Tag Archive for ronnie o’sullivan

Live 9-ball & Live Snooker this weekend

December 10, 2008 / The_Teach / No comments

You can watch live 9-ball pool and live snooker this weekend!

The Mosconi Cup returns for it’s 15th edition and starts tomorrow evening the 11th December live on Sky Sports. The European team (captained this year by Alex Lely) are the defending champions having won the trophy in Las Vegas last year. The tournament MVP last time out was Tony Drago and he will be looking to put on a similar performance as he will be playing in Malta, his home country.

The rest of the European team are Ralf Souquet, Niels Feijen, Mika Immonen and Englands own Mark Gray. European players currently hold all of the world titles and have also been successful in the majors this year as well, Ralf Souquet winning the US Open the highlight.

The US team is captained by Nick Varner and is almost an unchanged side from last year, Earl Strickland returns as the only ever present since this tournament started and is joined by Johnny Archer, Shane van Boening, Jeremy Jones and Rodney Morris.

If snooker is more your tipple then prepare to be mesmerised as the Uk Championships starts on Saturday 13th December from the Telford International Centre. Regarded as the second most prestigious snooker tournament after the World Championships Ronnie O’Suillivan will be on hand to defend the title he won last December.

Other contenders:

  • Shaun Murphy (due some form after losing all first round matches this season.
  • Stephen Maguire (World number 2 could do with a good run)
  • Mark Selby (Looked poor in the Premier League final last weekend but has had a solid season)
  • John Higgins (Always a good performer)
  • Ryan Day (About time he won something)
Category: 9-ball Pool, World Snooker / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jimmy White through to 3rd Round with another 9-8 win!

December 5, 2008 / The_Teach / No comments

Jimmy White has continued his run at the Maplin Uk Championships qualifiers in Sheffield coming from behind four times, he beat former World Amateur Champion Ian Preece 9-8 to set up a third round match against Rory McLeod.

If White can win his next two matches (his final qualifier will be against Dave Harold) he will meet defending champion and reigning World number 1, Ronnie O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan himself has had a busy last week, over the 29th/30th November he was involved in an exhibition tournament in Hamm, Germany – winning that tournament by beating Barry Hawkins in the final. This weekend he is off to defend his Premier League title as well.

Some news clips of The Hamm Invitational Tournament will be available on CueSport TV shortly.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Bahrain Snooker Championships – Starts Saturday

November 6, 2008 / The_Teach / 2 comments

The inaugural World Snooker Bahrain Championships starts this coming Saturday and will feature four locally based players in the ‘WildCard’ round much akin to the two ranking events in China.

Snooker’s appeal is growing at pace in the middle east and this Championship is an excellent addition to the calendar not only for the extra event for the main tour pro’s but also to grow the World Snooker brand and the chance that it offers players based in the host country.

The in form player of the season has so far without doubt been World number 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan but he has withdrawn from this event through illness. This gives the evergreen Steve Davis a bye through to round two, something he will be delighted with after his performance against Ronnie in the recent Premier League.

Judd Trump has been very bullish about his chances in the media recently and is confident he has the ability to win a ranking title this season. Much has been spoken about this fantastic talent over the last few years as he has emerged onto the world stage and until the Grand Prix he hadn’t not really shown that talent on the biggest stage. The Grand Prix was his coming-of-age tournament and with a bit of luck and a decent draw would be a good pick for Bahrain.

It is also good to see Graeme Dott back after his injury and both Stephen Lee and Mathew Stevens return to centre-stage after both having qualified for this event.

Further Reading:

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , ,

O’Sullivan Through Against Exciting Wenbo

October 14, 2008 / The_Teach / No comments

Ronnie O’Sullivan battled back from 2-0 down against Chinese sensation Liang Wenbo. Wenbo, who O’Sullivan beat in the 1/4 final of the 2008 World Championships, has already become a cult hero amongst snooker fans with his very attacking do-or-die attitude. To date I am yet to see him refuse a pot!

The other excitement in the day was the open draw for the second round of the Grand Prix, yesterday on this blog I stated that this was new, according to Steve Davis on the BBC today this format was used in the 80′s.

Regardless of whether the format is new or old it is still exciting and it was very ‘FA Cup like’ having Hazel Irvine in the players lounge as the draw was being made. The funniest thing was that Ryan Day and Mark Selby drew each other and were sat next to each other in the room.

The draw is below and awaits the results of tonights last two 1st round matches.:

  • Jamie Cope (Eng) v Peter Ebdon (Eng)
  • Shaun Murphy (Eng)/Adrian Gunnell (Eng) v Steve Davis (Eng)
  • John Higgins (Sco) v Stephen Hendry (Sco)
  • Mark Selby (Eng) v Ryan Day (Wal)
  • Judd Trump (Eng) v Joe Perry (Eng)
  • Mark King (Eng)/John Parrott (Eng) v Ali Carter (Eng)
  • Ding Junhui (Chn) v Michael Holt (Eng)
  • Marco Fu (HK) v Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng)

Pick of the round is the Day – Selby match which should be a real belter, it is also important to point out the last match in this round is the repeat of last years final, that Marco Fu won!

