Tournament information including the draw and format for the first event of 2024/25 WPBSA Q Tour Europe is now available to view via WPBSA SnookerScores.
The event will take place at the Northern Snooker Centre, England with a record 154 players in the draw. This means that 34 matches must be played on Thursday 15 August, with the remaining rounds to be played from 16-18 August.
Q Tour Europe will be made up of seven tournaments and is part of the expanded WPBSA Q Tour Global, which will for the first time incorporate regional events held around the world, each offering access to an extended Q Tour Global Playoff at the end of the season.
154 entries is impressive, of course it is, but for this event held at the excellent Northern Snooker Center in Leeds, England, nearly two third of the field in English (98 out of 154 if I counted correctly). I wish it was different but I’m not surprised. Where I am surprised is that there is only ONE player from Ireland, and only three from Northern Ireland. How come??? Nepal has two !!! Germany has 5 players in the draw.
I counted two female players in the draw: Rebecca Kenna who certainly can play and Corina Maracine form Romania, who played in numerous PTCs in the past but who, as far as I remember, never won a match in them.
There are players in the draw, amongst the top seeds, who have already withdrawn, notably Paul Deaville, Dylan Emery and Kayden Brierley. Deaville and Emery are due to play in the Xi’an Grand Prix of course and that’s surely the reason for their withdrawal. It’s a shame through as it puts them at a disadvantage in the Q-Tour right from the off.
Snooker is mourning one of his greatest champions in Ray Reardon who passed away yesterday, aged 91. Ray had a profound impact on the sport and inspired many snooker players, in Wales and well beyond. He was a mentor to Ronnie during some of the hardest times in his life and career. Ray helped him to turn his life around and win the 2004 World Championship.
I had the pleasure to meet Ray, albeit only briefly, at a Snooker Legends Exhibition nearly 10 years ago. Jason Francis had invited him without telling the players involved in the exhibition. I will always remember Ronnie’s joy when he found out that Ray was in the house. They embraced, laughed and chatted, clearly delighted to be together if only for a few hours. Ray was already an old man, but he had the wits, and the laugher of a young one! He also had an immense “presence” without saying or doing anything special.
My toughs are with his family and many friends in these difficult times. May he rest in peace.
Ray Reardon, widely regarded as one of the greatest snooker players ever and a six-time World Champion, has died at the age of 91.
Welshman Reardon, who dominated the World Championship in the 1970s in a similar manner to Steve Davis in the 1980s and Stephen Hendry in the 1990s, passed away on Friday night after a battle with cancer, his wife Carol confirmed.
Nicknamed ‘Dracula’ due to his widow’s peak hairstyle, he was one of the most popular and charismatic figures of his era, loved by millions of fans for his brilliance on the table and good humour off it.
He was still playing snooker in recent months, and remarkably made a century break last November, a few weeks after his 91st birthday.
Leading the tributes, three-time Crucible king Mark Williams said: “Ray is one of the best sports people ever from Wales and the best snooker player. He’s one of the reasons why a lot of us started playing. He put snooker on the map, alongside Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis. Anyone playing now owes them a lot because they brought popularity to the game. He is a real inspiration.”
Reardon was born in 1932 in Tredegar and by the age of ten he was a keen snooker and billiards player. At 14, he followed his father’s footsteps and joined the mining community at Ty Trist Colliery. He wore cotton gloves, and while older men laughed at the habit, he was able to protect his hands enough to continue his hobby on the baize.
In 1957, after his family had moved to Stoke-on-Trent, Reardon was lucky to survive the collapse of a mine while he was working deep underground. He was buried in rubble for three hours, barely able to breathe. “I couldn’t move a finger,” he later told Michael Parkinson in a BBC interview. “It was amazing that with all the rubble and rock I was under, air still gets through. You have to keep perfectly still and not struggle, so I played thousands of games of marbles with my brother in my mind, until they came to my rescue.”
Soon afterwards, Reardon left the mines and became a police officer. During his seven years walking the beat around Stoke he won two awards for bravery – one for climbing across roofs to catch a robber, and one for approaching a man with a loaded shotgun in a crowded town centre and, in his usual calm manner, talking him out of using it.
