Latest news with #BarryHawkins
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Ronnie O'Sullivan into semis after beating Wilson in NAILBITING tie
THIS year's thrilling Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters is rolling on at pace - and Ronnie O'Sullivan is closing in on the £500,000 jackpot! The Rocket edged past Kyren Wilson 6-5 in what turned out to be a blockbuster quarter-final. And he now awaits the winner of Barry Hawkins and Chris Wakelin in the other final eight fixture. Neil Robertson and Elliot Slessor booked their spots in the semi-finals with wins over Ali Carter and Mark Williams respectively. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 8th Aug 2025, 11:32 By Kealan Hughes Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 2025 schedule Round One Friday, August 8 From 12pm BST Florian Nuessle v Dylan Emery Liam Pullen v Ahmed Aseeri Robbie McGuigan v Gao Yang Kreishh Gurbaxani v Reanne Evans Ross Muir v Abdulraouf Saigh Sahil Nayyar v Habib Subah Huang Jiahao v Wilcard TBA Steven Hallworth v Omar Alajlani From 2pm Leone Crowley v Ziyad Alqabbani Zhao Hanyang v Musab Sayegh Jonas Luz v Musaad Almisfir Mateusz Baranowski v Lan Yuhao Michal Szubarczyk v Ryan Davies Sam Craigie v Xu Yichen Liam Highfield v Mohammed Al Joker Jiang Jun v Hesham Shawky From 6pm Chatchapong Nasa v Fahad Alghamdi Iulian Boiko v Liu Wenwei Mitchell Mann v Ashley Hugill Ian Burns v David Grace Chang Bingyu v Marco Fu Ken Doherty v Jimmy White Connor Benzey v Adeel Aqdus Mink Nutcharut v Umut Dikme From 8pm Louis Heathcote v Ayman Alamri Hatem Yassen v Ng On Yee Mohammed Shebab v Abdullah Alotayyani Oliver Brown v Patrick Whelan Yao Pengcheng v Alexander Ursenbacher Fergal Quinn v Mahmoud El Hareedy Farakh Ajaib v Saud Albaker Liam Graham v Asif Mukhtar 8th Aug 2025, 11:12 By Kealan Hughes Hello and welcome! Welcome to SunSport's blog on the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters where we will be bringing you all the action from Green Halls, Jeddah. Play gets underway today and runs until Saturday, August 16.
The Sun
31-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Shanghai Masters snooker 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Ronnie O'Sullivan on NOW against Kyren Wilson after Judd Trump OUT
Rocket gets off to flying start Ronnie O'Sullivan kick-started his 34th season as a professional snooker player – and first as a married man – with a thrilling final-frame success. The Rocket is still enjoying the martial bliss of getting hitched to long-term partner, actress Laila Rouass, last month in East London. And over in the Far East, he came through a 11th-frame decider with Barry Hawkins to prevail 6-5 in the last 16 of the lucrative Shanghai Masters. The 49-year-old claimed it was the best he had played since lifting his seventh Crucible crown three years ago in Sheffield. The sport's greatest player, who is using a new cue after snapping his favourite one in January, came from 3-2 down to lead 5-3. But Kent cueist Hawkins, 46, took it to the distance thanks to a 106 break – his 501st career century. No6 seed O'Sullivan – who now plays Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals – hit breaks of 94, 94, 90 and 89 but was unable to get over the line for his first century of the new term. There was one moment in frame six where he banged the table twice with his fist in anger. But it was short-lived pain as he progressed a step closer to the £210,000 winner's jackpot, gaining revenge for his elimination to the Hawk at the UK Championship last November in York.
