Thailand’s Mink Nutcharut hit back from 1-3 down to defeat world champion Bai Yulu 4-3 in a thrilling finale at the WSF Women’s Championship in Saïdia, Morocco.
Victory for the 25-year-old represents her second world ranking title win following her win at the Australian Women’s Open last October and continues a remarkable streak that has now see Mink lift the first title of the calendar year during each of the previous four years (2022-2025).
The title is her ninth world ranking event win overall, which sees her join an illustrious list of the top 10 most successful players of all-time on the World Women’s Snooker Tour, alongside Reanne Evans, Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Karen Corr, Stacey Hillyard, Ng On Yee and Maria Catalano, equalling the tally of both Lynette Horburgh and Mandy Fisher.
For beaten finalist Bai, the 21-year-old can take the consolation of a new career-high world ranking position of number three, as she moves above England’s Reanne Evans for the first time. The Chinese star has now reached six finals from her eight tournaents contested to date, winning three.
Following a week of snooker in Saïdia the final came down to a repeat of last season’s World Championship final, which had seen Bai claim a memorable triumph 6-5 on the final pink.
The reigning world champion player made the stronger start in their latest encounter as she hit breaks of 49, 41 and 32 on her way to a 2-0 lead, before the next two frames were shared as Bai moved to within one of claiming her second trophy of the season following victory at the UK Championship.
World number one Mink had other ideas, however, as she produced her highest break of the match with a run of 65 to reduce her arrears to one frame, before she added the next to force a seventh and deciding-frame.
Both players had opportunities but it was Mink who took an early lead with a run of 36, before a nerveless long pot on the brown, followed by blue and pink ultimately proved to be enough to avenge her defeat in Dongguan Changping last March.
Mink also hit the highest break of the event with her run of 80 during the round robin group stages, eclipsing the maximum attempt of Bai which ended on 73 during her quarter-final win against Narucha Phoemphul.
CHALLENGE CUP
The Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the quarter-finals was won by Hind Bennani of Morocco, who defeated Yasmine Eythrib 2-0 to lift her first WWS Tour title.
Bennai, who has previously competed at the UK Championship and Belgian Open tournanents, did not drop a frame as she saw off Soukaina Alouane, former African Games winner Yousra Matine and finally Eythrib on Wednesday to lift the trophy.
World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to a historic first-ever world ranking tournament in Africa, including the World Snooker Federation, Morocco Snooker and the spectacular Radisson Blu venue
Leone Crowley defeated Kaylan Patel 5-0 in the final of the 2025 WSF Junior Championship to earn the title and a two-year World Snooker Tour (WST) tour card.
Crowley, from Cork, came through an international field of 57 cueists from 22 countries to win the biggest title of his career to date.
The 18-year-old makes history as the first ever player from the Republic of Ireland to win the prestigious title and earns professional status for the first time in his career.
He made an impressive start to the tournament by topping his group with a clean sweep of victories and just two frames dropped en route to the knockout stages.
This fine form continued as Crowley, who regularly practises at Mark Allen’s snooker camp in Belfast, whitewashed Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal before showing his battling qualities to overcome Poland’s Michal Szubarczyk in a deciding frame having trailed 3-2.
His place in the title match was secured by overcoming Amaan Iqbal 4-1 in a hard fought contest that last for almost four hours on Wednesday evening.
There he faced England’s Patel, who was aiming to become only the second Englishman after Stan Moody to lift the WSF Junior Championship crown.
Following a trio of group stage victories, Patel had defeated fellow countryman Adam Abbas (4-1) and O’Shay Scott (4-1) to reach the last eight.
He looked certain of a semi-final place when he stormed into a 3-0 lead over Riley Powell, but the Welshman rallied to win three frames in a row and force a decider. Patel, however, held his nerve in the final frame to compile a break of 50 before earning his final place with an impressive 4-0 defeat of the highly-rated Zhou Jinhao from China.
Unfortunately for Patel, he was unable to repeat this form in the title match and Crowley raced into a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval in relatively comfortable fashion despite not compiling a half-century break.
Crowley kept his cool after the break and took the fifth and decisive frame by a scoreline of 73-24 to complete the biggest victory of his life.
“I feel very good. I have been playing the game for the last ten years and I’ve put a lot of hard work into this so I am just happy to have made my Dad proud and myself too. My family back home were all watching it so I want to thank them for all the support” said Crowley.
“I 100% believed that this was possible – if you don’t believe then you’re not going to achieve your goals. I was feeling good coming into the game. It was scrappy but there was some good safety play and I felt confident when I was in front that I would get over the line eventually.”
Looking ahead to the next two years, Crowley said: “I want to gain experience and hopefully I can stay on the tour. I don’t want to say too much but hopefully, after those two years, I will stay on – that’s the goal. My hero is Judd Trump, so I would like to play him.”
The WSF Open Championship takes place on 24 January – 1 February and can be watched live on the WPBSA YouTube channel and WSF Facebook page.
Congratulations to the Winners!
I’m happy that Crowley won rather than Patel simply because I believe that 16 is far too young to be on Tour. It’s such a competitive and brutal environment and I don’t think that many 16 years old are psychologically and emotionally equipped to deal with the pressure it generates and the demands of professional sports.
World number one Judd Trump made a trio of centuries as he beat Joe O’Connor 3-0 in the final of Group Six of BetVictor Championship League Snooker Invitational to secure a place in next month’s Winners’ Group.
Trump will join Hossein Vafaei, Si Jiahui, Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Matthew Selt and one more player in the Winner’s Group in February when the title and a place in the 2025 Champion of Champions will be at stake.
O’Connor finished top of the group phase with six wins out of six, then edged out Noppon Saengkham 3-2 in the semi-finals. Trump won four of his six group games before beating David Gilbert 3-1 in the semis. Breaks of 113, 103 and 101 saw Trump dominate the final.
Having made 16 centuries in two groups this week, Trump has moved his tally for 2024/25 to 65, raising his hopes of making 100 tons in the season. The first player to achieve that will earn a £100,000 bonus. Jak Jones, meanwhile, has made an incredible 32 centuries in this event, extending his record for the most tons made in a single tournament. And he’ll look to add to that tally in Group Seven.
Jack Lisowski became the second player in as many days to miss the final black when he had the chance to make a 147. His break came in the opening frame of his group match against Jones, and Lisowski ran out of position from pink to black then failed to pot a near-impossible thin cut to a top corner. O’Connor had also missed the black on 140 on Wednesday.
