Snooker pundit Reanne Evans kicked out of the studio after her ex complained she was distracting him
Snooker pundit Reanne Evans, 35, (pictured) was told to leave the studio at the World Championships by BBC chiefs on April 20 after her ex, who was set to play, labelled her a distraction
A snooker pundit was told to leave the studio by BBC chiefs after her ex, who was set to play, labelled her a distraction.
Reanne Evans, 35, was set to join a live discussion at the World Championships before being hooked on April 20.
The BBC studio was next to the practice area, where her ex, Mark Allen, had been preparing for his upcoming match against China’s Lyu Haotian.
Presenter Radzi Chinyanganya and Evans, who is the women’s world snooker champion, were preparing for the start of the show when world no 13 Allen complained that Evans was a ‘distraction’.
After a discussion between World Snooker Tour officials and her producers, Evans agreed to leave.
The BBC said: ‘For the sake of ten minutes, Reanne left the players’ practice room so Mark Allen could practise before his match without distraction upon his request.’
The broadcaster also said that Evans’ broadcast commitments had not been affected by the incident.
Record 12-times women’s world champion Evans, who is currently battling Allen for maintenance for their 14-year-old daughter, was reported to have been ’embarrassed’.
Speaking about his plea for Evans to leave, Allen said that there had been several cases of other players asking officials for people to be removed while they were practising.
Allen (pictured) said afterwards that there had been several examples of other players requesting for people to leave while they were practising
‘I’m not sure why there is a fuss about this one,’ he added.
MailOnline has approached the World Snooker Tour (WST) for comment.
Mark Allen was knocked out of the competition on Monday after being beaten by Mark Selby.
Following his defeat, Allen said he is planning on having ‘a bit of break’ from snooker in order to address some personal issues, the BBC reports.
Speaking after his defeat, Allen said: ‘There’s numerous things going on off the table which I’d rather not talk about.
‘I will come back but I can’t see me coming back any time soon.’
He added that it is difficult to compete against the best in the world without having a clear head to focus on his game.
Later Hector Nunns came on twitter to share his own views about the incident.
Hector is asking the right questions there.
Whilst I’m sure that there were cases of people removed from the practice room because their behaviour was causing distraction, I doubt that it ever happened to a pundit in the nearby studio. For all we know she was doing her job and was not bothering anyone.
It was very likely World Snooker Tour’s decision but why? For me, they should have told Mark Allen to mind his own business and get on with it instead pandering to his whim. Would they have asked Steve Davis or John Parrott to leave if it had come into Mark’s mind that they are a “distraction” for whatever reason? I strongly doubt it. This is setting a dangerous precedent.
That said, it’s obvious that Mark Allen isn’t in good place at the moment. He has several private issues to sort out, and not just with Reanne. He needs time out of the game to sort them out, and sort himself out as well. I hope he gets the help he needs but I stand by the opinion that I expressed above: Reanne should have stayed and been allowed to do her job. If Mark wasn’t happy he had the choice to leave the practice room himself.
A seventh world title for Ronnie O’Sullivan is likely to also see him hailed as the greatest ever.
By Hector Nunns
Is this the year to hail the undisputed greatest snooker player of all time? That is the question on the minds of many snooker fans ahead of this year’s Betfred World Championship, if not so much for defending champion and reluctant hero Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The Rocket claimed a sixth world title at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in August beating Kyren Wilson in the final, leaving him just one short of Stephen Hendry’s record seven triumphs in the 17-day marathon of mind and body on snooker’s most iconic stage.
The current world number two, O’Sullivan has been at pains to stress that his form this season has been “mediocre”. There have been moments and flashes of brilliance, and those have helped take him to five ranking tournament finals.
Unusually for O’Sullivan, with a 70 per cent win rate in such showpieces at the beginning of the campaign, he has lost all of them. He even openly questioned whether his hunger and killer instinct were as keen given a more laid-back approach to life and the game these days.
And he has certainly been playing down any questions about equalling Hendry’s most cherished record, having already overtaken him on ranking titles (37), the major tournaments also including the Masters and UK Championship (20), 147 maximum breaks (15) and centuries (1,102).
