If you hang around older snooker players “Patsy Houlihan” is a name that will pop into the conversation sooner than later. He is mentioned in Jimmy White’s and Steve Davis’ biographies. They will tell you that he was probably the most gifted player they ever watched or played.
Luke G Williams became fascinated with this character, put a lot of energy and work into researching archives, documents and interviewing contemporaries. The result is a book.
Luke G. Williams explains what drew him to spend more than two decades researching the life and times of a snooker subculture legend…
Until I read Jimmy White’s autobiography in 1998, I’d never heard of Patsy Houlihan.
When I read that White regarded him as one of the greatest snooker players he’d ever seen, my curiosity to find out more about Houlihan soon became an obsession, which in turn became an unwavering determination to bring his remarkable life to wider attention.
My quest finally ended last month, when my book ‘The Natural: The Story of Patsy Houlihan, The Greatest Snooker Player You Never Saw’ was published.
As ‘The Natural’ hits bookshelves, it is 45 years since Houlihan’s sole appearance at The Crucible. In the 1978 world championship he beat Chris Ross and JIm Meadowcroft in qualifying to seal a place in the last-16 in Sheffield against Cliff Thorburn. Houlihan succumbed 13-8, but not before he had shown glimpses of his formidable talents with a string of fluent breaks.
“Boy, was [Patsy] a smooth player,” is Thorburn’s recollection. “I had to be very careful against Patsy because if the balls were open he could get to you. A very dangerous player.” Truth be told, Houlihan – then 48 – was already in decline, fading eyesight and issues with recurrent conjunctivitis having blunted his considerable powers.
Patrick William Houlihan was born on 7 November 1929 in Deptford, south-east London and died 77 years and one day later, having spent his entire existence living within a small radius of the place of his birth.
“Deptford was everything to him,” Houlihan’s daughter Patsy Girl told me, and in old-school pubs and snooker halls south of the river, his name is still spoken of in awed tones. Comedian Simon Day recalled: “What a legend Patsy was. He was like the Sasquatch – rarely seen but older snooker hall lags would always say [when they saw someone else play]: ‘he couldn’t beat Patsy!’”
Although his pro career from 1971 until 1993 was modest, Houlihan’s record as an amateur was sensational – comprising seven London titles, the first back in 1954, as well as the coveted English Amateur Championship in 1965.
In that English Amateur triumph, Houlihan thrashed future world professional champion Spencer 11-3 in the final at the Blackpool Tower Circus in front of 1,750 spectators, having already disposed of world amateur champion Gary Owen and future six-time world professional champion Ray Reardon.
Houlihan’s 6-5 victory against Reardon – after trailing 5-1 – was arguably the greatest amateur match ever played. “As we shook hands, Ray said I ought to be locked up,” Houlihan later chuckled. “As he was a policeman then, I thought that was rather good.”
Houlihan’s overall record in the English Amateur Championship was stellar – comprising 64 wins from 77 matches. His peak? Twelve months from mid-1964 until 1965 when he won 20 straight matches and five successive trophies – the London, Southern and English titles, plus the BA&CC ITV Television trophy and the Muswell Hill ‘Green Man’ tournament.
Houlihan’s amateur record was compiled at a time when unpaid snooker possessed far more strength in depth than the stagnant professional ranks, with the likes of Cliff Wilson, Ron Gross and Marcus Owen battling Houlihan for supremacy.
Sadly, none of this richly talented generation were encouraged to turn pro at their peaks by then snooker tsar Joe Davis and the small band of other inward-looking professionals. In Houlihan’s case, Davis disapproved of Patsy’s penchant for hustling and playing for money, often in insalubrious snooker halls.
As former WPBSA chairman Rex Williams told me: “Joe was very particular who came into the professional ranks. He looked into your background and if [it] was even slightly shady there was no chance. [Patsy] applied and was turned down. He came from a very poor working-class background… That shouldn’t have been held against him, but it may have been.”
The truth was, hustling and money matches were the only way for a working-class lad like Houlihan to earn a living from snooker – and make a living he did. Indeed, such was his formidable reputation that he had to formulate innovative wagers to persuade people to risk playing him.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis recalled: “[Patsy would] play people and he wouldn’t be allowed to have the cue ball touch a cushion or whatever. People would think they would be able to beat him if he had that type of handicap but he was so skilful that he could still win.” At other times, Houlihan would play for money one-handed, left-handed, or even with the end of a broom rather than a cue.
Houlihan’s chances of turning pro were not aided by a criminal record acquired in 1966 when a spot of drunken high jinx saw him break into a warehouse with a couple of drinking buddies.
This misdemeanour, along with the Indo-Pakistani War, prevented him from participating in a delayed world amateur championship in 1966. It was also probably the reason why an application to turn professional in May 1969 was rejected; by then Spencer and Reardon had been welcomed into an expanded pro circuit but Houlihan was frozen out until 1971.
Heartbreakingly, no video of Houlihan in action has survived save for the briefest of snippets. As such an objective appraisal of his greatness is hard to formulate, although the testimonies of those who saw him play are instructive.