Meanwhile on the table, Reardon’s reputation as one of the best amateur players in the UK was building. He won the Welsh Amateur Championship every year from 1950 to 1955, and the English equivalent for the first time in 1964, beating John Spencer in the final. In 1967, at the age of 35, he took the decision to quit policing and try his hand at professional snooker.
His timing was near-perfect, as in 1969 the BBC broadcast Pot Black for the first time, finding snooker an ideal showcase for the advent of colour television. This was a key moment in the sport’s history as, within a decade, it led to extensive live coverage of snooker on the BBC and the boom in popularity. Reardon was the first Pot Black champion, beating Spencer in the one-frame final, and won it again in 1979.
His first World Championship appearance in 1969 ended with a 25-24 defeat against Fred Davis in the quarter-finals, but a year later Reardon was holding the famous trophy for the first time. At the Victoria Hall in London, he beat John Pulman 37-33 in the final. That was the beginning of his dominant spell, as he went on to capture the world title in 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978.
The last of those six victories was arguably Reardon’s greatest triumph as, at the age of 45, it made him the oldest World Champion, a record only beaten in 2022 by a 46-year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan. It was also Reardon’s only success at the Crucible, where the Championship had moved in 1977. He beat Perrie Mans 25-18 in the final and his modern-day record of six titles was not matched until Steve Davis reached that tally in 1989. Reardon reached one more Crucible final in 1982 when, age 49, he was beaten by Alex Higgins 18-15.
Higgins and Spencer were Reardon’s chief rivals for most of his hey-day, but he was without question the outstanding player of his era. Outside the World Championship, he won 16 other professional tournaments including the 1976 Masters. His highest break in competition was 146, made during the 1972 Park Drive event. In 1975 when the world rankings were conceived he was the first number one, and held that status until 1981, and then again during the 1982-83 season.
He remains the oldest winner of a ranking title, having beaten Jimmy White in the final of the 1982 Professional Players Tournament at the age of 50. A few months later he beat White again to win the 1983 International Masters, his last title.
He was ranked among the top 16 until 1987 and made his last Crucible appearance in the same year, losing in the last 16 to Steve Davis. Reardon retired in 1991 after losing to Jason Prince in the first qualifying round of the World Championship.
Though his peak as player came before the 1980s, Reardon’s fame grew in that decade as snooker became the most popular sport in Britain. He regularly appeared on TV shows such as A Question of Sport, Paul Daniels Magic Show and Big Break. Alongside Davis, White, Higgins, Cliff Thorburn and Dennis Taylor, he was a central character in the game described by Barry Hearn as ‘Dallas with balls.’ After retirement, he was in the public eye less, though he continued to play on the exhibition circuit.
He was always renowned as a great tactical player – indeed Davis learned much from Reardon during his early career in the late 1970s. In 2004, Reardon mentored Ronnie O’Sullivan, helping the Rocket to add strategic nous to his formidable break-building. The result was a Crucible title, and O’Sullivan always references Reardon as one of his great influences and friends. Shaun Murphy used one of Reardon’s cues to win the 2005 World Championship and received guidance from him in 2007.
Reardon was awarded the MBE 1985. He was inducted into the snooker Hall of Fame in 2011, and each year the winner of the Welsh Open is presented with the Ray Reardon Trophy. Throughout the snooker family, he was much loved and highly respected.
The father of two, who married his second wife Carol in 1987, lived for over 40 years in Devon, an area he had got to know through playing exhibitions. After retirement he continued to play snooker socially, as well as golf, becoming President of Churston Golf Club. In 2019 he survived a pulmonary embolism, and continued to approach life with enthusiasm.
In August 2023, in one of his last interviews, Reardon told David Hendon: “I still enjoy playing snooker. Some days you are in a little world of your own, you can pot anything and nothing distracts you. It’s fantastic, magic.”
How ‘Dracula’ the ex-miner became the snooker world’s best
20 July 2024
Ray Reardon was the first Welsh player to win the world title, with compatriots Terry Griffiths and Mark Williams subsequently lifting the trophy – Getty Images
Ray Reardon, who has died aged 91, dominated the sport of snooker for the best part of a decade as he won six world titles between 1970 and 1978.