Jones, O’Connor, Gilbert and Saengkham advance to Group Seven on Friday and Saturday, where they will join Xiao Guodong, Zhou Yuelong and Ricky Walden.
2025 German Masters – Withdrawals galore
O’SULLIVAN, DING, HE AND DALE WITHDRAW FROM MACHINESEEKER GERMAN MASTERS
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from next week’s Machineseeker German Masters due to medical reasons.
O’Sullivan was due to play Dylan Emery in his opening match. Emery will now receive a bye to the last 32.
Ding Junhui has also pulled out of the event. He was due to face Ross Muir, who receives a bye to the last 32.
He Guoqiang has withdrawn for medical reasons. He was due to face Ali Carter, who receives a bye to the last 32.
Dominic Dale has pulled out. He was due to face Tom Ford, who receives a bye to the last 32.
The event runs from January 27th to February 2nd at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
It’s a real shame for the event, the only one remaining played in mainland Europe. I’ surprised by Dale withdrawal as WST had recently posted a piece where Dominic explained how he was looking forward to the event. No reason has been given for his withdrawal, nor for Ding’s withdrawal.
As always when Ronnie withdraws, some fans doubts his motives. But Ronnie has now withdrawn from the exhibition he was due to play in Finland with John Higgins…. and that’s a serious concern. Clearly something is not right and all I can wish is for him to get better soon and sort out whatever needs to be sorted in his life, if that is the underlying problem.
BBC Sport and World Snooker Tour are thrilled to announce an extension to their broadcast agreement to 2032. The new deal is a five-year extension to the current agreement, ensuring that the Triple Crown remains free-to-air for many millions of snooker fans across the UK.
BBC Sport will continue to provide comprehensive live TV and iPlayer coverage of snooker’s three most prestigious tournaments, the World Championship, UK Championship and the Masters.
The Masters, currently taking place at Alexandra Palace, is followed by the World Championship in Sheffield in April and the UK Championship in York in November. Last year, BBC Sport’s coverage of the Triple Crown events had 33.9 million streams across BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and over 16 million tuning in on TV.
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport said: “Snooker has been a cornerstone of BBC Sport programming since 1969, and extending our partnership with World Snooker until 2032 is fantastic news for the audience. It ensures the drama, intensity and excitement of the Triple Crown events remains free-to-air and we look forward to many more years of iconic sporting moments.”
WST Chairman, Steve Dawson said: “For more than 50 years we have had an outstanding relationship with BBC and their coverage of the Triple Crown is a fundamental part of those three events. So many millions of fans love watching snooker on BBC and it has always been vital to us to keep the biggest tournaments free to air.”
WST Chief Commercial officer Peter Wright said: “The broadcast figures are extremely strong this week at the Masters which highlights the enduring appeal of snooker and the drama it produces year after year. We look forward to many more years working alongside the BBC, delivering world class sport to a vast audience.”
World Champion Kyren Wilson added: “I grew up watching all of the biggest tournaments on the BBC so it’s fantastic to see this deal extended until at least 2032. It’s so important for young people getting into snooker, like my own children, that the Triple Crown events are available to watch free to air, as this will help us to grow the sport. The BBC do an amazing job in the way they broadcast snooker and long may that continue. I have also really enjoyed working for the commentary team myself and finding out how the production works behind the scenes.”
…
The news triggered massive positive reactions from the fans … the UK fans mainly. There were immediate speculations that this news would “help” keeping the World Championship at the Crucible.
Me, personally … I have mixed feelings about it. The BBC coverage is always excellent, no question about that aspect. They do a sterling job. But… I’m from mainland Europe. For many us the BBC isn’t “free on air”, many of us have to rely on an alternative provider or a vpn to access the BBC stream … but that’s not the main point. The main problem for me is that it will certainly mean that the World Championship will continue to be played exclusively in the UK, be it at the Crucible or elsewhere. I have already expressed my feelings about this situation: the WORLD championship should not stay confined in the UK, it should go around the world. The UK-centric nature of the sport has to be “broken” for it to really grow as a global sport. The WSF junior championship is currently under way. There are a lot of young aspiring snooker players, from all around the world playing in that comp. As it is now, most of them would be forced to live as expats in the UK, with all the challenges that this situation brings: social isolation away from family, language barrier and, at times in nowadays’s Britain, nonsensical hostility1. It’s simply no fair and it is counterproductive IF really WST/WPBSA have ambitions to make snooker global.
Sportsbet.io Becomes New Title Partner of Snooker’s Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions
January 15, 2024 – Three celebrated events on snooker’s global tour, renowned for their elite fields, will welcome Sportsbet.io as their new title partner for the next two years. The Sportsbet.io Players Championship will run from March 17-23, 2025, at Telford International Centre, followed by the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship from March 31 to April 6 at Manchester Central and then the Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions from November 10-16 in Bolton.
All three events will be screened live by ITV and will receive extensive global television and online coverage from a range of international broadcasters.
Sportsbet.io, a leading crypto sportsbook and casino, Official Regional Partner of LALIGA, Official Betting Partner of English football team, Hull City and a Club Partner of Premier League team Newcastle United, now joins forces with WST and Matchroom for the first time. Sportsbet.io is part of Yolo Group, known for bringing next-level innovation to the worlds of gaming, fintech and blockchain.
The Sportsbet.io Players Championship is the second event in the 2025 Players Series. Only the top 16 on this season’s one-year ranking list will earn a place in the field in Telford. Mark Allen won the trophy last season, and as it stands he could be defending the title in a field including the likes of world number one Judd Trump, World Champion Kyren Wilson, Ding Junhui, Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, John Higgins and many more top stars.
Then for the climax of the series, the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship at a fantastic venue in the heart of Manchester, only the top 12 earn a spot in the draw.
The Sportsbet.io Champion of Champions, ever present on the calendar since 2013, brings together 16 winners of tournaments over the previous 12 months. Mark Williams took the title in 2024, coming through a superb field which included the likes of Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Peter Wright, Chief Commercial Officer for WST, said: “We are excited to team up with Yolo Group as they are known for their inventive approach to the digital world which is going to be an ever-changing landscape in years to come. They have a range of fabulous snooker events to help build the Sportsbet.io brand. The Players Series events are only for the best players on the one-year rankings so it rewards the players in form with places in these prestigious tournaments. Fans will pack the arenas in both Telford and Manchester and we look forward to working with the Yolo team over these events.”