Jimmy White, who spent many hours playing with Houlihan and Tony Meo at the legendary Pot Black club in Vardens Road, Battersea in the 1970s, still rates him as the greatest – or among the greatest – cue men who ever lived.
“Some days Patsy struggled because he’d been drinking the night before or gambling or whatever, but when it all connected and he started performing, he was like no one else on earth,” White explained. “There are certain people in this world, certain sports people, like Floyd Mayweather in boxing or Tiger Woods in golf, like Ronnie O’Sullivan at times today, that when they hit their peak they just can’t be beat … Houlihan was like that.”
Another Houlihan advocate is Bill King, father of tour veteran Mark, who after decades in and around the snooker circuit remains unswerving in his view that Houlihan was “the best snooker player I’ve ever seen”.
Houlihan’s swiftness around the table was legendary and he is thought to be the first player to complete a century in less than four minutes. The man who now holds the record for the fastest televised century, Tony Drago, only saw Houlihan play when he was past his peak, nevertheless the Maltese flyer admits: “We played the same sort of game, Patsy and I, except he was probably even faster.”
Movingly, a common thread among those I spoke to about Houlihan was that he was a man whose generosity towards others, particularly young players, was considerable. Having missed out on success in the professional ranks, Houlihan had every reason to be bitter, but instead he chose kindness.
Example? Former pro Tony Meo customarily refuses interview requests these days, however he made an exception when it came to Patsy Houlihan, ringing the author and saying: “I’ve been approached to do all sorts of stuff about snooker in the 1980s … and I’m just not interested. But you’re doing something very good by writing about someone who was such a nice man, and that means more to me.
“It’s nice that Patsy Houlihan’s being remembered because he was a decent soul… What can I say? We loved him.”
‘The Natural: The Story of Patsy Houlihan, The Greatest Snooker Player You Never Saw’ is published by Pitch. Luke G. Williams has been a writer for more than 25 years and tweets @boxianajournal
Main image: Houlihan (right) with Welsh snooker talent Clifford Wilson outside Burroughes and Watt in London. (Seamus Phelan) Home page image: A publicity photo taken of Houlihan during his later years on the pro tour. (Patricia Houlihan)
I haven’t read the book … yet. But I will read it, definitely.
If you are interested, but not living in the UK, finding the book might be very difficult. It’s however available on Amazon. Now I’m NOT at all a fan of Amazon business model but sometimes, if you really want a book, you have no other choice. It’s available in kindle version as well.
Ronnie O’Sullivan: I no longer question my addiction
The snooker ace talks about finally finding balance and taking care of his mental health.
By Helen McGurk
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan.
After a life that’s proven almost as colourful away from the table as on it, Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan, snooker genius and recovering addict, reckons he has found some balance.
“I’m less intense. I’ve not mellowed in that I’ve changed my personality, but I’ve learned to just not take myself too seriously. I’m much more philosophical,” says the seven times world champion.
At 47, he’s been at the top of his game for longer than many of his peers. Yet it wasn’t an easy start for the former ‘bad boy’ of snooker – given his family history (his father was jailed for murder when O’Sullivan was 16) and his battles with drugs, alcohol and depression.
He won his latest world title just last year – but was defeated by Luca Brecel in the quarter-final of this year’s World Championship at The Crucible, Sheffield – and has overcome periods of self-doubt, plus a year-long break from the game, only to come back stronger than ever.
His struggles with severe anxiety and ‘snooker depression’ are charted in his latest book, Unbreakable, which largely focuses on how he’s tackled his “mental wellbeing”.
These days, he runs, paints and sticks with people he considers to be true friends, far away from the celebrity circuit. He has a good relationship with both his parents, who are divorced (his father was released from prison in 2010 after serving 18 years), and has been with his partner, Holby City actress Laila Rouass, for a decade (although they briefly split last year).
“It’s good,” he says of their relationship, smiling. “She’s great. I love her. She’s great company and I love being around her. She’s very supportive. I have to behave myself – I know when to go, ‘Alright, you’re in charge’. But she’s also really good at going, ‘Listen, you’ve got a busy life, you’ve got a lot to do, just get on with it’.
“Now it feels a lot better – everyone’s just in a better place. I just want to see her and her daughter happy [Rouass has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship], and her family, who are like my family, happy.”
In the book, he says his worst times were between 1994-2000 and that rehab and running saved him, while the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps programme and a good sports psychiatrist have also helped.
“I went to AA and NA, I learned about addiction and struggled for about three or four years, because I just couldn’t accept that I was an addict,” he says today.
“Now I don’t question it, whereas before, I’d go out and try to drink sensibly and fail miserably. So now, I think, don’t even start. They say if you stand outside the barber’s long enough, eventually you’ll get a haircut. So I stay away from clubs, from people that drink. They’re not for me, because eventually that will be me.”
He uses a diary he’s kept for the last 10 years to help manage his anxiety, putting smiley, neutral or miserable faces against entries and then working out what triggers him – which is often taking on too much – and has developed a template to maintain his mental wellbeing.
“I’d rather just stay simmering with my work, which means I’m not at high intensity all the time, just ticking over.”
O’Sullivan has been described as “the most naturally gifted player ever”. He was potting balls from age seven, had scored his first century by 10, beating all in his wake before turning professional at 16.