The Sun
30-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Ronnie O'Sullivan wins first match as a married man with ‘best performance in 3 years' as he edges final-frame thriller
RONNIE O'SULLIVAN kickstarted his 34th season as a professional snooker player – and first as a married man – with a thrilling final-frame success. The Rocket is still enjoying the martial bliss of getting hitched to long-term partner Laila Rouass, an actress, last month in East London. 3 And over in the Far East, he came through a 11th-frame decider with Barry Hawkins to prevail 6-5 in the last 16 of the lucrative Shanghai Masters. The 49-year-old claimed it was the best he had played since lifting his seventh Crucible crown three years ago in Sheffield. The sport's greatest player, who is using a new cue after snapping his favourite one in January, came from 3-2 down to lead 5-3. But Kent cueist Hawkins, 46, took it to the distance thanks to a 106 break – his 501st career century. No.6 seed O'Sullivan – who now plays Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals – scored breaks of 94, 94, 90 and 89 but was unable to get over the line for his first century of the new term. There was one moment in frame six where he banged the table twice with his fist in anger. But it was short-lived pain as he progressed a step closer to the £210,000 winner's jackpot, gaining revenge for his elimination to the Hawk at the UK Championship last November in York. O'Sullivan said: 'I'm just pleased to have won the match. Barry played pretty good. 'I played probably the best I have played for maybe since I won the world championship in 2022. Ronnie O'Sullivan marries Footballers' Wives star Laila Rouass just 10 months after split 'For me that was a good performance. I could have lost it as well 'The table played okay with the humidity. I don't know how it will be on Thursday, Friday or Saturday but if it stays the same, it's good. 'Usually it gets harder and harder as the week goes on. Who knows? If it stays like this, it's okay.' Zhao Xintong returned to his homeland – as China's first snooker world champion – and he thrilled the crowds by beating Chris Wakelin 6-2 in his season opener. The Cyclone, who beat Wakelin at the Crucible en route to that historic triumph, scored breaks of 68, 103, 65, 73 and 59 in his usual, effortless manner. 3 The 28-year-old will now face Chinese potting Godfather Ding Junhui in the last eight and there is unlikely to be an empty seat at the Luwan Gymnasium. The Asian superstar said: 'I'm really happy, because I had been looking forward to this match for a long time. 'I knew there would be some pressure but overall I think I played quite well. I stayed calm throughout the match. 'Before the match I thought I'd be nervous but I ended up staying pretty composed throughout. I'm pleased with how I handled it. 'I knew coming into this match that he would be determined to get his revenge, especially with me playing at home.' List of all-time Snooker World Champions BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year. The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport. The first World Championships ran from 1927 - with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport. Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each. 1969 - John Spencer 1970 - Ray Reardon 1971 - John Spencer 1972 - Alex Higgins 1973 - Ray Reardon (2) 1974 - Ray Reardon (3) 1975 - Ray Reardon (4) 1976 - Ray Reardon (5) 1977 - John Spencer (2) 1978 - Ray Reardon (6) 1979 - Terry Griffiths 1980 - Cliff Thorburn 1981 - Steve Davis 1982 - Alex Higgins (2) 1983 - Steve Davis (2) 1984 - Steve Davis (3) 1985 - Dennis Taylor 1986 - Joe Johnson 1987 - Steve Davis (4) 1988 - Steve Davis (5) 1989 - Steve Davis (6) 1990 - Stephen Hendry 1991 - John Parrott 1992 - Stephen Hendry (2) 1993 - Stephen Hendry (3) 1994 - Stephen Hendry (4) 1995 - Stephen Hendry (5) 1996 - Stephen Hendry (6) 1997 - Ken Doherty 1998 - John Higgins 1999 - Stephen Hendry (7) 2000 - Mark Williams 2001 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 2002 - Peter Ebdon 2003 - Mark Williams (2) 2004 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) 2005 - Shaun Murphy 2006 - Graeme Dott 2007 - John Higgins (2) 2008 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) 2009 - John Higgins (3) 2010 - Neil Robertson 2011 - John Higgins (4) 2012 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (4) 2013 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 2014 - Mark Selby 2015 - Stuart Bingham 2016 - Mark Selby (2) 2017 - Mark Selby (3) 2018 - Mark Williams (3) 2019 - Judd Trump 2020 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (6) 2021 - Mark Selby (4) 2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (7) 2023 - Luca Brecel 2024 - Kyren Wilson 2025 - Zhao Xintong 7 - Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan 6 - Ray Reardon, Steve Davis 4 - John Higgins, Mark Selby 3 - John Spencer, Mark Williams 2 - Alex Higgins
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
O'Sullivan to overcome 'stage fright' to face Carter at Crucible