The popular Welshman, who was nicknamed ‘Dracula’ because of his distinctive “widow’s peak” hairstyle, was soon a household name as the game became hugely popular on television.
He won the first Pot Black series on the BBC in 1969, and was made an MBE in the 1985 Queen’s Birthday honours.
As well as outstanding potting ability and tactical nous, Reardon also benefited from fortunate timing.
The introduction of colour television in the late 1960s allowed snooker to emerge from the smoky back rooms of clubs and into the living room, where it found a keen audience.
And as the best player of the time, Reardon was ideally placed to take advantage of the sport’s newly acquired profile.
Ray Reardon recalls how Pot Black – and the introduction of colour TV – boosted snooker
Born in Tredegar, Reardon worked as a coal miner and a police officer while building a reputation in the amateur game before turning professional at the relatively late age of 34 in 1967.
It was a major step to leave a secure job at a time when he did not own a home, but the gamble paid off handsomely as he quickly established himself as one of the most popular characters in the game.
His rivalries with John Spencer and the flamboyant Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins made for some of the most compelling sporting contests on television at the time.
His first world title came in 1970, when he beat John Pulman 39 frames to 34.
There followed a gap until 1973, when he beat Australian Eddie Charlton in the final. That was the first of four consecutive titles, culminating in his victory over Higgins in 1976 – the last championship before the move to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Reardon won the title again in 1978, and topped the world rankings until 1981, when the emergence of Steve Davis heralded a new era.
He reached the World Championship final again in 1982, but lost to Higgins.
Getty Images – John Spencer (left), Alex Higgins (third left) and Ray Reardon (far right) won 10 successive world titles between them, between 1969 and 1978; Eddie Charlton (second left) was twice a losing finalist
Reardon retired from the professional game in 1991 at the age of 58.
He was later hired by Ronnie O’Sullivan as a consultant and was credited with helping the unpredictable Londoner claim the world title in 2004.
In 2016, the trophy awarded to the winner of the Welsh Open was named the Ray Reardon Trophy in his honour.
In spite of the Dracula nickname, Reardon will be remembered for his ready wit and cheeky winks to the audience as much as the measured tactical play which made him the most consistent and successful player in the world for nearly a decade.
Ray Reardon playing in the Masters Snooker Championship at the Wembley Arena, London, in the 1980s. Photograph: Bob Thomas Sports Photography/Getty Images
Ray Reardon, who has died aged 91 from cancer, was snooker’s world champion six times in the 1970s, the decade in which the game was changing from subterranean folk sport into a TV attraction.
Always immaculately dressed, a highly popular and genial ambassador for the game, ever adept at engaging a crowd, he remains the oldest champion and, on the strength of his 18-15 defeat by Alex Higgins at the age of 49 in 1982, its oldest finalist. After his wins in 1970, 1973-76 and 1978 he was still good enough to reach the 1985 semi-finals, when he was 52, before Steve Davis, the dominant figure of the 80s, trounced him 16-5.
As a player, he transformed himself from brilliant young potter into supreme tactician. In later life his deep knowledge of the game was utilised by Ronnie O’Sullivan, who acknowledged him as a significant factor in capturing the 2004 world title.
Commercially, Reardon’s peak came too early; prize money of £7,500 for winning the 1978 world title, £12,500 for reaching the 1982 final and £20,000 as a 1985 semi-finalist looks like petty cash by today’s standards, although it did not seem too bad in those days, particularly as the snooker revival had started from a low base.
Reardon was born into a snooker family, to Cynthia and Ben Reardon, in Tredegar, south Wales, where he attended Georgetown secondary school. His father, a coalminer, played in the local league for the Miners’ Institute, as did his uncles. When Ray was 14, and after a brief stint as a motor mechanic, he became a miner himself. On his 17th birthday, in 1949, he made his first century break in the morning and won the first of six consecutive Welsh amateur titles in the evening.
In 1956, the family moved to Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in search of better job prospects. That same year he looked likely to become English amateur champion when he held a 7-3 overnight lead against Tommy Gordon in the final at Burroughes Hall in London, but his tip flew off with his first shot the next day, perhaps through the agency of a betting gang. Forced to play with an unfamiliar cue in those pre-superglue days, he lost 11-9.