Emily Frazer, CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Sportsbet.io as the title sponsor for the Champion of Champions, alongside the Players and Tour Championship. The Champion of Champions is a standout event on the snooker calendar, renowned for its elite line-up and global reach. Partnering with Sportsbet.io, a brand synonymous with innovation and excellence, ensures these tournaments will continue to thrive as world-class spectacles. We’re excited to work together in showcasing the very best of snooker to fans across the globe.”
Shane Anderson – Director of Partnerships, Content, Brand of Yolo Entertainment, said: “At Yolo Group, we’re passionate about pushing boundaries and creating unforgettable experiences, which is why partnering with three of snooker’s most prestigious tournaments is such an exciting opportunity for us. The Players Championship, Tour Championship, and Champion of Champions embody excellence, just as Sportsbet.io strives to innovate and elevate the worlds of sportsbook and blockchain. We’re thrilled to bring this partnership to life and connect with snooker fans around the globe.”
Founded in 2016 as part of Yolo Group, Sportsbet.io is the leading crypto sportsbook. Sportsbet.iohas redefined the online betting space by combining cutting-edge technology, with cryptocurrency expertise and a passion for offering its players with the ultimate fun, fast and fair gaming experience.
Official Regional Partner of LALIGA, Official Betting Partner of English football team, Hull City and a Club Partner of Premier League team Newcastle United, Sportsbet.io provides an expansive range of betting action across all major sports and eSports, offering players more than 1M pre-match events per year and comprehensive in-play content.
As the first crypto sportsbook to introduce a cash out function, Sportsbet.io is recognised as a leader in both online sports betting and within the crypto community.
In December 2023, a lucky Sportsbet.io won the biggest ever online slots jackpot while playing on the site, turning a $50 spin into a prize of more than $42 million.
Sportsbet.io prides itself on its secure and trustworthy betting service, with withdrawal times of less than 90 seconds, among the fastest in the industry.
Matchroom is a world-leading sports promotion company specialising in creating and delivering unforgettable live events across a range of sports, including snooker, pool, darts, and boxing. With over four decades of experience, Matchroom produces events watched by millions of fans worldwide, combining top-tier competition with unrivalled entertainment value. Through global partnerships, innovative broadcasting, and digital engagement, Matchroom is committed to driving the growth and visibility of its sports on the international stage.
I have also, many times, made my feeling known about snooker being in bed with the betting industry. Those feelings haven’t changed2. These ones are looking forward to “connect with snooker fans around the globe“. Yeah… all three events are held in the UK, and shown on ITV, only available in the UK. Other broadcasters may relay it but there is no certainly, and it will almost certainly come at a price. I used to be only able to watch it on Matchroom.live . That wasn’t free and, anyway, it’s gone.
I have been loudly criticised, while sitting in a bus, for speaking French with my husband … just imagine that here on Santorini island we would ask British tourists to speak Greek at all times when in a public space, even for a private conversation within the family. They would feel outraged surely? ↩︎
During the some 35 years I had a job in IT, I lost three colleagues to suicide. One was incurably ill and in huge pain, the other two, men, took their own life over betting debts. Both left behind a partner and young children who then had to cope with the betting debts on top of dealing with their sorrows. The betting industry should be VERY strongly regulated and they should not be allowed ANY form of advertising. ↩︎
Stephen Lee turned 50 on Saturday, and yesterday, Sunday 13th of October 2024 his ban from the sport of snooker came to an end. Is he free to return to play? Not quite.
Stephen Lee turned 50 on Saturday, and he was able to celebrate the end of his 12-year ban from snooker for match fixing.
The former world number five was suspended in October of 2012 following reports of irregular betting patterns during a Premier League fixture with John Higgins.
A wider investigation followed before an independent tribunal found Lee guilty of fixing matches in 2008 and 2009, including a World Championship encounter at the Crucible Theatre.
The Englishman was handed a 12-year sentence in 2014, backdated to when his original suspension began two years earlier on his 38th birthday.
It was the most severe punishment handed to a player in the game’s history until last year’s Chinese match-fixing scandal saw Liang Wenbo and Li Hang given lifetime bans from the sport.
In theory, Lee is now free to return to competitive action from when his snooker ban ended on October 12th, 2024.
However, it’s unlikely that we’ll see him competing in any tournament sanctioned by or affiliated with the World Professional Billiard and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in the near future.
Lee owes the WPBSA £125,000 in legal fees related to the court cases and unsuccessful appeals from a decade ago.
When approached for comment, a spokesperson for the WPBSA told SnookerHQ.com: “Stephen Lee would need to reach a satisfactory agreement with the WPBSA over settlement of his costs before he could play.”
The unpaid fines will prevent Lee from participating on the Q Tour, Q School, and the WSF Championship – normal routes for amateur players to gain promotion back to the World Snooker Tour.
What has Stephen Lee said?
“I must get asked this weekly, daily, minutely,” Stephen Lee said about a possible comeback in 2022, as reported in The Mirror.
“I would like to say no, but I am still capable of playing. Let’s see what happens in two years. It’s not a no, and not a yes.”
“We can only just see what happens in a couple of years’ time. I have some exciting things coming up, and I’m also getting older.
“My eyes are getting worse, and I never had good eyes to start with. As you get older the determination and the fire goes.”
Yet it appears any of those small aspirations have since disappeared, with Lee confirming as much in a Facebook post in January this year.
“Not a chance of it my friend,” was Lee’s reply to a comment on the social media platform which encouraged him to complete the comeback.
“I struggle to break off nowadays. It’s down to my son now…”
Lee’s son Alfie is an aspiring amateur player who has competed in Q School and at the WSF Championship in 2023.
Stephen Lee after winning an APTC minor-ranking event in 2012. Photo credit: WST
What did Lee achieve in snooker?
When he was suspended in 2012, Stephen Lee was regarded as one of the best players in the world and had recently secured his fifth career ranking title.
The Englishman graduated to the pro tour in the same year as Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, and Mark Williams – the fabled Class of 1992.
He didn’t quite enjoy the same level of success as his contemporaries from that era, but his silky cue action was widely regarded as among the smoothest in history.
In addition to reaching the 2008 Masters final where he was denied Triple Crown glory by Mark Selby, Lee’s best finish at the World Championship was a semi-final appearance in 2003.
He won the Grand Prix twice (renamed the LG Cup in 2001), the Scottish Open, the Welsh Open, and the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals.
During the 2000/01 and 2003/04 snooker seasons, Lee was ranked as high as number five on the official world rankings list.
Why was Stephen Lee banned?
Lee had survived several investigations into suspicious betting patterns prior to the one that eventually banished him from the sport in 2014.