He earned the nickname ‘The Rocket’ for his fast pace and still holds the record for the fastest maximum (147) of five minutes eight seconds. But the pressures of snooker and a disrupted family life came at a price.
O’Sullivan’s Sicilian mother Maria also spent time in jail for tax evasion, leaving him to look after his little sister Danielle. His father’s imprisonment had a huge effect on his life.
“That was the biggest thing that just ravaged me, mentally and emotionally, it just ruined me. I thought, that’s it, I’m never going to see him and we’re never going to have that relationship any more. It’s just two hours on a visit once a month and loads of phone calls. I just wanted him there.”
His misspent youth and problems with drugs, alcohol and depression – plus spells in rehab – have been well charted in his two previous autobiographies. Unbreakable focuses more on how he feels when he’s playing, and how he’s learned to take care of himself.
He says his relationship with his father – who currently lives in a campervan – since he came out of prison is great.
“At the start, everyone was just adjusting. You know, my dad’s an alpha male and he was like, ‘I’m back and I’m in charge’, but I was 36 , knew what I was doing and didn’t need to be told. Now he just backs off. We have a great relationship. I see him all the time.”
He largely credits his improved mental health to his mentor, sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters.
“I’ve learned everything from Steve Peters. He has given me the ability to work it out for myself now, to get on with it and not be afraid to confront stuff and know how to get on top of it.”
O’Sullivan admits in the book that he hasn’t been the best parent, doesn’t see his eldest child Taylor-Ann and hasn’t been a hands-on parent to his two other children, after his relationship with their mother broke down.
“Given the opportunity, I would have liked to have done loads more, but it got to a point where I thought it was best for everyone, for my sanity and their sanity, that as long as they’re healthy, they’re good, I’m going to play the long game. I’ll be here.”
His experiences have made him stronger, he insists, and he hopes he may forge a better relationship with them as they get older – he sees his younger two children at weekends and in the holidays, and they were at The Crucible in Sheffield last year to see him lift the World Championship trophy.
In some ways, he is looking forward to his snooker career coming to an end – he predicts he may continue for another couple of years, or longer – but while he’s still doing well, he won’t quit.
Now, though, he is able to separate his snooker life from his other interests, and the balance has helped him love the sport again.
“We still do the things we love, but we have a way of detaching ourselves from that for a certain amount of time to give ourselves a break and live life a bit – and then have the confidence that when I go back to it, it’s still going to be there,” he says.
“I hope people will go out and will start to listen to their instincts. At some point, it can be the simplest thing, whether it’s walking your dog, going for coffee with a friend, hanging out with certain people that make you feel good about yourself… sprinkling your life with little things that just feel good.”
Unbreakable by Ronnie O’Sullivan with Tom Fordyce is published by Seven Dials on May 11, priced £22.
Neil Robertson beat Wu Yize, the 19 years old debutant, by 13-3 and it wasn’t a case of Wu playing badly as he had two great centuries of his own. Neil though was scarily good and scored very heavily fron start to finish. Making a 146 is a rare feat, making two in one match … well I don’t think it ever happened before. This is, of course, the current HB of the tournament. Ryan Day, who has made a 146 in the qualifiers must feel sick! Neil is now the only player to have made 147, 146 and 145 at the Crucible. In his post-match interview he asked if he has now got the complete “140+ collection” and he was devastated to learn that the 144 is missing… I’m sure that he will try to put that right ASAP.
Neil’s 146 in frame 11, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel.
Stuart Bingham beat David Gilbert by 10-4 from 3-1 down. I didn’t watch the match but I didn’t expect it to be that one-sided, especially considering that Gilbert had breaks of 60, 90 and 121 to lead 3-1 at the first MSI. It seems though that Gilbert is going through very difficult times both on and off the table. This is what he had to say to “the Sportsman” after the match, and it’s pretty worrying:
“It is what I deserve really. I have to go and sort my life out, I have been far too big a mess for far too long. I will never be able to play snooker again the way I am. I need to go away and do a lot.
“Stuart probably thinks he played really well but it was like a club player versus a decent player, I was making it far too easy for him. Unless I get into my rhythm and get going, then I am alright. If I don’t, I haven’t got it in me to pot a tricky ball or play a safety. My confidence and belief isn’t there.
“I don’t know, I don’t know what is going to happen when I walk out of it, I have no idea. I miss being able to play snooker to go a good level and compete with the big boys, it is disappointing, but who knows.
“I don’t even know if I will bother again, I don’t know. I don’t mean that in a bad manner, or sound arsey, I have just got far too much going on.
“I don’t know when I will look at my cue again .Who knows? I might put everything back into it. I might never play again. No idea. A pivotal time in my career? No, my life. I have bigger things than snooker to think about.”
Luca Brecel beat Ricky Walden by 10-9. Luca, who in 2012 had become the youngest player to play at the Crucible, had played in the famous theatre 5 times in previous years and had never won a match. He put that right yesterday by beating Ricky Walden by 10-9 in a hard-fought contest. Ricky had trailed by 6-9 but came back to force a decider scoring breaks of 93 and 71 in the process. Luca took the match with one winning visit in the decider, a good 84. This was a difficult match for me to watch, as I know both of them personally. Luca, of course, is Belgian like me, and I want snooker to further develop in mainland Europe, but Ricky and his manager, Lee Gorton, have done a lot for me when I started taking pictures on the tour some 13 years ago.
