
Mark has always been an outspoken character and may not be everyone’s cup of tea but behind this sometimes rough “facade”, is a man with a warm heart who stays close to his origins and his community.
Ronnie will be doing a special night in London 22nd July. You will have the opportunity to hear Ronnie’s story in his own words. This event aims at raising money for good friends Pete and Hannah Cohen for her treatment.
An Evening With Ronnie O’Sullivan
We need to raise around £250,000 to give Hannah the opportunity to have treatment which will save her life. The NHS cannot offer her any options but there are some pioneering therapies available in Germany and the US which we are currently exploiting. To give Hannah access to the treatment, we need to fund it privately. In return of purchasing a ticket below for only £50, you’ll receive an evening with snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Pete Cohen will be interviewing Ronnie about his journey into becoming seven times world champion, how we learnt to get the best from his talent, how he overcome adversity, depression and many other challenges to be his best. Rob will be interviewing Ronnie regarding the business side of things, everything entrepreneurial that Ronnie & Rob will discuss.
Where will this event be?
Conway Hall London, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL
There will also be an auction, with signed Ronnie memorabilia to be won.
Pete Cohen and Ronnie have been friends for a a very long time. Pete is a mental coach and has been helping Ronnie in some particularly difficult moments. Now is the time when his wife and himself need help …
Yesterday was the fourth day at the 2021 Masters, and it saw the conclusion of the last 16 round.
In the afternoon match, Ronnie came back from 3-0 down and 5-3 down to beat Ding Junhui by 6-5. You will find out everything about that match – the best of the round – by following this link.
The evening also went to a deciding frame, as John Higgins beat Mark Allen by 6-5. John of course had plenty of match practice, having played in three groups of the 2021 Championship League snooker last week. Mark Allen, on the other hand, hadn’t practice much ar all, as he was just recovering from covid-19. To make things even more tricky, he was playing with a new cue. He did well all things considered.
In the second frame of the matchMark Allen had a century, a 106, and that was the 600th century in the Masters.
Here is the report by WST:
Higgins Holds Off Allen
John Higgins defeated Mark Allen 6-5 to book his place in the last eight of the Betfred Masters in Milton Keynes.
Victory for Scotland’s Higgins sets up a mouth-watering last eight meeting with familiar foe Ronnie O’Sullivan. He currently trails O’Sullivan 35-28 in head-to-head meetings. It will be the 14th time Higgins has appeared in a Masters quarter-final.
This evening’s result ends a winning streak for Allen against Higgins at the Masters. Prior to tonight the Northern Irishman had beaten Higgins in all four of their previous meetings at the event.
It was two-time Masters champion Higgins who took the opening frame tonight. Allen, who lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy by winning the Masters in 2018, restored parity at 1-1 with a century run of 106. Breaks of 56 and 82 saw Higgins move 3-1 ahead at the mid-session.
A contribution of 92 allowed Allen to pull within one, before he stole the sixth on the black to level at 3-3. Momentum appeared to be with the Pistol, but Higgins stopped him in his tracks with breaks of 84 and 80 to move one from victory at 5-3.
Allen pulled within a frame at 5-4, then took a dramatic tenth. He was 35 points behind with 35 remaining, but got a snooker and cleared to force a decider.
Higgins trailed 39-3 in the last frame but compiled a superb break of 59 which proved the match-winner.
“I know there is no crowd there, but personally I felt the nerves just as much as I would at a packed Alexandra Palace. It was a great buzz to get over the line there,” said 45-year-old Higgins. “I was all over the place at the start of the last frame and expecting Mark to win, but he missed a bad brown and then gave me a chance to get in. I’m normally sitting here over the last 18 months losing games like that, so to be winning it, I am delighted.
“I’ve always had a friendly rivalry with Ronnie. I respect him an unbelievable amount. To still be playing these sort of matches, I’m over the moon. To get to the semi-finals I know I may have to play even better than tonight. I didn’t see any of his game today, but apparently he played brilliantly and Ding played well as well. I will just need to come in and play my A game.”
Today we have two quarter-finals: in the afternoon Kyren Wilson will play David Gilbert, and in the evening the defending champion Stuart Bingham will face Shaun Murphy.
Tomorrow Ronnie will face Higgins in the evening, their first match at the Masters since that 2006 final. Stephen Maguire will face Yan Bingtao in the afternoon.. That’s an interesting one because Maguire is no fan of too many safeties and prone to impatience. Yan is the opposite: he has a very strong tactical brain and all the patience in the world, but doesn’t always score heavily.
Here are the announcements by WST
Betfred extend their commitment to WST
The World Snooker Championship will continue to be sponsored by Betfred until at least 2022 thanks to an extended agreement.
Betfred and WST have announced the extension on the final day of the 2020 tournament at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, as Ronnie O’Sullivan and Kyren Wilson battle for the trophy.
The Betfred World Championship is snooker’s biggest tournament and one of the greatest sporting events on the planet, with an international audience of 500 million.
It brings together the world’s top 16 players, plus 16 more who battle through the qualifying rounds. The final stages run for 17 days at the famous Crucible.
Betfred first sponsored the tournament in 2009.
