Ronnie arrived yesterday in China and the least we can say is that he’s been kept very busy!
He was welcomed by LE TV, a major sport channel at their headquarters but from what I understood from weibo, it was a lot about music. He met the fans, signed autographs and did a bit of coaching too …
He also took part in the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation Billiards Charity Fund launch ceremony, held in one of Soong Ching Ling former residences in Beijing. WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson was present as well.
Of course Ronnie is in China primarily for the International Championship 2016 and he is due to do some work for the sponsor as well as playing. The tournament starts on Sunday and Ronnie’s first match, a last 64 against Xia Guodong, is scheduled on Monday evening (local time, hence afternoon in Europe).
Pictures source: weibo.
Ronnie personally donated 300 000$ to the Charity fund.
and he shared this on weibo:
Very proud day announcing my work with the Soong Ching Ling foundation
Frankie James is a young man with a lot on his shoulders. His mother disappeared when he was fifteen; his father’s in jail for armed robbery; and he owes rent on the SoHo snooker club he inherited to one of London’s toughest gangsters. Things, you’d think, can only get better. Actually, they’re about to get a whole lot worse.
He always swore to his mum he’d keep his younger, wilder brother out of trouble, but when Jack turns up at the club early in the morning, covered in someone else’s blood, with no memory of the night before, and with the cops hard on his heels, it seems there’s no way Frankie can make good on his promise. With Jack banged up, awaiting trial for the vicious murder of a bride-to-be – a murder that’s sparked an even more vicious gang war between London’s two foremost crime families – Frankie knows a conviction could quickly turn into a death sentence.
To prevent that from happening, he needs to find out who framed Jack and why, but that means entering the sordid world of bent coppers, ruthless mobsters and twisted killers that he’s tried all his life to avoid getting sucked into. Now, however, he no longer has any choice. But in the dog-eat-dog underworld of 1980s SoHo, is he tough enough, and smart enough to come out on top?
Clearly the plot was inspired by Ronnie’s own live experience …
Steve Davis has hailed Ronnie O’Sullivan’s OBE in the New Year Honours list as long overdue.
The Rocket has almost certainly attracted more new players and more television viewers to the sport in the past 20 years than any other player.
But despite the five world titles, 56 career trophies and a host of records more formal recognition of his feats and a profile stretching way outside his own sport had been a little slow in coming.
The 58-year-old Davis, also an OBE for winning six world titles and his TV and community work, said: “It did make me laugh that Ronnie has come straight in there as an OBE.
“Some of us had to pay our dues with an MBE first and were then fortunate to be upgraded! But Ronnie is straight into the hit parade with the big one.
“But seriously, it is marvellous news. Ronnie has been the Tiger Woods of our sport for a long time.
“And it had got to the stage where you were wondering why he hadn’t got something from the powers that be. It is really nice it has happened.
“He has done enormous good for the game, and the world and all the fans who love him are desperate to see him play. It is great and well deserved.”
O’Sullivan joins Davis, along with namesakes Joe and Fred, and Terry Griffiths as OBEs on the snooker honours board.
Others associated with snooker to have been awarded MBE honours include Stephen Hendry, Ray Reardon, John Higgins, Mark Williams, John Parrott, Jimmy White, Vera Selby, Len Ganley and Ted Lowe.
THE AWARDING of an OBE to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the New Year’s honours is long overdue recognition for one of Great Britain’s best known and most popular sportsmen.
The honours system remains controversial but if it exists to reward high profile achievement then O’Sullivan has been an outstanding candidate ever since he won his first world title in 2001 – if not before.
O’Sullivan, 40, is arguably the best player ever. Five world titles, five UK Championships, five Masters, 27 ranking titles, 13 maximums and more centuries than anyone else are the headlines from his playing career.
But with Ronnie it is also about how he makes people feel, how the way he plays makes people sit up and take notice. He can be brilliant, he can be maddening but he is never dull and he has helped to sustain snooker as a prominent television entertainment, including in darker days when politics reduced the circuit to a handful of tournaments.
His contribution to the sport in terms of the number of people he has brought to it is incalculable.
Like all successful sports people in individual sports, O’Sullivan has done what he has done for himself: for his own sense of achievement and satisfaction. But the net effect has been to delight and enthral fans around the world. Snooker has been the winner.