Jak Jones beat Ali Carter by 10-6. Lewis had predicted that no debutant would win this year but Jak Jones had other ideas. Of course, Jak is not a kid, he’s 29. He’s a bit of a late developer but he’s a very, very solid player with a good temperament. This is what is needed at the Crucible. Still it’s a bit of a surprise given Ali’s experience – he’s reached the final at the Crucible twice before – and the kind of season he had, winning the German Masters and getting to the final of the Players Championship. Well done Jak!
A very honest interview here by Ronnie
This was shared by Sporting Life on their YouTube channel. Ronnie is speaking to Hector Nunns here. Hector is one of the good guys in the media room, a hard worker, a true snooker fan and someone Ronnie trusts.
In this interview, Ronnie speaks about the Netflix documentary that he should be able to watch today for the first time but will be different from what initially planned, about his life and snooker’s place in it , about his love for his sport, about his new book, Steve Peters and finding the right balance.
It’s truly endearing interview and one that didn’t and won’t get much publicity probably, unlike those given in moments when frustration and negativity took the better of him. We all have such moments, we should remember that. We all have those moments when, no matter how much we love our kids/partner/pet/job, we had enough and just want to forget about it all and flee to Mars.
Ronnie being the defending champion played his first round match to a finish on the first day of the World Championship. He beat Pang Junxu, who was making his Crucible debut, by 10-7.
Here are the scores:
It was a lengthy match, far from easy, and as you can see Pang was the heaviest scorer of the two. Ronnie didn’t make s century in the match, something that hadn’t happened at the Crucible since the SFs in 2023…
As it transpired, Ronnie was battling though illness and really struggling physically. He was also full of praise for his young opponent.
Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan made a strong start to his Cazoo World Championship campaign, emerging from the opening session with a 6-3 lead over debutant Pang Junxu at the Crucible Theatre.
This morning’s tie saw O’Sullivan break the record for most appearances at the Crucible. It’s the Essex cueman’s 31st time competing at the Theatre of Dreams, surpassing Steve Davis’s previous record of 30.
O’Sullivan’s 18-13 win over Judd Trump in last year’s final earned him a record equalling seventh Crucible crown, drawing level with Stephen Hendry. The Rocket came out of the traps quickly this morning in his bid for an eighth world title.
China’s Pang, who reached a maiden final at the recent WST Classic, took some time to settle on the sport’s grandest stage and even walked out through the wrong entrance to the arena after he was introduced to the crowd. However, a strong rally at the end of the session saw Pang stay in touch.
The first chance of the morning went to Pang, who crafted a run of 50 to take control of the opener. O’Sullivan got himself back into the frame and a missed blue from Pang allowed him to deposit the last three balls and move 1-0 up.
Further breaks of 61, 53 and 71 helped 47-year-old O’Sullivan to secure a commanding 5-0 lead. However, those who were expecting 23-year-old Pang to wilt in the Crucible cauldron were mistaken.
A stunning run of 133 earned Pang his first frame. Despite O’Sullivan then moving 6-1 ahead, the momentum was with his opponent. Pang shut the 39-time ranking event winner out for the following two frames and made breaks of 83 and 44 to come out of the session just three behind at 6-3. The match will be played to a finish this evening at 7pm.
Ronnie O’Sullivan achieved a new record for appearances at the Crucible as he battled to a 10-7 success over Pang Junxu in the first round of the Cazoo World Championship in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan made a fast start and went 5-0 ahead but as the day went on he struggled with the affects of illness and fatigue. He looked vulnerable in the closing stages when he was hauled back from 9-4 to 9-7, but eventually made it through to the second round for the 27th time.
“I am relieved it’s over,” the 47-year-old told Eurosport. “I’ve got a bug. Everything has gone, I was just hanging in there. In the end I was just desperate to get over the line, it was a horrible feeling. I can’t wait to get back to bed. At least I can have a few days of rest now.”
O’Sullivan first played at the Crucible in 1993 and has been ever present since; 31 appearances puts him one ahead of Steve Davis. He could have reached another landmark as a century today would have made him the first player to make 200 tons at the Crucible, but his highest break was just 82.
Having equalled Stephen Hendry’s record of seven world titles last year, today’s victory was the first step in his quest to win an eighth Crucible crown and he now faces another tough test in the last 16 against Ding Junhui or Hossein Vafaei.
China’s 23-year-old Pang, who was Rookie of the Year in 2021, impressed on his Crucible debut, showing his charisma around the table.
He led 6-3 after the first session then that 82 extended his advantage. Pang had a chance to snatch the next from 54-0 down but ran out of position with two reds left, and later played a loose safety which handed his opponent the chance to extend his lead to 8-3.
Frame 12 came down to the last red and Pang enjoyed a handy fluke, slotting it into a top corner when attempting safety, which allowed him to pull one back. O’Sullivan dominated the 13th for 9-4 but the tide turned after the interval as Pang reeled off three in a row with 78, 70 and 73. His hopes of an upset were ended in frame 17 by O’Sullivan’s 81.
