Ronnie and Jimmy were at the Krone Circus for the third and last of their series of exhibitions in Germany this month. Ronnie won again, this time by 6-3 (thanks Thomas for the info).
There was a “Meet and Greet” organised in a “Beer Garden” before the exhibition proper
There was merchandise at the venue
Some images of the match
And two short videos
Introducing Ronnie
Ronnie puts Maike to work … as he dons the white gloves
The second video shows what I believe was the end of the match, going by the crowd’s reaction and Ronnie’s and Maike’s demeanours.
The pictures show a 5-1 score in favour of Ronnie. All of it were shared by Snookerstars and Jason Francis on social media.
On the second day of their exhibitions tour in Germany, Ronnie, Jimmy and Jason stopped in Berlin and delighted the fans in the iconic Tempodrom. Ronnie won again, this time by 6-3. Jason still hasn’t got his luggage back, so there was some more shopping too, this time for T-shirts.
The Tempodrom was packed again and the players got a fantastic reception
Jimmy enters the Tempodrom – 17.06.2023
Ronnie enters the Tempodrom – 17.06.2023
And some photos, shared on social media by Jason, Snookerstars and fans
Also, yesterday, I wrote that I couldn’t find the report on day 1 of that 2008 event in Hamm. Well Grump is much smarter than me because they found it. Thank you Grump!
As reported by Monique over at The Snooker Forum, a three-day exhibition over in Germany began yesterday and it sounds like a lot of fun was had on day one…
To view Monique’s thread over at TSF please click here or read on here:
“Day 1 And so the three day event started yesterday and it really hit Hamm! It is great to be there with Perry and Sunflower and more members of ROS forum 😆 nice to put faces on the login names, meet the real people. Sunflower told me that the owner of her hotel had to refuse 50 guests only yesterday. That’ s how big snooker is in Germany…
Before the event I went there walking to be sure to find my way in the evening and I met Ken Doherty on the way. Ken is a charming and very kind man and we had a friendly chat. He told me how good the conditions and the venue were and how glad he was to be there. Unfortunately, he said, he has to go back to UK today (Saturday) because tomorrow he has a party: his son is one year old already! Time is flying. He also confessed he didn’t like Bahrain, not the tournament, the place: better Irish rain and green than sun and desert! 😉
On the evening we got two “serious” matches first. Mark Williams vs Chris McBreen and Barry Hawkins vs Patrick Einsle. Both Brits went through on an identical 5-3 score. But the locals (Chris is from New Zealand but lives in Germany) made them seriously work for it! Patrick in particular led 1-0 and 2-1 before Barry really got going and narrowly he failed to force a decider. Chris didn’t let go easily, coming from 2-0 down to 2-2 and, at 4-3 for Mark, fighting a long battle for snookers. As I was going from one match to the other, taking pictures, I´m not sure about the scores, but I think Mark made the only century of the evening in frame 2.
Next part was more entertainment. Shaun Murphy and Ken Doherty battled … in “Big Break” style. The challenges were: 1. First to pot ten reds 2. Colours on “random” spots (the audience “voted” them) and pot them all in order 3. Regular snooker but make a maximum of points in a limited time frame. Ken came victorious out of challenges 1 and 3. Shaun went “pouting” and almost walked out 😉 … the audience didn’t let him though. They then played three frames of snooker, Shaun clearly the best but Ken the crowd favourite 😆 It was 2-1 for Shaun … Ken taking the second frame with the help of an outrageous fluke and shameless about it.
It was a great evening, great fun. Lots of adolescent boys, enthusiastic crowd. Why isn’t WPBSA investing more in mainland Europe? I can’t get it!
Today the event is sold out, tomorrow also … I’m looking forward to it. Next report tomorrow…”
The part in bold … wasn’t in bold in the original text. The reason I did highlight it here is, well …
I wrote this some 15 years ago, it baffled me, and looking at those videos above it still baffles me. The situation hasn’t changed and the question still stands unanswered
Ronnie and Jimmy were in Hamm, with Jason Francis, yesterday evening for an exhibition organised by Snookerstars/Thomas Cesal. It was a bit of an adventurous trip for Jason whose luggage didn’t arrive and he had to go for an emergency “pants shopping” 🙄
The event was sold out and Ronnie beat Jimmy by 6-2 in front of some 1400 German fans. There were two centuries.