Halo World ChampionshipVenue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 19 April to 5 MayCoverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; live text coverage of selected matches; updates on Radio 5 Live. Seven-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan says he will overcome "stage fright" to take on Ali Carter in the first round of the World Snooker Championship. O'Sullivan, 49, who only confirmed his participation on Thursday, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January."Because it is the World Championship and the last tournament [of the season] I thought I need to try and break that cycle," he told BBC Sport."Call it stage fright, I just haven't had the [will] to go and compete. Call it lost my bottle. You sometimes lose your nerve. Just to come here is an achievement for me."The kind of nerves I have [been] feeling off and on for the last two years have not been good nerves. I have just been not wanting to go out there - sometimes struggling to even take my eyes off the floor. The confidence has been draining away, so it has not been a great place to be."Next Tuesday's meeting with Carter, who at 18th in the world is the highest ranked qualifier, is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 Crucible finals, which were both won by 'The Rocket'.The pair also contested a Masters final in 2024, which O'Sullivan triumphed in, but there were genuine fears that he would not go for a record eighth world title in the modern era this year having been an ever-present at the sport's showpiece event since turning professional in 1992. He pulled out of the Masters at Alexandra Palace on medical grounds, missed the German Masters in Berlin and apologised to fans after electing not to play at the Welsh also withdrew from the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong in March and has not played in anything over a best-of-seven match since his first-round loss to Barry Hawkins at the UK Championship in November."Ali is a really good match player and I will have to play better than I have been just to give him a game," added O'Sullivan. "I really have nothing to lose. I have done well to just get here to be honest. If it was any other tournament I probably wouldn't have come."I don't know how excited I am because the reason I stopped was because my game was suffering and I wasn't getting anything from it. Not much has changed but I thought at some point I have to try and play."I am always mentally ready, that has not been a problem. I always find a way to get through any situation but with my game technically I am at a loss with it and I have never been in this situation before in my life. I have never experienced this and it is hard especially at this stage in my career, you sometimes think 'is it worth trying to rebuild?'" O'Sullivan not ready to retire In the build-up to the 17-day tournament, O'Sullivan said that he received "a proper good hiding" while practising with world number 11 Barry Hawkins. However, recent footage of him constructing a maximum 147 break in less than seven minutes in practice suggests he is acclimatising well to a new cue. "It is the second time I broke my cue. The first time was a similar situation, I was struggling for maybe a year or two and you just get tired in the end and so frustrated," O'Sullivan added. "That was kind of like the end of my tether. Obviously regretted it but that is how the game got me." O'Sullivan, who has won a record 41 ranking titles, also outlined that he is not ready to pack away his cue just yet."I'd like to do another two or three years playing so the aim is to try and just focus on this event," he continued."The longer term thing is to play another two or three years and finish semi-positive on a career that has been good to me. You need to find a cue you like and I have got one I am kind of happy with." Selby supportive of O'Sullivan's stance O'Sullivan has previously stressed that he has had to take medication to deal with anxiety and also had a candid studio discussion on TNT Sports, external with Mark Selby earlier this season around the mental health pressures faced by snooker players. That prompted some debate around the potential for players to be offered a counsellor at tournaments to help them deal with issues. And four-time world champion Selby, who has had well-documented struggles of his own to contend with, believes that service would be a valuable addition to the professional tour."I don't think we have carried on and progressed with it but I think something definitely needs to happen," Selby told BBC Sport. "Ronnie hit the nail on the head. There are probably a lot more players on the tour going through it than you think that just don't speak out or feel strong enough to speak out. "If you had someone like that there, who you could go in a room with for 20 minutes or half an hour to speak to, a neutral person, to get things off your chest, it would be a great addition to the tour for all the players. You would definitely use it for sure." Selby, 41, also believes that O'Sullivan did the right thing by taking some time away from snooker."He obviously wasn't in the greatest place to miss all these tournaments. He must be suffering a lot off the table. If I look back at how I was last year going into the World Championship, if I was in the same position now coming in as I was 12 months ago, there is no way I would be playing. "I would pull out and I have learnt from that, and know if I am in the same position I won't make that mistake again."He's definitely done the right thing. At the end of the day it is a game of snooker and you have to put yourself first and be selfish. "That is what he has done. If he feels as though he is in a better headspace to go and give himself a chance to win the tournament he is doing the right thing to play."