“When you are feeling good, you are enjoying every moment,” added world number one O’Sullivan. “But tonight I felt as if I was sliding about. It feels like glandular fever, it saps the energy out of you. Sometimes you just have to get through those situations. You fight, that’s what you do. Tiger Woods won a tournament on one leg, Stephen Hendry won the world title with a broken arm.
“I believe in the snooker Gods, if I had lost tonight they would have determined that. I turn up and try my best, and if that’s not good enough I have to move on. I never get down or frustrated or worried.”
Asked about Pang, he added: “He’s a phenomenal player, a joy to watch. I was like him 30 years ago. It was lovely to see.”
WST shared the last frame on the YouTube channel
There were loads of pictures floating around as you would expect
A big big thanks to my friend Tai Chegzhe for these, much appreciated!
And more shared on social media by WST, Matt Huart and other various sources:
Ronnie doesn’t play before Friday so, hopefully he will get enough time to rest and recover.
Aside from the 2022 Hong Kong Masters which was an eight-player invitation event, these will be the first professional snooker events hosted in China for four years.
The tournaments are: Shanghai Masters – invitational with 24 players. September 11-17 Wuhan Open – world ranking event. October 9-15 International Championship – world ranking event. November 5-12. Host city to be confirmed
Total prize money for these three events combined will exceed £2 million. The provisional calendar for the 2023/24 season has now been released.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “This is a momentous announcement for our sport as we ramp up our return to staging events in Asia. To have a minimum of two world ranking events, plus a major invitation tournament, in China later this year is fantastic for the players and fans.
“Throughout the pandemic we have maintained dialogue and relationships with the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association as well as our key partners and promoters across China. This has allowed us to make a fast return to staging key events now that travel restrictions have lifted.
“We promised our players that this was top of our agenda and we have delivered on that promise, adding more than £2 million in prize money to the tour. We will continue to explore opportunities to stage further events in China and beyond.
“We are excited to host a tournament for the first time in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and a vibrant city of 11 million people. The Shanghai Masters has a long history and is renowned for its prestige.
“There is a vast appetite for snooker among fans in China and they will keenly anticipate the return of our star players. We look forward to working with our partners on building a bright future for snooker in the region.”
After Ronnie’s first round win at the 2023 WST Classic last week, there were no quotes by Ronnie in the very short WST report about his match. Rumours over social media were that Ronnie’s interview had been vetoed.
Jason Francis, who manages Ronnie and Reanne Evans, confirmed to me that Ronnie had spoken to two journalists, one of them being Hector Nunns, the author of the piece I share hereafter.
Everyone will have their opinion, but here are a few things I want to stress before you read it:
The WST/WPBSA spoke person claims that Ronnie chose not to attend. This is not entirely true. Ronnie and Reanne were not due to play on the first day of the tournament, they had not planned to be in Leicester on that day. Jason Francis, who manages both, asked for them to be allowed to attend by Zoom rather than in person. That was refused.
Ronnie claims that he has been carrying the sport for 20-30 years and it IS true. There is no doubt that it has taken a lot out of him mentally, even too much at times. Judd Trump himself said it recently: for over 20 years Ronnie is always in the limelight, he’s always expected to win, if he doesn’t its because “he didn’t try”. Everything he says or does is scrutinised and judged. Judd is right and those who claim that Ronnie didn’t do enough for the game don’t understand what it takes to play and succeed for so long under that kind of pressure. He’s not a business man, he’s a player.
WST/WPBSA claim that the prize money has grown … for their UK events. Well, that’s a big part of the issue: the game is far too UK centric. It calls itself “WORLD” snooker but it IS massively UK centric, England centric even. You can’t expect big international companies to get behind a sport that basically looks like a national league with a few international invitees. Of course covid has limited what they could do, but that’s over now. Of course, China’s ongoing isolation policies have not helped either. But mainland Europe has been open for quite some time and the Women’s game has traveled a lot. So? One of WPBSA’s answer in the past has been that the UK centric organisation – especially that of the qualifiers – is cheaper for the majority of the players who are British/Irish. That’s true but that is also a big part of what causes the issue because it actually keeps it that way by making it harder, more mentally taxing and more costly for everyone else.
The way that money that is there has been used has prioritised the shareholders over the players.Matchroom basically “owns” the sport but since Barry Hearn has retired I feel that snooker has not been their priority. Eddie Hearn has never been interested in anything but boxing, the very dynamic and capable Emily Frazer is 100% behind the development of pool and has even been successful in attracting some of the top snooker players to “her” sport.
Jason Ferguson is someone I like. He’s been a player, he understands their needs, he genuinely cares for them and the sport, he understands the game but he’s not a business man. If anything, he is too nice maybe. He needs someone at his side who is a businessperson.
The whole situation reminds me of the start of the 2009/10 season: it has the same “feeling”. Discontent, players not allowed to speak their mind … Then it lead to Barry Hearn taking over snooker and initiating big changes. What will happen now? I don’t know but changes surely are around the corner.