He is comparable in this respect to Tiger Woods in golf, another fascinating box office attraction who has elevated his sport to new heights.
Yes, Ronnie has also had many controversial moments, which his detractors will doubtless point to, and these must have counted against him when previous honours lists were being discussed. But nobody’s life should be boiled down to one or two incidents – good or bad. Rather, you look at the whole picture and in doing so with O’Sullivan you see a giant of the sport, a man who deserves this recognition, which is also in part recognition for snooker itself.
O’Sullivan is often described as a genius but this implies everything comes easily to him. In fact, he has worked really hard to attain the status he has. His career isn’t over yet but this OBE is at long last some acceptance from the establishment that he is a bona fide sporting legend whose achievements deserve respect.
The Rocket is on the New Year list to reward a brilliant but controversy-laden snooker career that has seen him crowned world champion five times
Rocket power: Fans adore O’Sullivan – Getty
Ronnie O’Sullivan has finally got a gong – after once saying it would be “a disgrace” for him to receive an honour.
The Rocket is made an OBE in Thursday’s New Year list for a brilliant but controversy-laden snooker career that has seen him win five world titles and break a host of records.
But the mercurial O’Sullivan, 40, has also regularly found himself in hot water – picking up fines for an assault, a walkout and lewd gestures.
Hailed as a genius and with 56 career titles, O’Sullivan has also had to come through battles with drink, drugs, anxiety and depression.
People’s champion: O’Sullivan celebrates 2014 UK Championship title – Getty
That may partly explain the long overdue recognition for a rebel that has often carried snooker single-handedly, attracting millions of new players and TV viewers.
O’Sullivan said: “I am extremely grateful for this recognition which is a great honour and has made both myself and my family very proud.
“It came as a great surprise to receive my OBE and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my family, friends and fans who have supported me throughout my career and made this achievement possible.”
Back in 2013, O’Sullivan had said: “It would be a disgrace to give it to someone like me. I’m just not that type of guy, am I?
“As long as I am loved by my fans and my public, and when I die people might still have a look on YouTube and say, ‘This guy played the game better than anyone who ever played,’ then for me that is better than anything.”
Loved by his legion of fans, O’Sullivan has made more century breaks than anyone else (795), more 147 maximum breaks (13) and the fastest ever 147 at 5 mins 20 secs at the Crucible in 1997.
1997 WSC: Ronnie O’Sullivan 147 – Mick Price
But recognition for his feats has looked overdue for years for one of Britain’s best-known sportsmen – along with several snubs by the BBC’s annual Sports Personality show.
O’Sullivan turned pro at 16 in 1992 – the same year that father Ronnie Sr was sent to prison for a minimum of 18 years for murder.
The following year he became the youngest player to win a ranking event at just 17 – the UK Championship at Preston’s Guild Hall.
But O’Sullivan was handed a two-year suspended sentence and fined £20,000 for assaulting an official at the 1996 World Championship.
And he was stripped of the Irish Masters title in 1998 after cannabis was found in his system.
Despite being seen as the best player, O’Sullivan had to wait until 2001 for a first triumph on the biggest stage – the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
First of five: Triumphant Rocket after winning maiden Crucible title in 2001
That triggered another avalanche of success, though there were setbacks. A mid-match walkout against Stephen Hendry at the 2006 UK Championship saw him fined £21,000.
He almost quit for good in 2011 but renowned sports psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters worked miracles to get the Rocket firing again, helping him to a fourth world title in 2012.
And arguably O’Sullivan’s greatest achievement came 12 months later at the Crucible, when he waltzed to world title No5 despite having taken almost an entire year off.
On top of Worlds: Celebrating 2013 title with mother Maria, son Ronnie and sister Danielle – PA
O’Sullivan says of himself: “I am like my own reality TV show – it could be car crash, it could be good, you never know what you’re going to get.
“I’d be good on Celebrity Big Brother, but I don’t know if I’ve got the balls for it.”
O’Sullivan, in action in two weeks at the prestigious Masters tournament at Alexandra Palace, has already turned down huge sums to be on that and other reality TV programmes.