Ray Reardon, left, with Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2004. Photograph: Trevor Smith/Alamy
Eleven years in the pits ended in 1957 after he was buried in a roof fall at the Florence Colliery in Stoke, unable to move a muscle for three hours. “I had to breathe through my nose,” he was to recall, “because if I opened my mouth I’d suffocate to death on the dust.”
With iron self-control he kept calm by imagining he was playing endless games of marbles with his eight-year-old brother, Ron.
After that he became a police officer in Stoke, earning a commendation for bravery for disarming a man who was brandishing a shotgun, and another for crawling across a frosty rooftop to drop through a skylight on to an unsuspecting burglar.
In 1964 he achieved his ambition of winning the English amateur championship, beating John Spencer, himself to become a three times world champion, 11-8 in the final at the Central Hall, Birmingham.
A professional career was hardly worth contemplating at the time, as the World Snooker Championship had lain dormant from 1957 until 1964. But after selection for an amateur tour to South Africa he was offered a return visit as a professional and in 1967 took the plunge at the age of 35, in time for the revival of the championship tournament and the advent of BBC Two’s Pot Black. This was a half-hour, one-frame competition that he won twice (1969 and 1979) and that introduced the game and its leading players to new audiences.
Then the world championship ran throughout an entire season of week-long matches, and in 1970 Reardon became champion for the first time by beating John Pulman 37-33 at the Victoria Hall in London. At the City Exhibition Halls in Manchester in 1973, the first time the championship was telescoped into a fortnight, he recovered from 19-12 down to beat Spencer 23-22 in the semi-finals and from 7-0 down defeated Australia’s Eddie Charlton 38-32 to regain the title.
He retained it a year later comparatively uneventfully, but in the 1975 final in Melbourne, Australia, had to make an epic recovery from 29-23 adrift to beat Charlton 31-30. He disposed of the mercurial Higgins 27-16 in the 1976 final at Wythenshawe Forum in Manchester, and in 1978 became champion for the last time at the age of 45 with his 25-18 victory over the South African left-hander Perrie Mans at the Crucible theatre in Sheffield.
He retired to Brixham, Devon, in 1991, later moving to Torquay, but having kept up with contacts on the club scene that had given him his staple income in his early professional days, he continued with exhibitions as well as his summer tours of Pontins holiday camps, a routine he much preferred to the unpaid slog of qualifying competitions.
He is survived by his second wife, Carol Covington, whom he married in 1987, and by two children, Darren and Melanie, from his first marriage, to Susan Carter, in 1959, which ended in divorce.
Ray (Raymond) Reardon, snooker player, born 8 October 1932; died 19 July 2024
Although I’m slowly getting better, I’m still in no state to watch any snooker… or any moving images actually. This means that I saw nothing from yesterday action but here is WST report about day 9 at the 2024 Ranking CLS:
WILSON FALLS IN FIRST GROUP STAGE
In his first appearance since conquering the Crucible, Kyren Wilson failed to qualify for the second stage of the BetVictor Championship League, as Scott Donaldson topped the table in Group One.
Six weeks after his World Championship triumph, Wilson mustered a win and two draws from his three matches in Leicester, but that was not enough as Scotland’s Donaldson notched two wins and a draw to go through to the second group phase.
Opening with a 3-0 win over Baipat Siripaporn, Donaldson went on to beat Daniel Womersley 3-1, which left him needing to avoid defeat in his final match against Wilson. A break of 79 gave Wilson the opening frame, before Donaldson hit back with 88 and 101 to go 2-1 up and ensure top spot in the group. Wilson finished with a 111 for a 2-2 draw but misses out on the rest of the season’s first ranking event and now has a four-week gap before he’s back on the table at the Shanghai Masters.
Hossein Vafaei finished top of Group 14 , conceding just one frame in his three matches. A break of 89 helped him to a 3-0 win over Josh Mulholland, then he saw off Manasawin Phetmalaikul 3-1 and Louis Heathcote 3-0.