A tribunal ruled he deliberately lost matches against Ken Doherty, Neil Robertson, and Marco Fu at the 2008 Malta Cup.
He was also deemed to have agreed to lose the first frame against both Stephen Hendry and Mark King during matches played at the 2008 UK Championship.
Lee was additionally found guilty of influencing the outcome of matches against Mark Selby at the 2009 China Open and Ryan Day at the 2009 World Championship.
Since getting banned, the Trowbridge potter has had other run-ins with the law.
In 2014, Lee was fined by Swindon Magistrates’ Court for failing to deliver a cue he had sold online to the buyer.
Four years later, he appeared in court again for teaching snooker without a permit in Hong Kong.
For a period last year, the five-time tour title winner was one of the best potters on the planet, reclaiming his place in the top 10 as his smooth cue action helped rack up a string of impressive results.
But behind the scenes his world was unravelling, with a web of deceit finally exposed at a tribunal which heard he teamed up with his then manager, sponsor and a friend so they could profit from his cheating.
Lee, of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, was found guilty of deliberately throwing two matches at the 2008 Malta Cup and the opening frame of two games he went on to win at the UK Championship that year.
He agreed to lose by a particular score in another Malta Cup encounter, and pulled off the same trick in a match at both the 2009 China Open and World Championship.
If the offences had been committed more recently, he would have been given a mandatory life ban under a tougher disciplinary regime introduced after Barry Hearn took over as boss of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
Because his case has been heard under the rules as they stood when the matches took place, a lifetime suspension is not guaranteed, although the option will be available when his sentence is considered on 24 September.
Hearn maintains there is no place for cheats in the game, and he set up a dedicated integrity unit – headed by former detective chief superintendent Nigel Mawer, an expert in tackling sport match-fixing.
They are aware that any event with only two outcomes (a winner and loser) is potentially open to those who want to profit from wrongdoing via inside information.
Every match is monitored for unusual betting patterns on a range of markets, from frame winners to correct scores, with alarm bells sounded by punters placing unusually large wagers or a big-staking new account holder focused on one particular player.
“Match fixing is a growing concern, indeed a cancer in many sports, and must be eradicated,” said Adam Lewis QC, chairman of the independent tribunal which heard the Lee case over three days in Bristol.
World champion Ronnie O’Sullivan’s claim after the verdict that he has heard of other players throwing matches echoes comments that have floated around snooker for years.
If a player is willing to deliberately lose a frame or match, he can do so – veiling the act under a cloak of excuses, which could range from a mis-hit shot, pressure, nerves or being out of form.
Lee’s downfall shows this remains possible, whatever the safeguards, but also that those who cheat risk their careers.
While online gambling, and the ability to ‘lay’ or back against a particular outcome, has opened up the scope for more fixing, the trail of evidence from betting accounts, computers and phone calls can expose the cheat.
Whereas criminal cases, with the evidential ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard, are harder to prove, sport governing bodies can successfully bring cases within their own rules using the civil standard of proof – ‘the balance of probabilities’.
This is what did for Lee. He had been arrested by West Midlands Police in 2010 over the allegations, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided to drop the charges in October 2012.
When fresh suspicions surrounded a Premier League game against John Higgins, which Lee lost 4-2 and was not pursued to a hearing, World Snooker suspended the Wiltshire player and opened its own investigation.
The tribunal report into the Lee case said bets were placed by three groups of people, including his then sponsor Paul Jones – an independent financial adviser trading as Prosperity from Stourbridge in the West Midlands – who opened multiple betting accounts with various associates.
The second group were found to have been co-ordinated by his then manager Neil Clague, based on the Isle of Man, who placed almost identical bets. And the third was a friend called Ian MacDougall, from his hometown of Trowbridge.
They bet in unusually high amounts, on the internet and with high street bookmakers.
“Lee was in contact with the groups in the lead-up to the matches in question and afterwards,” said a WPBSA statement.
“In one case the person collected the successful bet and placed half of the winnings into Lee’s wife’s bank account.
“The total amount bet on these matches was in excess of £111,000 leading to winnings of over £97,000 for the persons placing the bets. It is not clear how much Lee benefited from their activity.”
Lee will have the chance to put forward mitigation, and can cite the fact he has been suspended for a year already and the allegations have hung over him since early 2010.
He has been in trouble before – testing positive for cannabis in 2001 after a routine drugs test at the Champions Cup in Brighton – although his father insisted it was the result of him being in a room with someone smoking the drug.
However, these fresh findings bring far more serious consequences and come just after a time when his career was on the up again.
He rose to fifth in the world from a ranking of 18 at the start of the 2011-12 season, and over two years pocketed a total of more than £200,000 in prize money from tour events alone.
Only last March, he won his first ranking tournament for six years, whitewashing then world champion Neil Robertson 4-0 to win the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Galway.
“It’s a cracking feeling. It makes all the hard work and travelling worthwhile,” said Lee at the time.
But despite making well over £2m from tournaments during his career, he was in financial trouble. The father-of-four, who married his long-time partner Laura in Florida in 2005, faced county court judgements for unpaid bills.
His camp protested innocence throughout and claimed the suspension effectively made him guilty before any evidence had been fully examined.
“He has worked incredibly hard. He is sick of all this stuff getting thrown at him and feels there are doubts about him every time he misses a ball,” said his most recent manager Adam Quigley around the time of his suspension.
Supporters bemoaned the length of time it took to bring the case, but the process was not helped by the player changing his lawyer three times.
Quite why he was in financial turmoil, or exactly what motivated his money-making misdemeanours, has not been made clear. When asked for his side of the story, he wanted to be paid for it.
During his suspension, which applies to tournaments sanctioned by World Snooker, he has still been playing the game for money at other events and exhibition matches.
In May, Lee – who will be 39 next month, a year to the day from his suspension – won the RKG Masters pro-am tournament in India, with his run including a 7-1 defeat of Michael Holt in the semi-finals.
But after 21 years as a professional, the chance of him adding to his tour titles now looks remote.
I was taking pictures at that fateful premier league match that triggered the whole investigation and, eventually, the ban. Although this match was not “retained” in the investigation eventually, there were no doubts in my mind, nor in Clive Everton’s1 mind that something was seriously amiss. Yet, bizarrely, when I watched it back on YouTube years later it wasn’t that obvious on the TV images. But it definitely was there and then in the arena. John Higgins who was his opponent must have sensed it as well. Judd Trump who was watching on TV called it on Twitter. The last minutes of the last frame in particular featured some bizarre shot selections and misses.