Here are a few images shared by SnookerStars on social media
They also shared this video showing the crowd at the start of the event
And some more of the buffet organised for the “VIPs”
It isn’t the first time that Ronnie plays an exhibition in Hamm, far from it.
This was, I think, the first “tournament” I went to. I have been pestered to add Ronnie’s victory into his professional record. I will NOT add it because, although the event was sanctioned by World Snooker, it was essentially exhibition stuff. It was played over three days and it involved a lot more players than appear in the above-mentioned report. I remember Ken Doherty being there on the first day, and Matthew Stevens, as well as German amateurs. There were all sorts of snooker challenges going on as well as “speed snooker” with Rolf Kalb doing live commentary in the arena. A lot of banter and a lot of fun. “Sanctioned” only meant that the players were allowed to play in, without being in breach of their professional contract. The tables were not certified at professional standards either.
Here are two of the reports I had written at the time and shared by Matt Huart when he was a blogger and not a member of the WPBSA staff. The report on day one seems to have disappeared entirely.
Click below to read Monique’s excellent report from day two of the exhibition event currently going on in Hamm as Ronnie O’Sullivan entered the fray…
Click here to read the report over at The Snooker Forum or carry on reading here:
“So here comes day 2 report …
It all started early afternoon, 2:30 pm, with two “quarter finals”. Neil Robertson vs Mark J. Williams: 1-5. To Neil´s “defence” it must be said that after the Pragues exhibition he and Ronnie had a very short night. I heard they landed in Dusseldorf already as 7am and then were driven to Hamm before breakfast. No wonder he was a bit out of sorts He nevertheless made the only one ton in the match. But nothing taken from Mark who played very solid. Ryan Day vs Barry Hawkins: 4-5. Barry started very strongly leading 4-0 while Ryan was obviously “cold”. Everyone expected a short match … but then Ryan recovered, and how! He won four on a row to make it 4-4. Decider was on. Barry held himself very well, and finished in style … only missing the century ball! Enthralling match and good snooker.
At 7 pm we got the evening session. I started with the “semi final” between Barry Hawkins and Mark J. Williams. Very hard fought match. Until the final frame there wasn’t more than one frame difference between the players. Both playing well and building some good breaks. I’m afraid I lost count of the centuries … I think both made at least one. Finally Barry got the better of Mark and won 5-3. His reward is to play Ronnie tonight …
Then we had some “fun” with a “speed snooker tournament”. 1. Potting ten reds as quickly as possible 2. Random spotted colours … pot then in order as quickly as possible 3. “Shot out”. Five reds in a line between the middle pocket, to be potted in the “top pockets”, each player in turn … “penalty” style. Shaun Murphy vs Ryan Day: 2-1 … it must be said that both players struggled with penalties Shaun the winner by 1-0 Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Neil Robertson: 1-2 … Neil potting all five “penalty balls” while Ronnie missed the fourth and finally Neil Robertson vs Shan Murphy 2-0. So Neil is now official ” World and Hamm Champion of Speed Snooker”
Last part: exhibition match Shaun Murphy vs Ronnie O’Sullivan: 2-3 … with three centuries in the process, one for Shaun, two for Ronnie. So you guess it it was quality. Although Ronnie’s long potting was almost not there, when in the balls he was lethal and didn’t need many chances to make the most of it. Some very clever shots to rescue the second frame after a bad start …
The venue was fully packed and even more… My estimation is that there must have been about 2000 persons there. All players were supported warmly but when Ronnie was introduced … he got a long standing ovation and you could have feared the roof would come down. It was a bit crazy All players expressed their satisfaction and awe at the support they got and wished to be back in Germany soon possibly for a ranker!