O’Sullivan, who has had lots to say about many other issues in the build-up to this year’s World Championship, said: “I suppose winning a seventh world title is now a real possibility. But I will be happy if I don’t embarrass myself.
“I would never want to go to the Crucible and have an absolute stinker. That is my starting point. And then if I can win a couple of matches, then great. You just don’t want to make a fool of yourself.”
Former world champion Ken Doherty is clear on the issue. He said: “It would befit Ronnie’s career if he did win a seventh to equal Stephen Hendry. Whenever the question is posed out there ‘who is the greatest?’, many would already say it is Ronnie O’Sullivan.
“But that world title tally is always there, Stephen has the most. Ronnie knows that, it is always raised. It would be the cherry on the cake of his other achievements, and then for me he would be the undisputed best of all time.”
Legend Hendry, now 52 and having made a comeback this season after nine years in retirement, was brutally honest about the prospect of seeing his record matched. He said: “I am not going to lie, I would be disappointed if Ronnie equalled that record.
“So I’m not going sit there and think ‘Oh no, it doesn’t matter’, because it does matter – it is a record I hold very proudly. If he equals it, fair play to him, and you could only say that’s an incredible achievement. He is a phenomenal snooker player, and sportsman. Is there anyone else as talented at their sport? But I’m certainly not going to lie and say that I would be over the moon about it!”
O’Sullivan has spoken this week about time spent relaxing with his artist friend Damien Hirst, revealing: “We get together, mix a few paints up, get the old stirring pot out, put it all on a canvas. I love painting with him, it’s very therapeutic.”
There has been a minor cue crisis in the build-up to the blue-riband event, though that looks to have been solved with emergency repairs by John Parris. And O’Sullivan will be replicating last year’s successful routine before and after matches while he remains in the draw – heading out to the west of Sheffield and running to the edge of the nearby Peak District.
O’Sullivan, back up to around 35-40 miles a week after recovering from injury, said: “There are some great routes and it’s nice to be doing some different ones. We go up to Endlcliffe Park, and keep going until we get to the Peaks and then come back again.”
It looks an open tournament, and the betting reflects that. Sponsors Betfred have world number one Judd Trump as favourite at 7/2 for a second world title, and O’Sullivan at 5-1. However Neil Robertson (also 5-1), Mark Selby (13-2) and John Higgins (10-1) all have strong claims.
Some shrewdies believe Kyren Wilson will one day lift the trophy, and Yan Bingtao, who won the Masters in January, has one more chance to take another of Hendry’s records by a single month – that of being the youngest ever world champion. Hendry was 21 when his era of dominance began in 1990.
But all eyes on opening day will be, as they usually are, on O’Sullivan – a spotlight he has had to cope with as the sport’s box office king for three decades. His half of the limited capacity arena is sold out, and they along with millions of TV viewers will be looking for the Rocket to run through a repertoire that has brought him success and adulation in equal measure.
Eurosport have run their own poll about sports personalities of the year 2020 and here are the results:
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN WINS EUROSPORT SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR
Ronnie O’Sullivan has won the Eurosport British Sportsperson of the Year. Marcus Rashford was recognised for his deeds on and off the pitch, and Formula One record-breaker Lewis Hamilton placed third. Read on for the rest of the placings for the remaining five spots voted for by you.
Ronnie O’Sullivan was the overwhelming winner of Eurosport’s British Sportsperson of the Year.
The 44-year-old snooker legend received almost half (44%) of the total votes cast, shared between eight of the best of British sport.
2020 was the year when O’Sullivan finally ended his wait of seven years for another World Championship, beating Ding Junhui, Mark Williams, Mark Selby and Kyren Wilson along the way.
In second place was Marcus Rashford (15%), who earned his recognition for his activity off the pitch as much as his deeds on it. Rashford was at the heart of a campaign to secure vulnerable British children free school meals over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, in the face of sustained opposition from the British government.
Rashford also has 21 goals in the 2020 calendar year and is on course to beat his 22-goal record if he continues his current scoring rate for the 2020/21 season. He also has received an MBE for his services to children, aged just 23.