WST Chairman Barry Hearn said “We have worked with Betfred on the World Championship for many years and we are delighted to extend the agreement. Over that time it has developed into a truly global event with a vast audience, and its reach continues to grow. More and more fans in an increasing number of countries tune in each year to watch history in the making. This year’s Championship has been one of the best. We look forward to working with the fantastic Betfred team for many years to come.”
Fred Done, Boss of Betfred, added: “I’m delighted to extend my association with the World Snooker Championship and I would like to take this opportunity to thank WST, the Crucible, BBC, Eurosport and especially the players for putting this event on in such challenging times.”
And donate £25000 to Jessie May
World Snooker Championship sponsor Betfred has made an incredible donation of £25,000 to WST’s official charity Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home.
Before the tournament started, Betfred pledged £200 for every century break to Jessie May, with the total to be rounded up to £25,000 if 80 centuries were made.
In fact the ton count finished at 79, though champion Ronnie O’Sullivan narrowly missed out on another century in the last frame, running out of position on the last black on 96. Betfred has generously decided to count that as a century and trigger the massive £25,000 donation.
WST Chairman Barry Hearn said: “This is an amazing gesture from Betfred and I know just how much this will mean to the Jessie May team at a time when they have been forced to reduce their fund-raising activity. They need the kindness of people like Fred Done in order to keep up the remarkable work they do for children and their families. Our gratitude goes to Betfred.”
Fred Done, Boss of Betfred, added: “I am thrilled that we are able to round up the donation to £25,000 because Jessie May is such a wonderful charity. Congratulations to the players for making so many centuries and providing a great tournament.”
Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home, based in Bristol, is WST’s official charity partner. They provides a hospice at home service for terminally ill children, offering care to families in the South West area. For more information about Jessie May visit www.jessiemay.org.uk
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Jason Francis came up with the idea. Here is WPBSA explaining what it’s all about:
Snooker Stars Potting for the NHS
3rd April 2020
Leading snooker stars including 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham have taken part in the Blue Ball Snooker Challenge during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to raise money for the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom.
The initiative was the brainchild of World Seniors Snooker Chairman Jason Francis who challenged any players with snooker tables at home to try and pot ten difficult blue balls with people predicting how many they would get and donating to the NHS.
“It started as a bit of fun but its gone viral now with players having a go and raising money for our national health service in the UK,” said Francis. “This week alone we have had Stuart Bingham, Joe Perry and Kyren Wilson take part and our regular Facebook live videos have proved very popular with the snooker community.”
The initial goal was to raise £1,470 for a local NHS trust as a reference to snooker’s maximum 147 break – a target which was soon met within four days. Further targets have since been met for bodies including the London North West NHS Trust and Barts NHS Trust, with a Sheffield-based Trust set to be the next beneficiary in recognition of the city’s status as the home of snooker having hosted the professional World Snooker Championship since 1977.
Overseas players in Ireland have also taken up the challenge with €1,000 having been raised for its Health Service Executive.
“For as long as we remain in isolation, and players want to continue supporting this, we will continue,” added Francis. “It would be incredible if we could top £10,000 by the time we finish.”
For more information and to view the attempts so far visit the ROKit Phones World Seniors Snooker Facebook page.
This is a great initiative and players have really embraced it.
Gary Filtness, the Super Seniors n°1, was first to take it and made it ten out of ten! Stuart Bingham made nine. Kyren Wilson involved his whole family. Emma Parker, the women under-21 n°1, potted eight out of ten…
Far too many players took it already to name them all, with a lot more already committed to trying their best and they come from all corners: professionals, seniors, juniors, disability players, all united to support their national health system.
Stuart Bingham won the Pink Ribbon 2019, beating Mark Allen by 4-3 in the Final.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the event. To make it more special, it was also the year the £100000 landmark was passed. Yes, over the last 10 years the event gathered over £100000 for its charities, supporting medical research aiming at curing breast cancer as well as proximity support for the sufferers and their families. Plus Stuart Bingham & Mark Allen BOTH donated £1000 each from their winnings back to the tournament charity pot.
It also attracted a record number of nearl 400 entries. It’s a truly inclusive event, played in great spirit: players of all ages and abilities come together to support the cause.
With a special mention to Andrew Norman who was everywhere, for everone and even managed to mont a good defence if his title on top of everything else.
And nothing would be possible without the tournament director, Clive Brown, and his team of referees, all working tirelessly and for free. This time with the record number of entries, they worked 18 hours/day throughout. Yes, you read it right: 18 hours/day!
I took far too many pictures for me to publish them on this page. So here are the links to the Facebook albums. You don’t need to be on facebook to browse through them:
19 July – the venue is getting ready
22 July – first day of pro stages
There was also a very special moment on Monday evening, when Paul Mount was honoured for his 10 years commitment and work for his charities of choice. Clive Brown was honoured as well for 10 years of tireless support to the event.
And finally,
Because without you, the event wouldn’t exist!
The South West Snooker Academy certainly is getting ready and waiting for you, players and fans …
The resident tables have been refurbished and two more tables are nearly ready in what used to be the practice area, with some seating for spectators.
The 10th Anniversary polo shirts are really beautiful
And the tournament director’s office is just waiting for Clive Brown…
with the trophies on display.
It should be a great event … it will be great event thanks to all wo entered and all who will come and support whilst watching some great snooker!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 