After the match there was a autograph session. It went for about two hours: almost all of the estimated 2000 wanted something signed by Ronnie it seems. People who are coming again today were asked to give priority to the others. Many went home disappointed or even angry alas. Ronnie signed a zillion things, books, t-shirts, cues and piles of posters. He didn’t sign programs or tickets though, his manager making the “filtering” … I’d want to say that this was not his decision, it was not being “moody” neither. Perry and me were both in the VIP room when this was decided by the venue manager and Ronnie’s manager. Without disclosing the content of a private conversation we overheard only because they were standing just next to our table, I can assure all disappointed fans that they had some good reason for wanting the schedule kept within reasonable limits – as it was, it already finished well after midnight – and that Ronnie wasn’t even asked about it, he wasn’t even at the venue at that moment. He signed everything he was presented with, including some tickets and programs from people who had gone through the seeve, and wrote many, many personalised messages on people’s request… It was just not possible to do more.
The last frame of the Ronnie vs Murphy match is still available on YouTube
For those of you wondering what happened on the final day in Hamm, please click below to read the latest in Monique’s trio of updates from TSF…
To view her (and other) posts in the original thread, please click here.
Day 3 and final …
Only serious snooker on Sunday night. Best of eleven between Barry Hawkins and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Again a fully packed arena, again a standing ovation! It was a very good entertaining match both player playing open attacking snooker. No centuries but breaks over 50 in every frame but one. Ronnie attempted a maxi but lost position after the 10 th red. Final score: Ronnie 6 – 2 Barry. Both players looked genuinely pleased after the match. More autographs, again an incredibly long line. Again certainly it must have finished after midnight although I didn’t stay until then… at 11:45 the line was still rather impressive.
All praise to the organisers. This was a very good event with a good mix of fun and serious quality snooker. All praise to Rolf Kalb who did a very good job at animating it. Thanks to Bernie Mickelheit and Oli Strailers (I hope I spelled this correctly, please don’t hesitate to correct me …) who “ruled” the overenthusiastic crowd sometimes firmly but kindly. And above all thanks to ALL the player who gave it their best! THIS WAS GREAT.
Now heading home. Pictures to come in the coming weeks. Be patient… I’m still working with films, so developing and scanning take some time.
Be sure to keep an eye out for those photos!
The said photos – in black & white because I developed them myself – were shared on TSF but, unfortunately, apparently all my contributions disappeared after I left the forum.
These I think are the only two surviving ones because I shared them with the players on Facebook:
Willo playing cards in the players room and Barry during his semi-final match.
This was actually the first time I saw, close up, what depressive episodes were doing to Ronnie. For most of the second day, he was sat at a table, not moving, not talking to anyone, not eating, white as a sheet of paper, eyes empty. His manager, Django, had to remind him that maybe going to the toilet before his match would be a good idea… and then took him there. In the tunnel before the match, he looked so unwell that we feared he would be sick there and then. He came to life during the match, and signed any number of items afterwards.Eventually, he asked me to get him a coffee and a couple of biscuits – I had to raid the kitchen as everyone had left already – and that was all he ate on that day. He was in tears in the taxi on his way back to the hotel … ashamed to have played so badly (sic). Nothing Django or I said would console him. Eventually, Django made sure that he was safely tucked in bed … Fortunately the next day, he went for a run in the snow, and came back in a much positiver state of mind.
This was also when I saw what kind of character Willo is. Yes, he can be rough, but he’s fundamentally a good, kind person with a warm heart and a lot of empathy. He was the one who regularly came to check on Ronnie on that day, trying to get him to eat or drink something, trying to lure him to a game of cards. He was acting like an older, caring brother. The next day, when Ronnie was OK again, normal service resumed with rough banter and never ending mutual teasing.
Ronnie and Mark Allen played in the Magyar Gala in Budapest, yesterday and today. This is an exhibition event and they played three sessions. Jason Francis sent me a short report … thanks Jason.