In third (12%), Lewis Hamilton won his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship – his seventh so far – and broke Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix victories. Away from the track, he donated to help fight back against the damage done by wildfires in Australia, and spearheaded the Black Lives Matter movement amongst the Formula One paddock.
Jonathan Rea placed fourth (9%) after another dominant season in the World Superbike championship. The Northern Ireland racer was on every podium but one after the coronavirus-enforced restart, and won his sixth straight world championship.
In joint fourth (also 9%) was Judd Trump. While O’Sullivan won the Worlds, Trump pulled off victories in the Northern Ireland Open, the English Open, the Gibraltar Open, Players Championship and German Masters. At just 31 there is almost certainly much more to come.
Sixth place went to football Lucy Bronze (5%), who enjoyed another superb season. The 29-year-old England international won the Champions League and French domestic double with Lyon, and then moved back to the Women’s Super League to join Manchester City in September.
Tao Geoghegan Hart (3%) capped a fine year off with his seventh place recognition. After Geraint Thomas had to withdraw from Team Ineos’ Giro d’Italia challenge, it was the 25-year-old rider who stepped up to shock almost everyone to seize victory. In what may be a less frenetic season in 2021, there is no clear limit to his potential.
Fellow cyclist Lizzie Deignan also impressed, and earned an eight place spot (2%) after topping the UCI World Rankings, in part due to victories at La Course and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
RESULTS
Ronnie O’Sullivan – 44%
Marcus Rashford – 15%
Lewis Hamilton – 12%
Jonathan Rea – 9%
Judd Trump – 9%
Lucy Bronze – 5%
Tao Geoghegan Hart – 3%
Lizzie Deignan – 2%
Congratulations Ronnie!
I believe that Ronnie’s emphatic win as well as Judd Trump’s presence as 5th in the list shows that Eurosport, not BBC, is now the main snooker channel, even in the UK. It really has become the “House of Snooker”. Well done Eurosport!
Over the last weeks, since Ronnie has been nominated for SPOTY, the sport’s gouverning body has actively encouraged fans to vote for him. There have been other player’s interviews, articles and mentions in commentary.
Journalist and commentator David Hendon believes that Ronnie O’Sullivan has had a huge impact on snooker’s global popularity and his nomination for BBC Sports Personality of the Year is well overdue.
O’Sullivan has won 37 ranking titles and 20 Triple Crown events in a remarkable career, and this year became World Champion for the sixth time. For the first time, he is on the shortlist for the BBC award, alongside Lewis Hamilton, Hollie Doyle, Stuart Broad, Jordan Henderson and Tyson Fury.
You can vote for O’Sullivan this Sunday (December 20th) by telephone or online. For details of how to vote on the night, click here.
Hendon, who commentates for broadcasters including Eurosport and ITV, said: “It is long overdue when you consider his achievements over the past 30 years. A lot of us thought that it would happen in 2013 when he won the World Championship after a year off. There is a lot happening in the world of sport every year so it is difficult to get on to that shortlist. But when you look at what he has achieved in snooker – which is so popular on television – it’s amazing it has taken this long. Thank goodness he is on it this year.
David Hendon
“For many new fans of snooker he is a gateway into it. They might be flicking through the channels late at night, might have never seen snooker before. If he is playing, there is something about him as a character which draws people in. A lot of fans say that the first player they enjoy watching is Ronnie, and then they become interested in the sport. There was a guy from Kyrgyzstan the other day tweeting about the fact that he can’t play snooker in his country, but he loves watching Ronnie play. He is a worldwide figure, and a figurehead for snooker.
“He is a bit of a veteran now and you wouldn’t expect kids aged 12 or 13 to look up to someone of that age. But he doesn’t seem like a veteran because he is still playing the same type of attractive snooker he has always done, albeit with a bit more discipline in his game which is why he has stayed at the top level.
“The fact that he won the World Championship at the age of 44 is incredible. You can’t compare him to many other sportsmen in terms of how long he has been at the top – perhaps Phil Taylor in darts. You look at the players Ronnie has competed against – when he started, Steve Davis and Jimmy White were still top players. Then there was Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams, and now he is competing against the newer players like Judd Trump. His longevity is phenomenal.”