O’Sullivan launches most explosive interview yet ripping into snooker’s bosses
Reigning and seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has ripped into his sport’s bosses in an explosive attack over the current state of the professional game
Ronnie O’Sullivan has ripped into snooker bosses in an explosive rant about the state of the sport(Image: PA)
Ronnie O’Sullivan has launched a devastating attack on the state of snooker and those running it – claiming the sport is in “the worst place it has ever been”.
In under a month the Rocket launches his bid for a record eighth world title at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The world No.1 last year equalled Stephen Hendry’s mark of seven crowns amid hugely emotional scenes at the iconic venue as he beat Judd Trump in the final.
But this year’s blue-riband tournament will take place under the shadow of a match-fixing hearing also next month that sees 10 Chinese players suspended and charged with a range of offences.
There is also widespread discontent among top players over the calendar, cancelled tournaments and reduced overall prize-money levels post-Covid with China events not yet back on stream.
And recent efforts by the governing bodies to stop players speaking out appear to have been a red rag to O’Sullivan – who states the situation is “beyond a crisis”. The game’s No.1 box office star has even encouraged players to go on strike to force major change.
He said: “Listen, snooker is in a bad place. It’s in trouble. Forget Turkey [Turkish Masters recently cancelled]. This needs at least another £50million a year just to make it a proper tour.
“When you look at the number, it’s bad. When you look at £10million prize money for 25 events across the year for 128 players, it’s never going to be good. It needs at least to triple that to make it work. Maybe you do need some proper people like Liberty [in Formula One] or someone with the vision to bring it up to date.
“You look at the people actually managing the game, they are not the brightest sparks either. So you can’t see them digging themselves out of it. But you don’t have to be Einstein. It is probably in the worst place it has ever been. The image of the sport, it’s a bit like a pub sport now.
“Look at some of the tournaments. The Shootout. Some of the venues we play at. It’s lost its charm of what it used to be. It’s cheap. If they can be honest enough with themselves, maybe the people that run the game need to say: We have taken it as far as we can.
“If they really have the love of the sport they would hand it over to somebody else that had higher ambitions. It is probably as bad as it has ever been also because of the betting scandal.
“There are a lot of players I know who are really unhappy and frightened to speak out because they will get fined. They are told that. The game is struggling, if you look at the numbers it is in a bad way. But we all want good for the game.
“I can’t do more. I have carried the sport pretty much for the last 20-30 years. It’s not one player. It’s the sport, it’s not a massive sport. At Wimbledon it is probably £50million for the one event. You look at golf, minimum first prize of £1.2million and the top players don’t even turn up for that.
“We are playing for the winner gets £80,000 most weeks and the runner-up gets £35,000. It’s bang in trouble. Mark Allen has done well this year, Judd Trump did well a couple of years before that. A few others do alright. But for the rest, there is nothing there.
“A lot of these players are tempted by crumbs. If you give them a few crumbs, and they say, I will play, keep them quiet, keep them on board. But the only way to get change is for the players to say, we are not playing until you listen to us.
“If you want us to play in this tournament for six days then this is what we expect. This amount of prize money. Two weeks for this amount of prize money. Nothing will change until the majority of the players go, you know what, we are not playing.”
World Snooker have sought to reassure O’Sullivan and the tour that there are causes for optimism, with a plan in place that will kick in post-Covid as the Asian markets re-open.
A spokesperson said: “Last week we held a constructive meeting with the players, unfortunately Ronnie chose not to attend, where we set out our vision for the future of snooker and addressed issues which are important to the players.
The WST state that O’Sullivan chose not to attend a recent “constructive” players’ meeting (Image: Getty Images)
“The outcomes were positive, and players were encouraged by the progressive strategy set out by WST. WST is working diligently across many of the areas Ronnie has raised and is achieving considerable success as a result. We have smashed records on ticket sales for the majority of our events this season, and our global TV and digital audience is bigger than ever.
“Prize money for our UK events has increased since the start of the pandemic. Post COVID we are committed to returning to China in 2023 and optimistic about that prospect, which would put our tour in the strongest position it has ever been.
“We are working with the leading agencies in sports, whose clients include the Premier League, FIFA, Ryder Cup and The Masters. Our long-term strategy is based upon best-in-class analysis and driven by data. We would always welcome Ronnie to share his ideas and discuss our plans and strategy directly with WST.”
The “underline” highlighting some bits in the above text are my doing. Opinions expressed are my own, and my own only
Ashley Carty has not been invited to the 2023 World Championship qualifiers and, like Balvark, I find this very surprising. Also surprising to me was how Ashley, who qualified for the Crucible in 2020, plummeted down the rankings. In this interview he explains what happened
Ash Carty is back on the World Snooker Tour after traumatic time set him back
Phil Haigh Wednesday 8 Mar 2023 7:53 pm
Ash Carty picked up a crucial win at the Q Tour Playoffs on Sunday (Picture: Andy Chubb/Sheffield Sport)
It was a painful end to his previous stint on the World Snooker Tour, but Ash Carty is back and feeling better than ever as he prepares for another crack at the professional circuit.
The Yorkshireman won the Q Tour Playoffs on Sunday, beating Farakh Ajaib, Hamim Hussain, Ross Muir and then Florian Nussle in the final to earn himself a two-year tour card.