A draw in his first match of the new season cost Kyren, but, yeah, it was the first match of the season, and a very short format. Never easy. And, of course, Scott Donaldson is a quality player. So it’s no “big shock” and not a disaster either. Baipat on the other hand didn’t win a single frame. It’s worrying because I have the feeling that instead of progressing during her first year as a pro, she has only regressed. She’s probably lost all self-belief and with that all motivation. I hope I’m wrong in this assessment but…
Hossein winning the other group emphatically didn’t surprise me, although I expected more resistance from Louis Heathcote.
2024 Shanghai Masters Wildcard News: Selection process
There will be a rather big qualifying process to determine the wildcards for the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
Sinosport indeed shared this on Twitter (X) , and they surely did share that info on other platforms as well:
Now, I’m not sure I fully understand the whole process but the whole thing looks like a stern test for the aspiring wildcards.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) has today announced updated anti-doping procedures to apply to its amateur and development organisations across the WPBSA Group from the start of the 2024/25 season. This does not relate to the professional World Snooker Tour which has existing procedures organised by the WPBSA.
As part of our commitment for our sport to be IOC compliant, from the start of this season random drug tests will take place at events organised across the WPBSA Group throughout the season. The relevant organisations/events may include:
All players will note the relevant addition to the Standard Conditions of Entry for each of these organisations:
Drug Testing: Players shall at all times comply with the WPBSA Anti-Doping Rules and must make themselves available for and must submit to Doping Control (urine and/or blood) at any time as per section 5.2.1 of these Rules.
Should you have any further questions please contact us.
The red highlight is my doing. The reason I highlighted it is because it shows a clear commitment by WPBSA to get snooker into the Olympic games. Although I’m not sure snooker is particularly “suited” for this type of competition, if it became an olympic sport it could bring great benefits for the amateurs in many countries.
As an example, in Belgium, in past years, athletes preparing for the Olympic games got special support in the form of funding, access to training facilities and part-time work in order to allow them the best possible preparation. Inclusion in the Olympic games would also lead to the recognition of snooker as an actual sport, which would also open them access to to various funding possibilities.
The end of the Eurosport App … and what it means for many snooker fans
Today I got this in my email…
Cher Client,
Nous avons le regret de vous informer que le service d’abonnement Eurosport Premium sera supprimé le 22 juillet. Après l’arrêt du service, vous recevrez un remboursement pour la période restante non utilisée de votre abonnement. Les remboursements seront effectués selon le mode de paiement que vous avez utilisé pour acheter votre abonnement.
Vous pouvez continuer à profiter de nos articles d’actualité et de notre contenu gratuits sur le site Internet et l’application Eurosport.
Pour plus d’informations sur les endroits où vous pouvez continuer à regarder vos sports préférés, ou si vous avez besoin d’aide, consultez notre Centre d’aide.
Cordialement, L’équipe Eurosport
Which translates like this
Dear Customer,
We regret to inform you that the Eurosport Premium subscription service will be discontinued on July 22. Après l’arrêt du service, you will receive a refund for the remaining unused period of your subscription. Refunds will be made according to the mode of payment that you used to purchase your subscription.
You can continue to benefit from our current articles and our free content on the Internet site and the Eurosport application.
For more information on where you can continue watching your favorite sports, or if you need help, consult our Help Center.
Cordially, The Eurosport team
This is a disaster for me, and I’m sure for many other snooker fans around Europe. Living in Greece, the Eurosport App is the only way I can watch Eurosport. It isn’t part of ANY available package for terrestrial television in this country. BTW, BBC and ITV aren’t available either. So I will have to rely solely on matchroom.live with no possibility to watch a match “later” if I can’t watch it at broadcast time for any reason … including time difference. I wonder if WST/WPBSA are aware of this, and wether they will care. Really they should.
Ronnie and John Higgins played one last exhibition yesterday evening in Sofia. Tomorrow the 2024/25 snooker season will actually begin with its first ranking event, the 2024 Ranking Championship League Snooker.
This time it was John Higgins who prevailed by 5-4. Despite Ronnie’s defeat, I thoroughly enjoyed the match. It was very high quality and played in great spirit in front of a huge crowd.
The show was streamed and is now available on YouTube:
Big, big thanks as ever to Kalacs, the best media hunter on the planet!
