Pink Ribbon

The 370+ entries are a fantastic news for all involved in the Pink Ribbon but it’s also a logistic nightmare. SWSA has ten tables but even so we were facing a 24h non stop play during the week-end at least. World Snooker Services have come to the rescue! 

That’s awsome news! But it also means that the tournament director, Clive Brown, and SWSA manager, Andrew Norman, have to rethink both the draw and organisation of the event. Clive and Andrew are unsung heroes. The work they put in this is incredible.

So the revised draw will be out soon hopefully.

Thank you World Snooker Service and thank you Andrew and Clive. 

I have also heard from Andrew that Worldsnooker has agreed for the event to be streamed. That too is great news. Now, wether Andrew will be able to set that up in the middle of everything else, remains to be seen. I’m 1000% certain that he will try his very best to have it done though!

Mark Allen Classic 2019

This one is underway this week-end.

The scores and results can be followed here: http://live.brackelope.com/t/timg2

Apparently, despite making a 98, Shaun Murphy has lost 4-1 to an amateur… what’s going on there?

Some matches are streamed here The Mark Allen Classic youtube channel

The Pink Ribbon has attracted a massive turn-up for its 10th Anniversary! This is fantastic news. Over 370 entries, the most ever, and this time a preliminary pro round will be needed as there are more than 32 pro entries! 

This has caused Andrew Norman – the SWSA manager (and defending champion!) – and Clive Brown – the tournament director – a bit of a “draw and schedule” headache but it’s a nice headache to have!

The following draws – amateur rouds only – and schedule are provisional. Every year there are some changes, players who can’t make it, but also players who have entered last minute and not yet in this list. Anyway, here it is!

You will recognise quite a few names in this draw is you follow the snooker regularly: this is a mix of pure amateurs, former pros, Challenge Tour players, WDBS (Disability) players and WSS Senior players! It has all the ingredients for a great event and … very long days and nights!

This is something very close to my heart.

The Pink Ribbon Charity Pro-am will once again be held in the Capital Venue, in Gloucester, at the South West Snooker Academy. This tournament, as many of you surely know, raises money to support various charities in help of breast cancer sufferers and their families. The amateur rounds will start on 20 and 21 July (one half of the draw each day) and the pros enter the fray on Monday 22 July. Amateurs can enter the tournament twice – once in each half of the draw.

This tournament was started in 2009 by Paul Mount to honour the memory of his dear sister Kay Suzanne who was taken away well too soon by this terrible disease. So, yes, it’s the Pink Ribbon 10th Anniversary and we want to make it extra special.

The following professional Players are supporting this years 10th Anniversary Pink Ribbon

Stuart Bingham – 2015 World Champion
Mark Allen – 2018 Masters Champion
Reanne Evans – 12 x World Champion

Past Pink Ribbon Champions

2010 – Michael Holt
2011 – Mark Joyce
2012 – Stuart Bingham
2014 – Peter Lines
2017 – Robert Milkins
2018 – Andrew Norman

Former SWSA OnQ Promotions Pink Army Players

Dominic Dale
Sam Baird
Jamie O’Neill
Michael Wasley
Shane Castle

Plus more pros :

Jackson Page
Ashley Carty
Riley Parsons
Billy Castle
Eden Sharav
Lee Walker

YOU have the opportunity WATCH & PLAY these amazing players by entering Pink Ribbon. You have only till 8th July to get you entry in to us at
www.swsasnooker.com or ring SWSA On 01452 223214

Hotel Rooms at the Holiday Inn Express are over 75% full… please don’t delay as there are other events on in Gloucester the same weekend driving up prices in ALL hotels

Beware! I’ll be there with my camera! 📷

Mark Allen can be outspoken at times, but there is a side of him about which he’s very quiet: the amount of work he does for charity, and it’s a lot.

On 12, 13 and 14th of July, he will once again organise the “Mark Allen Classic”, the money raised going to Riverside Special School this time.

Come along if you can, it will be interesting, fun and all for a good cause.

It will be held at:

147 Snooker Club (Antrim)

32 Fountain Street, Antrim
Phone: +44 (0)28 9446 3388

This is the draw for the fist rounds:

Prelims
1. Jamie-Lee Gardiner v Raymond Fry
2. Aaron Hill v Billy Moore
3. Philly Browne v Tom Ford
4. Mick Judge v Roger Smyth
5. John Fry v Joe Perry
6. Barry Hawkins v Jason O’Hagan
7. Stephen Bateman v Raymie Eastwood
8. Patrick Wallace v John Robinson
9. Jason Smyth v Greg Stevenson
10. Matthew Stevens v Peter Doherty
11. Paul Keenan v Snowy Dickson
12. TJ Dowling v Mervyn Campbell
13. Ryan Mcquillan v Jordan Brown
14. Robert Murphy v Michael Georgiou
15. Kevin Quinn v Karl Black
16. Stephen Brady v Shaun Murphy
Last 64
17. Robert Malcolm v winner of match 1
18. Fergal O’Brien v Robbie McGuigan
19. Stephen Ferguson v winner of match 2
20. Mark Allen v bonus ball winner
21. Anto Heaney v winner of match 3
22. Matt Mccullagh v Tasha Magill
23. Stephen Herron v winner of match 4
24. Joe O’Connor v Stan Moody
25. Nathan Curtis v winner of match 5
26. Aaron Mckee v Paul Currie
27. Nigel Clewer v winner of match 6
28. Joe Porter v Dave Lewis
29. Jamie Martin v winner of match 7
30. Kyle Kirkwood v Louis Heathcote
31. Alastair Wilson v winner of match 8
32. Shea Moore v Peter Lines
33. Gregory Cooke v winner of match 9
34. Daniel Wells v Ross Bulman
35. John Duffy v winner of match 10
36. Stephen Finlay v Ronan Fay
37. Paul Lowry v winner of match 11
38. Michael Holt v Brian Milne
39. Raymond Donnelly v winner of match 12
40. Simon Dent v Oli Lines
41. Declan Lavery v winner of match 13
42. Simon Cooke v Rab McCullough
43. CJ Anderson v winner of match 14
44. Peter Logue v Chris McCrory
45. Derek McMillan v winner of match 15
46. Ron Mc Keown v Gerard Greene
47. Qualifier winner v winner of match 16
48. Rodney Goggins v Wesley Savage

I’m the one who put some names in blue. As you can see the event is well supported by Main Tour pros, WSS players and promising talents! You can expect some good snooker!

This is the schedule for the first rounds:

Numbers on the right are the match numbers.

Friday 12th July
9am.
1. Paul Keenan v Snowy Dickson 1
2. Kevin Quinn v Karl Black 2
3. Matt McCullagh v Tasha Magill 3
4. Peter Logue v Chris McCrory 4
5. Fergal O’Brien v Robbie McGuigan 5
6. Jason Smyth v Greg Stevenson 10
11:30am
1. Stephen Bateman v Raymie Eastwood 7
2. Patrick Wallace v John Robinson 8
3. TJ Dowling v Mervyn Campbell 9
4. Simon Cooke v Rab McCullough. 6
5. Shaun Murphy v Stephen Brady 11
6. Aaron Hill v Billy Moore 12
2pm
1. Philly Browne v Tom Ford 13
2. Joe O’Connor v Stan Moody 14
3. Joe Porter v Dave Lewis 15
4. Stephen Finlay v Ronan Fay 16
5. Michael Georgiou v Robert Murphy 17
6. Michael Holt v Brian Milne 18
4:30pm
1. Rodney Goggins v Wesley Savage 19
2. Ron McKeown v Gerard Greene 20
3. Paul Lowry v winner of match 1 21
4. Derek McMIllan v winner of match 2 22
5. Joe Perry v John Fry 23
6. Jamie-Lee Gardiner v Raymond Fry 24
7pm
1. Stephen Ferguson v winner of match 12 25
2. Anto Heaney v winner of match 13 26
3. Shea Moore v Peter Lines 27
4. Raymond Donnelly v winner of match 9 28
5. Barry Hawkins v Jason O’Hagan 29
6. Oli Lines v Simon Dent 30
NB 9pm
1. Matthew Stevens v Peter Doherty 31
2. Nathan Curtis v winner of match 23 32
3. Draw winner v Paul Currie 33
4. Jamie Martin v winner of match 7 34
5. Daniel Wells v Ross Bulman 35
6. Robbie Malcolm v winner of match 24 36
Saturday 13th July
9am
1. CJ Anderson v winner of match 17 37
2. Ryan McQuillan v Jordan Brown 38
3. Alastair Wilson v winner of match 8 39
4. Roger Smyth v Mick Judge 40
5. Louis Heathcote v Kyle Kirkwood 41
6. Gregory Cooke v winner of match 10 42
11:30am
1. John Duffy v winner of match 31 43
2. Mark Allen v Aaron McKee 44
3. Winner of match 26 v winner of match 3 45
4. Winner of match 32 v winner of match 33 46
5. Nigel Clewer v winner of match 29 47
6. Winner of match 36 v winner of match 5 48
2pm
1. Winner of match 28 v winner of match 30 49
2. Winner of match 20 v winner of match 22 50
3. Winner of match 18 v winner of match 21 51
4. Stephen Herron v winner of match 40 52
5. Winner of match 11 v winner of satellite 4 53
6. Declan Lavery v winner of match 38 54

Mark Allen himself will be doing some promotion on July 3d

This year will be the 10th time that the Pink Ribbon Pro-Am Charity tournament is held in the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.

Paul Mount lost his beloved sister Kay Suzanne to this terrible disease, and since 2010, he organises this fantastic tournament to help raise awareness about how breast cancer can be prevented, or at least detected early enough to be cured. The money raised goes to charities that help sufferers and survivors.

Players at all levels are welcome, and amateurs can enter twice, certain to compete in both sides of the draw. It’s always played in fantastic spirit.