The event was played in great spirit. It was very entertaining, the atmosphere was excellent, there were a lot of teasing, joking and laugher. The pros played shoot-out frames against local players, there were little snooker challenges and one match between Ronnie and Mark in each of the three sessions. Mark won them all: 4-3, 5-1, 5-0. That’s not very encouraging for us Ronnie fans, but maybe not that surprising given Mark’s form in recent months, and Ronnie’s struggles. Also Ronnie is probably not fully comfortable with his repaired/modified cue.
Ronnie did some filming for Eurosport as well, and both players spoke to the local press.
Ronnie will now head to Thailand where he is due to play on Tuesday. It’s a good thing that he has this non ranking event to play in given his recent woes with his cue.
Anyway…
Here are some pictures and videos, shared by Jason Francis on twitter
Red Carpet for the players at the 2023 6-reds Championship
Meanwhile, in Bangkok, the players involved in the 2023 6-reds World Championship got the red-carpet treatment …
As the 2023 “traditional” Championship League is in its last day, Ronnie and Mark Allen prepare themselves for two days of exhibitions in Budapest. Phil Haigh reports on the coming Magyar Gala
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen attract huge crowds as they head to Hungary for exhibition
Phil Haigh Wednesday 1 Mar 2023 4:12 pm
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen are on their travels this weekend (Pictures: Getty)
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Allen will be delighting Hungarian snooker fans this weekend when they face off at a giant sold out exhibition in Budapest.
The Hungarian Snooker Gala is back for another instalment after starting in 2017 and has hosted a number of the top names in the game, including Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Steve Davis and Jimmy White.
The Rocket and the Pistol will be making their first trips to Hungary, though, and unsurprisingly the world champion has attracted big crowds.
The exhibition event is played over three sessions at the Gerevich Aladar National Sports Hall in Budapest, which has a capacity of 1,500.
The event sold out within 24 hours of tickets going on sale, so there is no shortage of interest in snooker in the Hungarian capital, with 4,500 set to enjoy the event.
O’Sullivan and Allen will play each other in shoot out frames and against local players, with the two top players then playing a longer match against each other later on.
There have been five editions of the event since 2017, but for three years, meaning organisers are thrilled for the gala to return with the sport’s biggest draw.
The organisers explain: ‘The event series started in March 2017 and was created by three dedicated snooker fans, Gábor Wéber, Balázs Csurgó and Gábor Buzás.
‘From the very beginning, the intention of the organizers was to promote the sport of snooker and to present Hungarian talents.’
Ali Carter and Neil Robertson played in the first event in Hungary (Picture: Magyar Snooker Gala)
It is a jet-setting for days for the Rocket who will head to Thailand after Hungary to play in the Six Red World Championship in Thailand, with his campaign there starting on 7 March against Jimmy Robertson.
Also in O’Sullivan’s group are Thai legend James Wattana and rising star Stan Moody.
I have been at three of the previous instalments of the Magyar Gala, including the first one, and it’s always a great, well organised and well attended event. Amongst the “Hungarian talents” I witnessed was a then very young Bulcsú Révész. He was about 11 years old and very small…
If you intend to go, the old Ghetto of Budapest is a great place to stay, and the Spinoza Cafe is a place to visit. If you’re lucky, you may even enjoy/discover the Klezmer music. Anyway…
That the event was sold out within 24 hours doesn’t surprise me. Snooker is well appreciated in mainland Europe, and Ronnie in particular is “big” amongst the fans. This is a market that is waiting to be further developed if only WST were ready to “depart” from their UK centric model. Yes, they do organise events in mainland Europe, but, other than the former PTCs, those events don’t feature the full “field”. Qualifiers are held in the UK. That and the structure of the ranking system, force mainland Europe young talents to go and live in the UK, as ex-pats, or to travel back and forth all the time. It’s not a level playing field. A true “European leg” of the tour, early rounds included, would certainly help. The interest is there.
Ronnie’s withdrawal from the Championship League may be because it would have been quite a hectic schedule with those two events to follow and he’s qualified for next season Champion of Champions already, having won the tournament this season. Mark Allen withdrew from the 6-reds event.