Yesterday evening was the third and last night of exhibitions in Tampere. Gary Wison won the match by 6-5 but going by comments on social media both players played very well on the night. here is what a fan had to say on Twitter/X: “Gary Wilson beat Ronnie in 2 of their 3 matches. Both were playing well Ronnie had a 147 attempt to go 5-3 up but missed a red at 72 and Wilson cleared up with 73. Then Wilson nearly had a 147 but missed at 112. Ronnie forced a decider with 93 but Wilson won it with a century.”
Originally, only two nights had been scheduled, but faced with a huge demand, the organisers added a third “leg”. It was sold out in no time at all.
Here are some images shared on social media …
And short videos
Ronnie’s introduction
Ronnie’s interview
I would definitely love to have a ranking event in Finland, or anywhere in mainland Europe actually. Break the UK centric nature of the tour!
Overview of the arena. Definitely not for the ones suffering with fear of heights as Jason Francis commented
Ronnie O’Sullivan, 48, tells Yle about his difficulties – still runs ten to 42 minutes, record breaking Cooper pace
A superstar’s 10-kilometer road running record is hard currency for a basic fitness enthusiast.
Today’s most successful snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan, appeared for the first time in Finland on Monday. Photo: Mikko Ahmajärvi / Yle
English snooker superstar Ronnie O’Sullivan is known not only as the best stick player of all time, but also for his love of jogging.
However, it was no mean feat when O’Sullivan clocked 34:54 in a 10-kilometer road race in Caen, France in 2008. He was 32 years old at the time.
In 2008, the time would have taken O’Sullivan to 40th place in the Finnish statistics, if the sample is limited to runners aged 32 and older. Last year, the ranking would have been 45th in that age statistic.
But a lot has happened in 16 years.
“I have suffered from so many injuries that my knees and legs can’t hold up like before. Nowadays, I would run ten in 42 minutes” 48-year-old O’Sullivan estimated for Yle Urheilu on Monday evening.
O’Sullivan agreed to give a short interview when the exhibition match against compatriot Gary Wilson ended in Tampere-talo. O’Sullivan won the match 6–3 and entertained the audience by, among other things, bagging a hitting streak of over 120 points in the last set.
After the match, it was already close to midnight, and the star wanted to go to the hotel as quickly as possible. It had been a long day, as O’Sullivan had only flown to Finland in the morning.
When it comes to O’Sullivan’s calendar, we talk about long work weeks.
“We spent 19 days in China on a screening tour that included performances in eight different cities. It meant five flights and three bullet trains in China alone” O’Sullivan’s manager Jason Francis told Yle.
The two had time to spend a day in England before flying to Finland, where O’Sullivan will play three exhibition matches . After Wednesday’s show, there is a flight to Bulgaria, where the tour will continue for the rest of the week.
Wilson and O’Sullivan in action at the Tampere building. Photo: Mikko Ahmajärvi / Yle
To make such a pace possible, O’Sullivan takes care of his physique every day. Get to know Tampere on foot.
“On Tuesday and Wednesday, I plan to run 30-minute runs in the morning. If I run longer, my body gets sore. I haven’t been able to run for three weeks because my knees have felt sore. Age does not come alone” O’Sullivan said, but added after: “In the evenings, I plan to go to the gym before the evening matches. Tour life is like boot camp for me, where I’m like Rocky Balboa” , O’Sullivan said, referring to the legendary boxing character played by actor Sylvester Stallone.
Raised the standard to new heights
O’Sullivan has been playing at the absolute top of snooker for 32 years. Physical training and nutrition have played a significant role, especially in the 2000s, when O’Sullivan has won all seven of his world championships and broken most of the records in the sport.
The importance of healthy lifestyles was emphasized especially in the 2010s, when the number of ranking tournaments affecting the world list doubled from the previous decade.
O’Sullivan has spoken in favor of nutrition and exercise in several of his biographies. In addition, he has been publishing a book devoted solely to this topic in 2019. The older he gets, the more O’Sullivan says he invests in his well-being.