Even if you don’t like Ronnie, you should vote for him tonight if you can. Why? Because it’s not about him, it’s about snooker and its status as a sport.
When snooker was at its most popular, between 1981 and 1990, it got into the “last three” on seven occasions. Steve Davis is the only snooker player who ever won it, in 1988, but he made it to the last three on five occasions, finishing second in 1981 and 1987, third in 1984 and 1989. This is a record that he shares only with Lewis Hamilton. Other than that theere were second places for Alex Higgins (1982) and Stephen Hendry (1990). Since then? Nothing,
It’s been thirthy years. For whatever reason snooker has been snubbed, seen as some second rate sport, if a sport at all. Countless times, BBC has “cut” live snooker matches broadcasting in favour of pre-recorded programs or re-runs of previously shown content.
If you love your snooker, this is an opportunity to bring it in the spotligths again.
Matchroom Multi Sport is pleased to announce that BetVictor, a leading online gambling company, will be the title sponsor of the next two stagings of the BetVictor Championship League Snooker, which begins at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes on Sunday, September 13th.
Following the unprecedented success of this summer’s Championship League, the event has been expanded to a full WST ranking event featuring 128 players over 21 days, split into three weeks across September and October.
The popular group format employed during the summer’s Championship League returns, with players split into 32 four-man groups for Stage One and prize money standing at £328,000. World No.1 Judd Trump gets the tournament underway on September 13, while newly crowned six-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan enters the fray as the second seed on October 5th.
Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director Emily Frazer said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with BetVictor once again. We have a strong, well-established relationship with BetVictor having worked with them across a number of Matchroom Multi Sport events, including last season’s Championship League Snooker.
“This new agreement builds upon their support of snooker and we’re thrilled to be able to work alongside BetVictor with a longer-term commitment for the next two Championship League Snooker events.”
BetVictor Director of Sportsbook Matt Scarrott added: “It’s a pleasure to team up with Matchroom Multi Sport again and we’re really looking forward to what should be a fantastic tournament. There’s plenty riding on it for the players with the Championship League Snooker now a full WST ranking event and we’re expecting three weeks of exciting, high-quality, quick-fire action.”
BetVictor Championship League Snooker will be broadcast live around the world, with two tables of action to be enjoyed every day.
The first two weeks will be broadcast globaly on the below platforms, with FREE UK coverage at Matchroom.Live
Table One
Viaplay – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland
Zhibo.TV – China (including Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan)
SportKlub – Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Luxembourg
Silknet – Georgia
TV Poland
NTV – Russia Rest of the World – Matchroom.Live
Table Two
Zhibo.TV – China (including Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan)
Rest of the World – Matchroom.Live
So, unfortunately, nothing changes. The sponsor is again a betting/gaming company, and because it is specifically specified that the coverage will be free in the UK, I can only suppose that the rest of the World will have to pay.
This, once again, shows that, although snooker has the ambition to be a global sport, it remains in so many ways strongly UK centered. OK, this is a matchroom event, but it counts as a WST – WORLD Snooker Tour – ranking event. Because of the history of the sport, and because England still accounts for about half of the main tour, and China is the second best represented nation, you would expect that the majority of viewers would be in the UK and China. So this decision is hard to explain by the “costs” aspect, as it’s free for them. New viewers and new fans are more likely to come from the “Rest of the World”, those for whom it’s not free. That doesn’t make sense to me in terms of promoting the sport globally.
“The Chalk” is a free online magazine, written by people who just love their cue sports.
Issue 5 is out today and I have contributed to it with reviews of the 2020 World Snooker Championship and the 2020 World Seniors Snooker Championship. But there is much more to it. Barry Stark, who coaches Kyren Wilson, shares his experience and knowledge on video, Rodney Goggins remembers “Team Events”, Tom Moorcroft talks about Ronnie speed record, Snookerbacker shares his highlights of the championship and life as usual gets in the way of snooker for Max Potter. Enjoy!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 