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , ,

Snooker Season Under Way

August 26, 2008 / The_Teach / No comments

Sunday saw the start of the new Snooker season with the 1st round of the Northern Ireland Trophy from Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.

All of the top 16 are in attendance including reigning world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

In the Northern Ireland trophy the first round is actually the last qualifying round as the top 16 do not play until the second round of the tournament. This meant that fans on Sunday and Monday were able to see the likes of Steve Davis and Jimmy White play matches on the main tour and try to book a place in the 2nd round.

On this occasion though the fairytale story did not have a happy ending for both of these veteran snooker stars as Davis was defeated 5-3 by rising Chinese sensation Liang Wenbo (who reached the 1/4 finals of the 2008 World Championships only to be beaten 13-7 by the eventual champion). Wenbo, in my opinion is a player to watch out for this season and with a few decent results could be on the brink of a place in the top 16 (provisionally he is 40).

White also lost 5-3 to Barry Hawkins. If Jimmy White goes through this season as he did the last couple this could quite easily be his last World Ranking event appearance, until this tournament he hadn’t been seen in the final stages for 2 years. Qualifying for any turnament this year is going to be a tall order as he will need to win at least three matches to reach the main tournament, a difficult proposition for a new player to the tour let alone for someone past his best years.

Sundays 1st Round Results

Alan McManus (Sco) bt Matthew Stevens (Wal) 5-2
Dave Harold (Eng) bt Ricky Walden (Eng) 5-2
Ian McCulloch (Eng) bt Mike Dunn (Eng) 5-4
Mark Williams (Wal) bt Marcus Campbell (Sco) 5-3
Stephen Lee (Eng) bt Judd Trump (Eng) 5-3
Dominic Dale (Wal) bt Adrian Gunnell (Eng) 5-4
Liang Wenbo (Chi) bt Steve Davis (Eng) 5-3
Dave Gilbert (Eng) bt Michael Judge (Irl) 5-4

Mondays 1st Round Results

Mark Davis (Eng) bt Joe Swail (NIrl) 5-4
Stuart Pettman (Eng) bt Nigel Bond (Eng) 5-1
Barry Hawkins (Eng) bt Jimmy White (Eng) 5-3
Michael Holt (Eng) bt Fergal O’Brien (Irl) 5-3
Andrew Higginson (Eng) bt Anthony Hamilton (Eng) 5-3
Rory McLeod (Eng) bt Stuart Bingham (Eng) 5-4
Jamie Cope (Eng) bt David Gray (Eng) 5-4
Ken Doherty (Irl) bt Gerard Greene (NIrl) 5-2

The other tough thing for the organisers of this event and the Irish nation is that only Ken Doherty managed to make it through the first round and te only other Irish player left in the draw is Mark Allen (one of the newest recruits into the top 16 and a future star).

Ian McCulloch and Dave Harold have today proved that they still have some spirit and something to offer the tour as they both made it into the last 16 with decent wins over Graeme Dott and Neil Robertson. Dott and Robertson failed to impress ast season and will need to get some form and results if a long stay in the top 16 is on the cards.

Tuesdays 2nd Round Results

Stephen Maguire (Sco) bt Michael Holt (Eng) 5-1
Dave Harold (Eng) bt Graeme Dott (Sco) 5-3
Ian McCulloch (Eng) bt Neil Robertson (Aus) 5-2

Matches continue tonight in the second round and updates will be blogged periodically.

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , ,

Logo Ban Losing Snooker Stars £1000′s

August 20, 2008 / The_Teach / 2 comments

I have recently got into a blog written by Dave H (not sure what the H is for!!!), the deputy editor of Snooker Scene magazine.

The latest post is about the ever controversial Ronnie O’Sullivan commenting about the logo space on players waistcoats. According to World Snooker rules, during the World Championships players can only wear one logo in addition to the tournament logo. This rule according to an article in the Mirror Newspaper last April cost Neil Robertson an £80,000 deal with Burger King.

O’Sullivans point in the Snooker Scene blog was that players should concentrate on earnings on the table rather than what they are getting paid for wearing a certain logo.

Although the point is a valid one insomuch as Snooker is about competition it is difficult in this day and age for players outside of the elite to earn a decent living solely from prize money. Tournament prize funds have dwindled and so have the number of official ranking events, reducing potential earnings even further. 

Players in the top 16 are protected by seedings so are automatically in the money positions in every tournament and as a result of seedings are on TV and command massive logo deals and endorsements.

I do not think we should consider detracting from the snooker, the sport and competition is what it is about, and I also think that a limit to a number of logo’s should be in place so as not to create an advertising farce. What I disagree with though is the way in which professional players are forced into a corner over what they can and can’t earn. Careers, on-the-whole, are limited in snooker and it is about entertainment so why shouldn’t players be allowed to earn large sums for TV appearances and within reason maximise the revenue available through a number of logo positions. 

 

Category: World Snooker / Tags: , , , , ,
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