Many top players over the age of 30 have followed the example of O’Sullivan’s professionalism, but in the case of several young snooker players, the master’s teachings have not yet caught on. Numerous snooker professionals have told Yle Urheilu that especially the Chinese youngsters practicing in Sheffield, England, have not understood the level of requirements associated with being a professional today.
Referee Sami Erkkilä watched from the side as O’Sullivan prepared for his shot. Photo: Mikko Ahmajärvi / Yle
O’Sullivan doesn’t want to take a stand on what young players do, but he wants to talk about it through personal examples.
“Over the years, I have only wanted to develop and maximize my potential. I learned by watching others how to take care of diet and fitness. How to get all possible rest out of sleep? And so on. I have learned from the best. I hope that it will carry on in the future“.
Confused Nurmen with Zatopek
After Monday’s exhibition match, O’Sullivan thanked the Finnish audience in his victory speech and praised, among other things, the country’s running history.
When Yle Urheilu asked more about the subject, Lasse Virén’s four Olympic victories from 1972 and 1976 were basic oats for O’Sullivan. On the other hand, a hundred years ago, the information was not quite enough. When Paavo Nurme’s name came up, O’Sullivan interrupted.
“Paavo Nurmi. Wasn’t he Czechoslovakian?” O’Sullivan asked.
The snooker legend had confused Nurme with the folding running legend of the 1940s and 1950s, Emil Zatopek .
Virén’s 10,000 meter record was 27.38.35, Zatopek’s 28.54.2 and Nurmen’s 30.06.2.
O’Sullivan’s top 10 record of 34.54 was set on the road, but if the times were playfully compared to the legends, O’Sullivan would have lost 18 seconds to Virén and 15 seconds to Zatopek per 400m lap on the even pace table. Instead, Nurmi would have been less than 12 seconds faster than O’Sullivan per lap.
O’Sullivan’s top ten pace means he ran three 3400m results in a row in the classic Cooper’s test.
And now Ronnie and Jason are heading to Bulgaria for two more shows, this time with John Higgins. I’m expecting John to win those… if only because whenever I saw him live in exhibitions, he was dead-serious, whilst Ronnie would go for risky exhibition shots…
I remember one instance in particular many years ago. I can’t remember the year, nor the place but I remember what happened that night… There had been a raffle and two fans won a cue and were invited to play against the legends. One guy in his 50th won the first cue and was tasked to play John. He broke off … John cleared. The guy looked rather crest-fallen and Ronnie whispered to John “John … this is an exhibition, let him play a bit“. The other winner was a young girl who had probably never held a cue in her hands. Ronnie tried his best to make her play a bit. He was putting balls over the holes – and I mean right over the holes, as far in the jaws as possible without going in – but for some reason, the girl tended to elevate the butt of the cue and time after time managed to jump the balls out of the jaws of the pockets and send them on cushions. This went on for several minutes and the crowd was in stitches. Eventually a nonplussed Ronnie cleared the table… but it wasn’t quite the end of the story. As we were about to leave the venue, Ronnie was nowhere to be found… His manager – I can’t remember if it was Jason or Django – went to look for him and found him in the arena. Ronnie was trying to jump balls out of pockets the way that girl had done … and cursing because he was failing miserably 😂.
Gary Wilson beat Ronnie by 6-2 yesterday evening in Tampere. He scored heavily: he had breaks of 71, 83, 135, 102.
There was a HUGE crowd in attendance.
Once again huge THANK YOU to Kalacs the best pictures hunter on the Internet!
Ronnie and Robin know each other for many years. Robin became a pro for the first time in 1993 and was on the main tour for 21 seasons in total. Yet, they have played each other only four times, the first occurence being in Thailand in 1997. Ronnie won all four of their encounters.
Jason Francis captured the crowd at the start of the show…
Ronnie arrived in Finland yesterday for a series of three exhibitions in Tampere.
Amusingly the pilot of the Finnair flight that brought him to Finland was also to be the referee on the night!
On this first night, Ronnie played Gary Wilson. Despite a slow start – he went 2-0 down to Gary – Ronnie won the match by 6-3. He finished with a 122, the only century in the match.
Here are some images taken by fans on the evening …
Once again BIG Thanks to Kalacs for their much appreciated contribution!
Ronnie O'Sullivan 