Anyway you can judge by yourself … the end of the match is still on YouTube
Why would Stephen Lee, who was earning decently from his snooker, need so much money? I don’t have an answer to that. There were rumours that he and his wife were drug addicts but that were rumours nothing more. It is true that Lee was prone to sweating profusely2 which can possibly be a symptom of withdrawal, but it could have a lot different causes of course. He wasn’t a particularly fit guy for a start…
Many want to see him back on tour. I’m not one of them.
Zhao was the dominant player throughout the weekend at the Snookerhallen in the Swedish capital as he won eight matches and compiled eight century breaks, including the historic maximum, en route to the title.
The victory secures the 27-year-old Chinese cueist a spot at the 2024/25 Q Tour Global play-offs next year, where three World Snooker Tour (WST) two-year tour cards will be on offer.
As a non-seeded player, Zhao began the event on the Friday and he completed routine 3-0 wins against Belgium’s Daan Leyssen and Poland’s Michal Kotiuk to book his place in Saturday’s last 64 stage.
There he faced 14-year-old Shaun Liu from Hong Kong China, who gave the former UK champion a stern test early on in the contest – levelling the game at 1-1 with a half-century before taking frame three down to the final black.
Zhao was able to pot the decisive black to restore his lead before moving one away from victory in the best-of-seven frame contest at 3-1.
Frame five saw a moment of history on the Q Tour as the man from China compiled a magical maximum break, the first ever to be achieved on the Q Tour, before receiving rapturous applause from the watching audience at the Snookerhallen venue.
The powerful scoring continued from Zhao in the last 32, as he scored breaks of 111, 128 and 80 to defeat Luke Pinches confirm his place in the final day of a Q Tour event for the first time.
The 27-year-old began the final day in style with another century, this time a 118, as he overcame former professional Peter Lines 4-1 in their first competitive meeting since the last 16 of the 2021 UK Championship.
Whitewash victories over France’s Nicolas Mortreux and Poland’s Mateusz Baranowski followed to set up a final meeting with Craig Steadman, who defeated Alfie Davies, Peter Devlin and Steven Hallworth on the final day to reach the title match.
It was Steadman who had defeated Zhao 4-3 in the last 64 stage of the previous Q Tour Europe event in Sofia, Bulgaria last month and he once again provided the Chinese cueist with his toughest test of the tournament.
Trailing 2-0 after Zhao opened the match with a break of 112, Steadman hit back to restore party at 2-2 in a race to four.
A stunning break of 136, Zhao’s eighth century break of the event, moved him one frame away from the title but Steadman once again hit back with a 93 to force a final frame decider.
Ultimately, however, it was deservedly Zhao’s weekend as he wrapped up the victory with a break of 82.
Following his victory, Zhao said: “Coming to Sweden, I just wanted to get used to this feeling of playing in tournaments again. I wasn’t aiming to be the champion but I just wanted to get back to playing competitively again.
“I haven’t changed my practice schedule, I still practice as usual and play against professionals. I think my scoring in the last few days is within my capability and I know I can score well.”
Looking ahead, Zhao said: “I will select which events I want to play in on the Q Tour but right now it is all about getting that tournament feeling and I am pleased to be getting that feeling back.”
Zhao Xintong only returned to competitive snooker very recently. The first WPBSA event he played in after his ban ended was the 2024 Q-Tour Event 2. In that event, he had played three matches, losing to Craig Steadman in the last 64. Craig of course is a very experienced former professional and Zhao, certainly, wasn’t match sharp. Obviously he has been working hard since and this is the result.
Not everybody is happy to see Zhao back, but I am. Everybody makes mistakes and we have to remember that Zhao was not found guilty of match fixing. What he was found guilty of was to not report the match fixing schemes he was aware of and to bet on snooker. Now regarding the first of those two breaches of his contract, we have to consider two things. The first is that the younger players really felt threatened by Liang Wenbo and Li Hang. They were genuinely scared of them. Also, as Lewis has mentioned many times in the past, all those young players know each other since childhood. Because of the “one child per family” rule in operation in China back then, they are all “only children”, they have no siblings. Their childhood friends therefore are the closest they have to a brother or a sister. The “snooker kids” he grew up with are effectively his brothers. Therefore having to “grass on them” was a big no-no.
I’ m wishing Zhao the best and I hope to see him back on the main tour next season … that’s where he belongs. The tour needs players like him, who offer the fans an attractive brand of snooker and play with a smile on their face.
Congratulations Zhao and good luck for the future
Mink has won the 2024 Women Snooker Australian Open
World number one Mink Nutcharut has defeated Ng On Yee 4-3 following a thrilling final match to win the 2024 Australian Women’s Snooker Open for a second time at Mounties, Sydney.
Five years on from claiming her first ever title on the World Women’s Snooker (WWS) Tour, Mink repeated her success against friend and rival Ng with a dramatic black ball success to lift her first crown since the Belgian Open back in January.
Her eighth success overall, the victory sees the Thai star join Ng as a multiple Australian Open champion and consolidate her position at the top of the world rankings.
It was to prove a hard fought final day as having secured her place in the semi-finals with wins against Dianne Spring and Jessica Woods following the group stages, Mink was to face a stern test from Mongolia’s Narantuya Bayarsaikhan in the last four.
The world number 19 – who was competing in a ranking semi-final for the first time having defeated Yee Ting Cheung 3-2 in the quarter-finals – would lead Mink throughout their contest and was one ball away from securing a maiden final in the sixth frame.
Mink, however, was able to win a black-ball battle to force a last frame decider, during which she produced her best snooker of the match to ultimately prevail and reach her first final of the season.
There she would face world number two Ng On Yee, who had made serene progress to the final without the loss of a single frame and had notably top scored with a stunning break of 133 during the round robin group stages against Australia’s Christine Firth.
The title match would prove to be another match full of drama as the first four frames were shared, Mink scoring breaks of 50 and 43, with Ng compiling runs of 52 and 57 during the second frame.
From that point on the final would become a tense affair as both players saw the winning line, Mink first moving to within one of victory by winning a 50 minute long fifth frame, before Ng returned the favour in frame six to force a final frame decider.
Both players would ultimately have their chances, Ng unfortunate to pot a red from the blue during a composed first scoring visit, before the contest eventually came down to the final black to decide the champion. While both players would have opportunities, it was Mink who would sink the winning ball to seal her second victory in Australia and lift the Clive Edwards Memorial Cup.