Sporting Honours in full
Knighthood
Mr Anthony Peter McCOY OBE, for services to horse racing (Hungerford, Berkshire)
Damehood
Ms Heather Victoria RABBATTS CBE, for public service and services to football and equality (Lower Hardres, Kent)
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Mr Denis LAW, for services to football and charity (Altrincham, Cheshire)
Mr Francis LEE, for services to football and charity (Wilmslow, Cheshire)
Mr John SURTEES OBE, for services to motor sport (Lingfield, Surrey)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Ms Susan BARKER MBE, for services to broadcasting and charity (Stanton, Gloucestershire)
Mr Christopher Clive FROOME, for services to cycling
Mr Robert Ellis HOWDEN, for services to cycling (Wakefield, West Yorkshire)
Mr Ronald Antonio O’SULLIVAN, for services to snooker (Chigwell, Essex)
Mr Paul William OWEN, for services to canoeing (Wargrave, Berkshire)
Mrs Catherine Mary SABIN, for services to tennis (Much Wenlock, Shropshire)
Mrs Christine Anne WELLINGTON MBE, for services to sport and charity (Bristol)
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Mrs Yvonne Janet ANDERSON, for services to the Special Olympics (Roslin, Midlothian)
Mr Ian Hugh BEGGS, for services to rugby (Belfast)
Mr James Ebenezer CALLANDER, for voluntary services to athletics (Dumfries)
Mr Mark CUETO, for services to rugby (Altrincham, Cheshire)
Mrs Janice Carol EAGLESHAM, for services to disability sport (Cambuslang, Glasgow)
Mr Roger Arnold FENNEMORE, for services to sport (Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire)
Mr Carl FRAMPTON, for services to boxing (London)
Hon Heather Margaret Anne Galloway GALBRAITH, for services to equestrianism (Mauchline, Ayrshire and Arran)
Mrs Pamela Bruce GALLANT, for services to people with special needs, particularly through sport (Aberdeen)
Mr Roy HARRISON, for voluntary service to cricket in Northern Ireland (Craigavon, Armagh)
Miss Stephanie Jayne HOUGHTON, for services to football (Shotton Colliery, Durham)
Mrs Gaynor JONES, for voluntary service to golf and the development of women’s golf in Wales (Mold, Flintshire)
Mr Brian Russell LEE, for services to football (Lane End, Buckinghamshire)
Mrs Dianne McMILLAN, for services to swimming and disability awareness (Larne, Antrim)
Mr Stephen James MILLER, for services to sport (Cramlington, Northumberland)
Mr Ian MIRFIN, for services to disability sport (Cambuslang, Glasgow)
Mr Cargin Nevil MOSS, for services to taekwondo (Little Billing, Northamptonshire)
Ms Tracey NEVILLE, for services to netball (Hitchin, Hertfordshire)
Ms Jacqueline Anne OATLEY, for services to broadcasting and diversity in sport (Esher, Surrey)
Mr Ronald Denham WEBSTER, for services to tennis in Scotland (Crail, Fife)
Mrs Anne WHITWORTH, for services to hockey in the north-east (Guisborough, North Yorkshire)
Miss Fara WILLIAMS, for services to women’s football and charity (Liverpool, Merseyside)
Ronnie O’Sullivan given an OBE in the New Years honours list. Quite right and about time.
David is a trustworthy journalist, assistant editor at Snooker Scene and Eurosport commentator, so this must be true.
I must admit I’m surprised. Not that Ronnie doesn’t deserve it, actually this is long overdue, but he’s not exactly “establishment” … well wasn’t should I say
Yesterday Ronnie was at the O2 in London to watch Stan Wawrinka beat David Ferrer at the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals . He was interviewed after the match.
Ronnie is a big fan of individual sports in general, and he loves tennis. His favourite player is Roger Federer but he likes Stan Wawrinka aggressive style a lot as well.
This year Ronnie will miss the final phase of the tournament; indeed tomorrow night he will play an exhibition with Jimmy White in Sofia, Bulgaria. After that, he’s Romania bound for two exhibition evenings in Bucharest with the reigning World Champion, Stuart Bingham.
Also tonight, PhoenixFM will broadcast the latest instalment of the Midweek Matchzone Show. Paralympian Jonathan Adams will once again be Chris and Ronnie’s guest and will talk about the first World Disability snooker event to be held in Gloucester in about a week.