Still only 27 years old, Carty had four years on tour before falling off last year and is thrilled to bounce straight back, especially without having to go to the notoriously difficult Q School.
‘I’m absolutely buzzing,’ Carty told Metro.co.uk. ‘It’s relief more than anything, to do it so soon, the last thing I wanted was to have two, three, four years off tour. It’s nice to be back on within one season.
‘Avoiding Q School was the main thing, to avoid that at all costs because it’s just absolutely brutal, anything can happen and it’s just not a nice tournament to be in.’
Carty looked to be making progress on the professional tour, reaching the Crucible in 2020 with some fine qualifying wins over the likes of Jimmy Robertson and Rob Milkins before putting up a good fight in a 10-7 loss to Stuart Bingham on the sport’s greatest stage.
From there it was somewhat surprising to see him drop off tour last year, but after failing to come through Q School, he hinted at off-table troubles.
Ash tweeted in June last year: ‘Gutted to have fell off the tour and not gained my place back on.
‘The last 6/7 months for me away from the table have been awful to say the least, thankfully things have been getting better slowly and I can start to focus fully on snooker again & to try and get back on the tour.’
Speaking about that tough time now, Carty explains that snooker was far from his chief focus as his father’s life was in jeopardy for months at the time.
‘My dad was seriously ill during my last season on tour, thankfully he’s getting better now but he was in hospital for about four months,’ Ash explained.
‘He had Covid, he was in intensive care for two months, then he had a stroke which put him in hospital for another two months.
‘For the first two months I wasn’t sure if he’d make it or not, so snooker took a back step completely. I was still turning up to tournaments, I actually got a couple of good wins, I beat Maguire and a couple of others, but I wasn’t practicing at all really, just an hour a day while that was going on.
‘I was going to tournaments and I wasn’t sharp, I wasn’t thinking about snooker at all, it was a really tough time for me. Thankfully now he’s on the mend slowly and I can concentrate on snooker a lot more now, but then I didn’t want to play snooker at all.’
The really tough time off the table brought bad habits into Carty’s practicing which he didn’t get rid of until very recently when his friend gave him a talking to.
With his dad’s health improving, Carty needed to get back to the grind and has been putting in the hours on the table and on the road, which has paid off already with his Q Tour Playoffs victory.
‘I wasn’t practicing, I got into a bad habit and not even doing good practice when I was in the club,’ he explained. ‘I was doing that for probably a year and it was only three months ago that my friend who runs the club where I play had an honest chat with me.
‘He told me I wasn’t practicing hard enough and it hit me a bit. I went home that day, thought about it and realised he was right.
‘I changed a lot from then, I’ve been doing a lot of fitness, getting up at 6am and going for a run, my friend has been coming to the club and picking balls out for me, that’s really helped. I feel a lot more sharp, doing intense practice, maybe two hours non-stop, not going on my phone after doing a line-up, that’s no good.
‘That was just after the Q Tour had finished. I finished 13th and I thought, “I’m a lot better player than this, I need to sort myself out if I want to get back on tour.” Since then I’ve just felt really good, in myself as well. I’ve noticed a big difference in my game, feel a lot more confident and sharp.
‘Even my time on tour, I wasn’t practicing as hard as you have to to get to the top, which I’ve realised now. I’ve got to improve a lot more to get where I want to be, but it’s been a good kick up the backside.’
With a reinvigorated attitude to practice and some wins under his belt, Carty is feeling good about his game again and is ready to take on the tour once more.
‘I do feel confident,’ he said. ‘This season off the tour has helped a bit. If you’re on the tour and not winning many matches then your confidence is rock bottom.
‘I feel a lot more confident now, I think it’s done me good having a year off the tour, winning matches and getting confidence back. I’ve proved before what I can do, it’s just doing it more consistently.’
Carty is also taking inspiration from his good pal Joe O’Connor, who he came up with in the junior ranks and has now watched him shine this season, reaching his first ranking final at the Scottish Open.
‘This season he’s been unbelievable and that’s inspired me,’ said Ash. ‘I’ve been good friends with him for years and we’ve always been at a similar level.
‘As juniors I was even a little bit better than him, so to see what he’s doing, it’s inspiring. I know I can do that as well.
‘That’s where I want to be, I want to be back at the Crucible. I want to do what Joe’s doing, getting to quarters, semis, finals of big ranking events.’
Before he returns to pro status next season, Carty heads to the European Amateur Championships in Malta this weekend as he looks to add some more silverware to his collection and return to the tour in style.
First of all I want to wish Ash the best, on tour of course, but in his private life as well.
Next… a word for the conspiracy theorists who believe that covid was just a cold, measures to attempt to contain the spread of it were unnecessary and the vaccine did nothing: read what happened to Ash’s father.
Ash is only 27. His father is unlikely to be a frail old man in his 90th, is he? Yet he spent two months in intensive care.
The same happened to two close friends of my husband. One, in his early 60th, eventually survived, but one of his lungs is completely destroyed. The other one died. He wasn’t even 40. He was a professional sportsman (track and field).