The dramatic final was a fitting end to a week to remember in Sydney which saw a record 27 entries contest the main title at Mounties. As well as victory for top ranked Mink, the event also saw notable runs for Narantuya Bayarsaikhan and Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul, who both reached their maiden ranking event semi-finals, with several further players also breaking new ground at the tournament.
The Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the quarter-finals saw Australia’s Kathy Blunden claim victory with a 2-0 success against China’s Shuangyu Jia.
World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to another hugely successful event. This includes our partners at the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council, led by President Alex Render, Tournament Director Frank Dewens and Head of Referees Gary Knight, as well as our host Mounties and event sponsor The Snooker Shop.
The 2024/25 season continues with the Women’s Snooker Masters from 22-24 November 2024 at Frames Sports Bar, Couldson, England. Enter now via WPBSA SnookerScores.
The snooker community is in mourning as, today, Clive Everton has left the scene …
Here is the obituary written by David Hendon, and shared by WST
COMMENTARY LEGEND CLIVE EVERTON PASSES AWAY
Clive Everton, one of snooker’s greatest ever commentators and voice of the sport, has died at the age of 87.
Everton devoted his life to snooker and covered some of the sport’s most historic moments as a broadcaster and journalist.
Commentator David Hendon was a protege of Everton and a close friend. Here is his obituary for a snooker legend.
Clive Everton deserves to be remembered as one of the most significant figures in snooker history.
He reached a highest world ranking of 47th but it was off the table where he made a vast and varied contribution, primarily as a broadcaster and journalist but also as the trusted conscience of the sport.
As editor of Snooker Scene for 51 years he provided an invaluable chronicle of snooker’s rise from folk sport to a mainstream television attraction, charting the careers of players from boyhood to stardom. He forensically examined the governance of the professional game and campaigned for change and transparency.
Clive was also passionate about billiards, the game in which he particularly excelled, and he worked tirelessly to promote it and help it survive.
In his book, Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards, Clive explained how this love affair began: “My emotional commitment to the game dated back to boyhood and one rainy London afternoon when my father and I settled into the plush fauteuils of Leicester Square Hall, which was then the 220-seat home of the professional game. From the first click of the balls, I was entranced.”
Clive won the 1952 British under 16 billiards title but the reputation of cue sports was such that his achievement received little recognition.
He wrote: “Far from making me any kind of hero at school – King’s, Worcester – this success made me more of an outsider and nurtured, in turn, my anti-establishment instincts. My headmaster, F. R. Kittermaster, an Old Rugbeian from the Thomas Arnold tradition, wrote in Sport and Society that only sports with an element of physical danger like rugby, cricket or hockey, were ‘character building.’ He was fond of insisting: ‘You came here to be made into gentlemen.’ Proficiency at billiards, the classic sign of a misspent youth, did not fit into his definition.”
This did not deter Clive, whose attitude to authority was always one of scepticism. He went on to win the British under 19 billiards championship and at age 22 the first of four Welsh amateur billiards titles. He reached the final of the English amateur championship on five occasions.
He was also talented at tennis, competing for the Worcestershire county team and entering qualifying for Wimbledon.
A BA Hons English graduate of Cardiff University, he moved to the Midlands after marrying Valerie, whose father arranged a teaching job at a college of further education in Halesowen. Clive taught English and Liberal Studies but journalism was what he wanted to do.
He was helped by Rex Williams, with whom he would practise and who negotiated columns in the Wolverhampton Express and Star and its sporting ‘pink’ published on Saturdays.
Clive also picked up some freelance work as a tennis and hockey writer and after a year in post gave up his teaching job to pursue journalism: “What it amounted to was that I loved sport and wanted to spend my life in it.”
Enterprising and ambitious, Clive was determined to succeed but also to push the cause of snooker and billiards. In 1966, he was appointed editor of Billiards and Snooker, the magazine of the Billiard Association and Control Council. Still a young man and an independent thinker, his ideas did not always meet with approval from the powers that be and in January 1971 he began his own magazine. Originally titled World Snooker, the following year it became Snooker Scene.
The ethos behind the magazine was to provide a first draft of history by recording every available result. Detailed match reports informed readers as to the ebb and flow of contests, especially valuable in the age before television became heavily involved. Players would also advertise for exhibitions.
In addition, Clive did not stint from providing his analysis of the decisions being made by those charged with running the sport. His intention was that Snooker Scene would incorporate the best parts of Wisden and Private Eye.
Covering a range of sports, including football and rugby, he set up Everton’s News Agency, which supplied reports to newspapers and radio stations. Jim Rosenthal, who later became one of ITV’s best known broadcasters, was an early employee. Clive was a regular hockey reporter and even set up Hockey Scene, a monthly magazine modelled on its snooker equivalent.
Gradually, though, snooker’s popularity was such that Clive poured all of his energies into evangelising for it and billiards.
He took over the running of the British Junior Championship after it had lapsed and played a key role in the founding of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation.
Clive travelled to London in 1968 to interview the squash player, Jonah Barrington, and departed as his manager. Through this venture he got to know Peter West and Patrick Nally, who ran a consultancy specialising in the relatively new world of sports sponsorship. West Nally advised Gallaher, the parent group of Benson and Hedges, and Clive suggested a snooker tournament as a fit for their brand. The B&H Masters was launched in 1975 and has long been regarded as one of the sport’s major events.
Clive won the 1977 National Pairs title with Roger Bales and turned professional at snooker in 1981 but by this time was past his best. He had an exaggerated playing style, twisting himself into each shot following major back surgery. He beat a young John Parrott and former UK champion Patsy Fagan before retiring in 1991.
He fared better at billiards, winning the 1980 Canadian Open, of which he wrote: “In a field of variable quality, I beat Long John Baldrey’s pianist in the first round and Steve Davis in the final.”
Clive reached the quarter-finals of the World Billiards Championship three times and achieved a highest ranking of ninth. He kept a table at home where he would spend many happy hours playing the game he loved.
Clive’s mastery of the English language and encyclopaedic knowledge of snooker made him a natural choice for commentary when the sport established a foothold on television. He auditioned for the BBC in 1963 and was told he had done well but heard nothing more. In the mid-1970s he undertook a commentary test for executives from Thames TV, held at Stoke Poges golf club which housed a snooker table.
The executives enjoyed a boozy lunch – Clive abstained – and repaired to the snooker room to play a frame over which he was expected to commentate. The standard was predictably appalling but Clive passed the audition and was engaged by various ITV regional companies to commentate on events before his life changed on the opening day of the 1978 World Championship. Arriving at the Crucible, he was asked by Nick Hunter, the BBC executive producer, if he would be interested in doing some commentary. Confirming he would, Clive was told his first match would be starting in 20 minutes time.