Ronnie and Jimmy entertained a huge crowd yesterday evening in Sofia. Today they will do another one in Plovdiv. Those events are organised by Oleg Velinov and he does a sterling job. Everything ran smoothly yesterday.
It started with the players signing goods and programs in the arena itself.
The match itself was a best-of-9 with a twits or two…
The first frame was in fact played as a “Scotch Doubles”. Each of the pros was paired with a local amateur. Sorry, I don’t know their name. Jimmy’s yesterday’s partner is a really good player. Ronnie played with a young lad, who, maybe, was a bit overawed by the occasion. Anyway, “Team Jimmy” won that frame convincingly. and it counted as 1-0 to Jimmy in the match…
The rest of the match was a rather close and very entertaining affair, Ronnie emerging a 5-4 winner. Both players scored one century. They didn’t refuse many shots as you might imagine 😉
Two of the frames Jimmy won involved very unorthodox shots. In both occasions the white had come to rest touching, or nearly touching, the colour he intended to play. There was not way he could play it without playing a push shot. What to do? Jimmy’s “solution” was to put his cue down, “cut the white” with his hand … and send the colour in a pocket as a result. Under the Bulgarian Exhibition circumstances, this was deemed a legal shot much to the delight of the crowd.
The first part of the match was refereed by Proletina Velichkova, the second part by a young lady whose name I couldn’t get (my hearing is not the best and it was a bit noisy out there before the match!). Both did a great job.
There was a crew filming the match, but I’m not sure if it was for television, probably not given how the players contract works, but there was a big screen in the arena itself and the images have to come from somewhere…
It was a really good night.
Those exhibitions are doing a lot for snooker. Maxime Cassis, the president of the EBSA attended the event and he had brought the president of the Serbian billiards and snooker federation with him. This is how to grow the sport at amateur levels.
Here is a short video shared by Jason
As you can see, there was an impressive crowd.
Here are the pictures I took on the night:
26 November 2022 – Plovdiv
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the Plovdiv exhibition.
Ronnie, Stephen Hendry, Jimmy White and Ken Doherty were in Goffs this week-end for the Irish Masters organised by Snooker Legends. This was the third event of the “Masters” series, all played in iconic venues. Ronnie won them all … greedy lad!
On Staturday afternoon, Jimmy beat Ken by 6-0. A bit surprising but Jimmy always plays well in exhibitions, away from the pressure of the pro tour. In the evening, Ronnie beat Stephen by 6-2. A harsh score but, according to Jason Francis, this was the best Stephen played in a long time.
On Sunday afternoon, Stephen beat Ken by 4-0! Not sure what happened to Ken this week-end. I hope he’s OK. Ronnie beat Jimmy by 6-4 in the evening.
2022 World Games
The 2022 World Games in Alabama, USA, featured a “snooker” discipline.
All matches were best of 5, including the final. The Gold medal was won by Cheung Ka Wai from Hong Kong, whilst Darren Morgan took the Bronze medal. Darren was representing Great Britain. Although this is such a short format that results might be a bit “random”, Cheung’s win might prove very important for the future of snooker in Hong Kong. Indeed the sport is set to lose its “Elite Sport” status and with it, its funding by the state. Wins like this might help reverse that decision.
2022 Ranking CLS
The event is back today with the fourth and final week of stage one. The field for some groups of stage two is already completed and Ronnie’s Group A is one of them:
This is a very, very though group. Probably the thoughest this year at that stage.
He nevertheless made the only one ton in the match. But nothing taken from Mark who played very solid. Ryan Day vs Barry Hawkins: 4-5. Barry started very strongly leading 4-0 while Ryan was obviously “cold”. Everyone expected a short match … but then Ryan recovered, and how! He won four on a row to make it 4-4. Decider was on. Barry held himself very well, and finished in style … only missing the century ball! Enthralling match and good snooker.
Shaun the winner by 1-0 
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Neil Robertson: 1-2 … Neil potting all five “penalty balls” while Ronnie missed the fourth 
Ronnie O'Sullivan 