Covid is NOT a cold. Covid can cause clotting that destroys your organs. Covid can fool your immune system that then attacks your own body. The more recent strains are milder, more contagious but milder. That’s how viruses evolve. What happened with COVID had happened before, most notably with the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. Then as well the virus evolved from an animal disease.
The confinement measures were necessary at the start of the pandemic, until the virus got better understood and adequate treatments were found. That said, it wasn’t necessary for them to last as long as it did. And completely isolating elderly, fragile persons for months – many with dementia – was inhumane. They needed to be protected but they equally needed human contact and love. There is a balance to be found in everything and it wasn’t found. Same when it comes to visiting very ill people in hospitals, or attending one’s child birth.
The vaccine doesn’t prevent those who get it from catching the disease, nor does it prevent from transmitting it. It does however protect from the worse symptoms and hence reduces both mortality and morbidity. The global stats prove it did that. The vaccine against the flu works similarly. All my kids got the vaccine against measles -it was mandatory at the time in Belgium – and all three still got the disease but in a milder form without pulmonary complications. That’s what it’s about. It doesn’t suppress the disease but it helps preventing the worse case scenarios.
I really like the 6-reds format and if the shoot-out is ranking I can’t see why an event under this format can’t be. It presents the players with different challenges to what they face in 15 reds snooker. The frames are quick – most of them anyway – and that makes this format suitable for events with an initial round-robin phase. This could help new and young players as they would be guaranteed to play several matches against opponents of different strength and various “styles” and it wouldn’t drag as much as the ranking Championship League or the forgettable “Pro Series”.
In this particular event, most matches were streamed one way or another: on ES/Discover+, on YouTube and on Facebook. It can be done. It should be done for all events, on all tables.
A massive effort was made by the Thai organisers to ensure that all players felt welcome and valued. Although the main focus was on table one, all the tables were in the same arena, in the central space, with seats all around the “playing area”. Such setup contributes to a good atmosphere. It also ensures that no player feels “relegated” on that “last table”, far away from the limelights, where only a man and his dog sit watching … if you are lucky”.
About Ronnie’s performance
Ronnie came to play in the 2023 six-reds World Snooker Championship, having never played under that format before. He really wanted to do well but lost in the last 16 to Ding Junhui, the eventual Champion and a player who has lot of experience with the 6-reds format and had a lot of success in this event before as well. Ding has been in the final three times, winning it twice. Basically, up to and included the semi-final, he bossed everyone.
Hereafter are excerpts of an article by Eurosport. It contains quotes from Ronnie, about the event, about snooker in Asia, about his friend James Wattana, and about the way he currently sees his future. The latter of course may change over time, as, for him and all of us, life and new experiences constantly shape our dreams, expectations, hopes and capabilities.
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN REVEALS WHERE HE WANTS TO END CAREER AFTER REACHING LAST 16 AT SIX RED WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP
Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he would like to finish his playing career in Asia after reaching the last 16 of the Six Red World Championship in Bangkok with a 5-2 victory over Stan Moody on Wednesday. He also praised former world No. 3 James Wattana for his “massive” contribution to the growth of the sport in Thailand. Stream the Six Red World Championship.
….
“The six reds is scary, the frames are over so quick,” he told reporters. “One mistake and it is game over. You get someone in a snooker with the reds open and they are bang in trouble if they don’t get it right.
“I wanted to experience it and I am very glad I came. I plan my year well in advance, there can be priorities, and everyone has the chance to invite me to their tournaments.
“I can’t go to them all, but I am happy to be here this year. I’d like to finish my career off in Asia, snooker is more popular here than anywhere, Thailand and China, Hong Kong.
“In Covid it was impossible but my sponsors like to see me in Asia – they are the No. 1 events they want me to play in. So in the future I may skip events in the UK to play the majority here.”
O’Sullivan also praised three-time ranking event winner Wattana for raising the profile of snooker in his home country.
“I played James out here in his peak,” he said on WST. “I played him in a match and we had to stop for the adverts and he was on every advert, Nescafe, Thai Airways, and I was sitting there thinking this geezer is unbelievable.
“I’ve never ever hung out with anyone so famous. When he was in his prime, he couldn’t go anywhere and needed a security police escort to go everywhere.
“He’s been massive for Thai snooker. Thailand snooker is very strong. They’ve got some fantastic players and that is because of James and what he has done in the game.“
Not everything is great in Asia, far from it, but I can understand why Ronnie likes it so much over there. The life is very different from what it is in Britain. The smells, the colours, the food … everything stimulates the senses, for good and sometimes, truth to be said, for not so good. It’s much closer to the mediterranean way of life than to what people experience in the north of Europe. As Laila, gently teasing Ronnie, once put it: “He’s so Italian!”.
You only need to watch the first minutes of this video shared by Jason Ferguson to understand what I mean. I starts with a stroll through the local open market.
The first minutes of this video show the open market near the venue
The reception players get in Asia, the hospitality, the decorum around the events … all of it make the experience very special. The players are made to feel valued. I’m certain that Ronnie was extremely disappointed to lose early.
Here are some more snippets – quotes and images – shared by Jason Francis:
Jason is already thinking about a series of exhibitions with Ronnie around Asia…
Ronnie O'Sullivan 