It was an encounter between Willie Thorne and Eddie Charlton. With typical sardonic humour, Clive described it as a time when “Willie had yet to lose his hair and Eddie had yet to acquire more.”
He quickly became a mainstay of the BBC team, the third lead commentator behind Ted Lowe and Jack Karnehm. After Karnehm retired in 1994 and Lowe in 1996, Clive became widely known as the ‘Voice of Snooker’ and was behind the mic for many memorable moments.
His commentaries were notable for his crisp, spare, pinpoint use of language, with not a word wasted. He only spoke when necessary. When he did, it was worth hearing.
“Warning: genius at work,” was how he once summed up a Jimmy White century.
“Ray Reardon six times world champion in the 70s, Steve Davis six times in the 80s, but it’s a magnificent seven times for Stephen Hendry in the 90s,” he said as Hendry triumphed in 1999.
“Amazing, astonishing, astounding,” was his summation of Shaun Murphy’s shock capture of the 2005 world title.
Clive was aware of the need for journalistic distance in commentary, using surnames when describing the players to avoid any suggestion of bias. He was friendly with players but not one for socialising. You would not see him in the hotel bar at night.
When not in the commentary box he would be found in the media centre, writing daily reports for the Guardian newspaper and updating listeners on BBC Radio 5 Live. At the weekend he wrote first for the Sunday Times and later the Independent on Sunday.
Over the course of his career he wrote close to 30 books about snooker and billiards, whether technical, historical or biographical.
Snooker Scene remained his great passion and an outlet in which he scrutinised the administration of the game, often leading to serious disagreements with the authorities. Clive himself briefly served on the WPBSA board but understood the conflict of interest involved. Instead, he was often a thorn in the side of various chairmen, board members and executives.
As a campaigning journalist, he was at times obsessed with snooker politics as the change he desired time and again failed to materialise. He could suffer depressive episodes and found it almost impossible to switch off from work.
His battles with those in power led to various legal threats but he stood his ground and was eventually delighted by the arrival of Barry Hearn at the WST chairmanship in 2010, ushering in an era of change and growth.
Clive loved absurdist humour. He would not want his own obituary to be entirely serious.
Fortunately, there were lighter moments, most notably at the Grand Prix in Preston in 1998 when he toppled backwards off his chair while in the box. Attempting to halt the inevitable fall, he grabbed the tie of his co-commentator, Dennis Taylor, almost strangling the 1985 world champion.
A cultured man, he once wrote a novel based in the tennis world. Handwritten on several hundred sides of A4, he intended to take the first draft to the office for revisions but, on putting the stack of paper on the roof of his car while he unlocked the door, a gust of wind scattered the pages far and wide and the project was abandoned.
By his own admission, he was hopeless with technology. For many years, he did not own a computer, preferring to hand write his reports and dictate them down the phone to newspaper copytakers. When they were phased out, he was forced to buy a laptop and had to be given several lessons in how to send an email.
Clive made no secret of his disappointment at being phased out of the BBC commentary team but continued on Sky Sports in their coverage of the Premier League and headed the ITV team when they returned to the snooker fold in 2013. He remained there until the Covid pandemic of 2020, when his age meant his was unable to travel to events with their strict protocols.
He was by now in his 80s and diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a condition which took a physical toll and left him unable to write by hand. It forced him to relinquish the editorship of Snooker Scene in 2022 after 51 years at the helm, something he struggled to accept.
However, his interest in the sport did not diminish. He still contributed articles to the magazine and watched tournaments from home, as fascinated by snooker as he was as a youth.
Proudly anti-establishment, his achievements were nevertheless in time recognised by those in authority. He was inducted into the WST Hall of Fame in 2017 and in 2019 was awarded an MBE for his services to the sport. In 2022, The British Open trophy was named in his honour.
These were fitting accolades for someone who had contributed so much to snooker’s own success story. He was respected by colleagues in the media, players and snooker fans as an authoritative figure and huge source of anecdotes spanning the sport’s long history. He had known every world champion since the first, Joe Davis, and his work was a celebration of their collective efforts.
Clive Everton devoted his life to snooker and billiards and was perhaps the greatest friend these sports have ever had.
We have lost something special with his passing but have gained so much more from his many decades of loyal service.
Thank you David for this great piece.
This news saddens me deeply. I had the privilege to meet Clive on many occasions during the six years I was taking pictures on the main tour. He was a giant of a man, physically, spiritually and journalistically.
Farewell Clive … I hope they have a nice billiard table and a working typewriter up there … snooker will miss you, I will miss you. 💔
On Yee Ng produced a stunning performance over the week-end to win the 2024 Women Snooker US Open Championship. Mind you… she didn’t lose a single frame all week-end and made 7 breaks over 50 during the event.
Hong Kong China’s Ng On Yee has defeated Anupama Ramachandran 4-0 to complete a dominant performance at the WineCellars.com US Women’s Snooker Open and earn her 21st ranking event title at Ox Billiards, Seattle.
The victory sees the world number two ranked player continue her rich vein of form on the World Women’s Snooker Tour, which has seen her lift titles in Albania, the UK and now the United States during 2024.
It was a particularly impressive showing throughout the three day event as she did not drop a single frame throughout, matching her feat at the 2018 World Championship. She also compiled the four highest breaks of the competition, highlighted by a run of 90 during the round robin stages.
Having seen off Frances Tso and Tessa Davidson in the knockout rounds to reach her sixth final from the last eight events, Ng would face India’s Anupama Ramachandran, who enjoyed a breakthrough event in Seattle.
The 22-year-old notably ended the title defence of Mink Nutcharut with a deciding frame win at the quarter-final stage, before toppling 2022 runner-up Rebecca Kenna to reach her first ranking final on Sunday.
The final would prove a step too far, however, as three-time world champion Ng dominated from the outset. Breaks of 52, 43 and a further 43 propelled her to a 2-0 lead, before a sublime 73 clearance took her to within one of the title. Ramachandran would have a chance in the fourth frame, but a further clearance of 83 would seal the match and the title for Ng, who finished the match with a pot success of 95%.
Side Tournaments
In the Seniors side-tournament it was England’s Tessa Davidson who won her 11th crown since her bow in the over-40s category in January 2022 to consolidate her position at the head of the Seniors rankings.