Ronnie won it in 2015

That year, Darryn Walker, an amateur, reached the semi finals in both sides of the draw, and had he been able to beat Ronnie in the semi-final, would have played the final against himself! Everything can happen there! Quite incredibly, Ronnie and Darryn had shared a room, when competing as juniors but hadn’t seen each others in years. Never seen opponents babbling and laughting so much during a match!

Enter, or come along to watch! You won’t regret it!

It’s a great event for a great cause.

Catalano to ‘Brave the Shave’ at UK Women’s Snooker Championship

By Matt Huart In General News, News, UK Women’s Championship, WLBS

If you are planning on coming to the Northern Snooker Centre for the LITEtask UK Women’s Snooker Championship next month, you might notice one of our leading players looking a little differently than normal.

World no.3 Maria Catalano will be ‘braving the shave’ on the eve of the tournament in support of Macmillan Cancer Support, a registered charity based in the UK which provides support for people affected by cancer.

Maria has decided to undertake the challenge in memory of her late father Antonio who very sadly passed away following a short battle with cancer earlier this summer and has been overwhelmed by the support that she has received.

“I would like to thank everybody for the support with my challenge and focus of supporting Macmillan,” said Catalano. “My reasoning for this is all about saying thank you. I’m not going to say I’m not scared because I am, but there are always woolly hats and hopefully my Italian roots will make my hair grow back quickly!

“What this has taught me is to never ever take life for granted. It is a cliché I know but you really can be here today and gone tomorrow. I want to turn my heartbreak into a positive and give something back and just to raise awareness of the great man my dad was. I am so grateful for the donations and the awareness, it is deeply appreciated.”

Catalano, who earlier this year reached the final of the 2018 World Women’s Championship in Malta, is also known for being the cousin of five-time world professional champion Ronnie O’Sullivan who has today given his backing to her challenge.

“Antonio was my uncle and I used to spend a lot of time up there when I was youngster in particular,” said O’Sullivan. “He was the kindest, most gentle, lovely human being you can imagine meeting. He was very hard working with the ice cream business and a big family man. He will be forever missed.

“I know how close Maria was to her dad and how painful it was for her, so all credit to her for doing something like this.”

All of us at World Ladies Billiards and Snooker are of course fully supportive of Maria and are delighted that she will be undertaking the challenge surrounded by her snooker family at approximately 7:00pm at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds prior to the start of the new season.

To read Maria’s story and to help her to smash her £2,000 target donate now at: https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/maria-catalano

source https://www.womenssnooker.com/catalano-to-brave-the-shave-at-uk-womens-snooker-championship/

If you wish and can support Maria, please do so although it might prove difficult if you are not living in UK. Indeed the interface is such that only postcodes with UK structure are accepted…

And, IMO, Antonio Catalano’s illness and death may at least partly explain why Ronnie seems unprepared to sacrifice his quality of life in order to add to his already remarkable tally. Italian families are often very closely knitted and the Catalano are no exception. Antonio was Ronnie’s mother’s brother. He only lived about 5 weeks after the cancer diagnostic was delivered. That’s a harsh reminder that live is fragile and that you never know when your time comes.

Andrew Norman won the Pink Ribbon 2018 beating Harvey Chandler by 4-2 in the final.

Congratulations Andrew!

And congratulations Harvey as well. They both were the best players there all week, and by some margin. The final was extremely close, much closer than the score suggests.

Andrew is now off the tour for a few years and competed as an amateur. Harvey is a professional, a rookie, and if he plays on the tour the way he did in Gloucester over the last days he is  certainly one to watch.

Andrew deserves even more credit for this victory because he’s been working tirelessly on the organisation of the event, this year and all previous years. Andrew is everywhere: early morning getting everything ready, during the day, behind the bar, playing snooker, serving food, generally helping everyone and, when everyone is gone for a drink, at 1:30 in the morning, Andrew is still there brushing the tables after the last matches!

Andrew told me that the prospect of being able to play on the World Seniors tour has been a huge motivation to practice hard again lately. clearly it paid off.

Here are a few images taken during the Final

This year the event managed to raise more money than it did last year despite the clashes with the Riga Masters and the Challenge Tour Event 3. Well done to Paul Mount and his team!

And finally big thank you to Clive Brown, the tournament director, and his team of referees. Everyone one of them worked their socks off to have the event running smoothly!

Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the Pink Ribbon. Don’t miss this special occasion to celebrate one of the best pro-ams in the World and one run for a great cause too!

During the event I published all the pictures on Facebook. Here are the public links:

Day 1 of Amateur Rounds – 28 July 2018

Day 2 of Amateur Rounds – 29 July 2018

Last 64 & last 32 – 30 July 2018

The Finals Day – 31 July 2018

It was great to see the diversity of players all there to support the charity: from the very young, to the very old, able-bodied and disabled, men and women, unknown and legends.

And finally a special mention for young Ben Mertens, from Belgium. Ben is only 13 and he qualified for the pro stages in both half of the draw. He reached the last 32.