The 55-year-old defeated Tour debutant Kara Cox in the semi-finals, before seeing off Canadian veteran Maryann McConnell 2-0 to seal the title and cap a successful week which also saw her reach the semi-finals of a main ranking tournament for the first time since the 1999 British Open.
There was also consolation for McConnell in the Challenge Cup tournament for players who did not reach the quarter-finals of the main event. The 74-year-old won a close contest 2-1 against home player Kaarin Lysen to take home the winning trophy.
World Women’s Snooker would like to thank everyone who contributed to another hugely successful US Women’s Snooker Open, including title sponsors WineCellars.com, our hosts at Ox Billiards and of course the players and officials without whom the event would not have been possible.
The 2024/25 season continues with the return of the Taom UK Women’s Snooker Championship from 6-8 September 2024 at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds, England.
The Ox Billiards in Seattle is an beautiful club, run by passionate and very welcoming people. The coverage has been excellent. Table one was streamed throughout and you can watch the action again on the club’s YouTube page.
I have no doubts that On Yee wants to get back on the main tour and wants to give a better account of herself as well now that she has a better understanding of the Tour and what it takes to succeed on it.
For many players, and fans, the 2024/25 season will start in earnest in two day, on Thursday 25 July 2024, with the 2024 Xian Grand Prix qualifiers. You know my opinion on having those qualifiers held in the UK but, for now at least, that’s the way it is. Anyway… with those events upon us, WST has made two announcements.
The first player to make 100 century breaks on the World Snooker Tour during the 2024/25 season will win a massive £100,000 bonus.
This new WST initiative gives all tour players the chance to chase the landmark of 100 tons in a single season.
This has only ever been achieved twice before – by Neil Robertson who made 103 centuries during the 2013/14 campaign, and Judd Trump who compiled 102 in 2019/20.
All events on the 2024/25 WST calendar count towards a player’s tally, and the first to reach 100 centuries will earn the bonus. If two (or more players) reach the 100 milestone having played the same number of frames in the same round of the same tournament, then the bonus will be shared.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “We are delighted to introduce this new bonus as it creates an extra storyline which will run throughout the season. If a player is on target for the ‘century of centuries’ going into the last few events then the drama will build with every match!”
Trump tops the charts so far this season having made ten centuries in winning last week’s Shanghai Masters. Fans can keep track of which players are topping the centuries list here
Before I come to how I feel about the initiative … following the link above sends me to this:
WTF is this ??? Why on earth do fans need to sign in to a site to see such information ???
Anyway… of course, fans love big breaks and centuries, so encouraging the players to go for them makes some sense BUT this is a professional sport and you would expect players to try to win above anything else. Hum?
TOP 144 SNOOKER PLAYERS TO STAR IN THE FIRST SAUDI ARABIA SNOOKER MASTERS
144 of the best snooker players are set to compete in the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters in Green Halls, Riyadh from August 30th – September 7th.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, a world ranking event, will feature a mammoth prize pool of over £2 million. This tournament is part of an exciting legacy commitment with the Ministry of Sport for Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation, aiming to develop snooker and pool in the region over next decade.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will be open to all 128 tour players, plus 16 wild card players selected by the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation, to create the total field of 144 players.
Stars names including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Allen, John Higgins, Mark Selby, World Champion Kyren Wilson and the rest of the world’s top 32, as well as leading women players Reanne Evans, Mink Nutcharut, Bai Yulu and Baipat Siripaporn will be in the line-up for the first ever ranking event staged in Saudi Arabia.
The event will start on Friday August 30th, with the thrilling final set for Saturday September 7th. Further details on ticket information will be announced soon.
They will compete in the same format as the Snooker World Championship:
Round one: Seeds 81-112 v seeds 113-144 (August 30th) Round two: Those 32 winners v seeds 49 -80 (August 31st) Round three: Those 32 winners v seeds 17-48 (September 1st) Round four: Those 32 winners play each other (September 2nd) Round five: Those 16 winners v seeds 1-16 in the last 32 (September 3rd)
Reigning Snooker World Champion, Kyren Wilson will be among the elite players heading to Riyadh: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the World Snooker Tour. I am looking forward to competing in this new ranking event and aiming for the top spot in Riyadh.” Wilson said.
Saudi Arabia Billiards & Snooker Federation President, Dr Nasser Saab Al-Shammari, added: “History will be written once more for snooker in Saudi Arabia, and we could not be more thrilled. Seeing world class talents from across the globe compete here will be truly special, offering both the players and fans an unforgettable experience.”
WST Chairman, Steve Dawson said: “Given the magnitude of this outstanding new event, in working with our partners in Saudi Arabia we felt it was crucial to have all 144 players in Riyadh. This will be the only one of snooker’s four majors with such an extensive field competing in the final stages.
“Fans in the region will have the opportunity to watch a diverse range of players, from up-and-coming rookies and local wild cards to the top 16 seeds. It promises to be a fantastic celebration of snooker, and for all of the players, it’s an amazing opportunity to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, enjoy the culture and meet the fans.
“This is a huge ten-year partnership which will focus on developing participation in snooker at all levels, so to have such a wide array of talented players in Riyadh for this incredible new tournament is an important focal point for that journey. We look forward to working with our partners on the inaugural event.”
The major ten-year deal for this event also includes the World Pool Championship – the crown jewel of the World Nineball Tour – which was recently staged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and won by Fedor Gorst, who defeated Eklent Kaci 15-14 in an epic final.
As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has emerged as a premier destination for some of the biggest global sports events, embracing both male and female athletes. From football and motorsports to tennis, equestrian, and esports, Saudi Arabia has welcomed over 2.6 million enthusiastic sports fans to witness these world-class competitions.
The title of this piece is a bit baffling as there is no snooker ranking list outside the one WST “offers”, and that list, based on earnings in professional events, shouldn’t really take amateurs into account and doesn’t comprise 144 players anyway at this stage of the season!1 OK, so, the field will be made of all the pros who will enter the event plus amateurs, including 16 wildcards chosen by the Saudis.
The good thing is that it has a tiered structure and all matches will be played at the venue. No qualifiers in the UK for this one. All players welcome in Saudi Arabia!2 The less good thing is that given the schedule it can only be a very short format unless the venue can accommodate a huge number of tables. How many, if any, will be televised or streamed, and via what channel(s) isn’t known yet.
Unless they use a secret ELO ranking list … but I’m dreaming… ↩︎
Just as well probably that there are currently no Israēli players on tour … ↩︎
Ronnie O'Sullivan 