Latest news with #ChrisWakelin
The Sun
28-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Snooker star Chris Wakelin reveals body transformation as he sheds STONE & quits smoking to get revenge on Zhao Xintong
CHRIS WAKELIN reckons shedding the pounds and quitting smoking will enable him to ruin Zhao Xintong's world championship homecoming party. Xintong, 28, lifted the £500,000 Crucible title in May – he is China's first world snooker champion – and opens his season at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday. 3 3 Rugby cueist Wakelin, 33, top scored with a 83 break as he beat 17-year-old Chinese amateur Jinhao Zhou 6-3 to book a Last-16 date with the Cyclone. The pair met in Sheffield in the World quarter-finals but Wakelin struggled with 'fatigue' as he was knocked out 13-5 by the then amateur player. Since then Wakelin has shed nearly a stone in weight by running on the streets and even stopped smoking - he was often seen outside the Crucible with a cigarette in his mouth. And he is feeling the health benefits at the start of the new campaign. Though he will be the massive underdog, he hopes to incur the wrath of the home crowd by bursting the party balloons for the returning Asian superstar. Wakelin, the world No.16, said: 'Zhao represents one of the most ground-breaking, eye-catching matches there has been for a long, long time. 'This is the first time we have ever had a Chinese world champion and he is a great, great world champion as well. 'A phenomenal player. He's got buckets of style, on and off the table. Even the way he walks around the table. He's something really, really special. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'It's incredible what he has achieved. I won't go down there, bow down to him myself and let him have the show. 'It's my job to put an end to the world championship party. He's going to have a lot of challenges ahead. A lot of pressure on his shoulders. Snooker fans baffled as star who's not won a match all year knocks in staggering 147 break 'I will give my best and prove why I am here in the first place. 'When he beat me at the World Championship a few months ago, I was really, really below par. I know I will have to play a lot better than I have done. 'We know what is in my tank. I believe and am really confident in what I can achieve. 'At the Worlds, he was super beatable in that match, which is the most disappointing thing from my perspective. I was so fatigued. 'I know Mark Williams spoke about it after the final. He's a lot older than me. "It catches up with you in the tournament. It happened to me in the quarter-finals. 'I have made a lot of positive changes in my life over the last few months. 'I said I would be out getting fitter. I have upped my mileage, dropped nearly a stone in weight. Stopped smoking as well. 'The reasons why I lost in the World Championship are nothing to do with on the table. It was purely my physical fitness as opposed to the mental side of it. 'That's something I am working on and getting towards that goal. I am improving. Hopefully that feeds into my game.' Seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan plays his first match as a married man when he takes on Barry Hawkins in the second round of the main draw over the best-of-11 frames on Wednesday. 3
Metro
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Metro
Chris Wakelin: A massive part of me thought I'd win the World Championship
Chris Wakelin felt he was on course to win the World Championship this year and has already made changes to give him a better chance in 2026. The 33-year-old produced two of the performances of the tournament as he came through qualifying and then knocked out Neil Robertson and Mark Allen. The Englishman was looking as good as anyone at the Crucible having never won a match at the venue before and he admits that thoughts started to turn to lifting the trophy. Things went pretty horribly wrong in the quarter-finals as he struggled in a 13-5 defeat to eventual champion Zhao Xintong, which left Wakelin with mixed feelings after fine run. 'It was great to get back and get my first win and get through to the quarters,' he told Metro. 'But there a massive part of me that thought I was going to win it. 'It wasn't just a case of being there and soaking it up and being part of the furniture as I was in years gone by. I genuinely felt like it could have been my year. 'The only disappointing thing from my point of view was the only match that Xintong was beatable in was the one I played him in. I was just so mentally exhausted.' Wakelin has taken that feeling as inspiration to get fit again, hitting the roads to get himself in shape for the challenges to come. 'It was just psychological warfare out there. That sort of arena, that sort of opportunity,' he said. 'More than anything, the World Championship is an opportunity to catapult yourself up the rankings and into history. 'I didn't feel pressure in that third match, no more so than I did in the first round of qualifying. It just didn't happen on that day. 'You can put that down to whatever reason you want. I feel as though it's given me a goal for this season, which is to be more physically fit. That's my new challenge. 'I lost four stone, just through running and doing a bit of gym work but that stopped about 18 months ago because I had a couple of injuries. 'Running is firmly back on the agenda now, doing two or three 10ks a week. 'I've got fitness goals now, as well as snooker goals, family goals, life goals. I want to get back to doing regular sub-two hour half marathons. For a guy who was nearly 18 stone not so long ago, I think that would be quite an achievement.' Wakelin has made huge improvements to climb into the world's top 16 and turn himself into a genuine threat to win ranking events. That has come alongside a different outlook on snooker, with family life his priority after the birth of his daughter in December and he shares a philosophy with golf's world number one Scottie Scheffler. The American said: 'There's a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfil them in life, and you get there, you get to No 1 in the world, and they're like what's the point? I really do believe that, because what is the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so bad? 'That's something that I wrestle with on a daily basis. Showing up at the Masters every year, it's like, why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don't know. Because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes. Then we're going to get to the next week and it's: 'Hey, you won two majors this year; how important is it for you to win the FedExCup playoffs?' And we're back here again. 'I'm blessed to be able to come out here and play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that's going to be the last day that I play out here for a living. 'This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That's why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me? Because I'd much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that's what's more important to me.' Wakelin explained: 'I was saying at the World Championship on several occasions, I actually don't care if I win or lose. When I listened to what Scottie said, it made absolute sense, because it's exactly how I feel now. 'I've got a family now, I've got a little girl, and that's my priority. As much as I want to go to tournaments and I want to win, I'd love to be standing there with the trophy again. At the end of each tournament that I play in, when I lose, it makes absolutely no difference to me in my life. More Trending 'The things I want in my life are at home, they're not on tour. This is just a product of what can possibly give us an easier life down the line. 'All I want is to be able to go and try my best. That's good enough for me, it's good enough for my family, and the results will take care of themselves. 'The only thing that does differ between Scottie and I, and you might say that's why he's world number one and I'm not, is that he hates losing. I don't hate losing. I love winning, but if I lose, it's history. It's no longer a moment in my life, it's something I don't think about anymore. 'I've got something else to focus on, whether that's being a dad, or being prepared for my next match, or just being a good friend to people. That's what you've got to be in life sometimes, it's not all about snooker.' MORE: Liam Davies on perfect start to season, beating a hero and snooker's rising stars MORE: Mark Allen replaced in Shanghai Masters draw after withdrawal for personal reasons MORE: Stephen Hendry makes Zhao Xintong prediction and Ronnie O'Sullivan comparison
RTHK
25-06-2025
- Sport
- RTHK
Snooker legend Marco Fu secures Wuhan Open ticket
Snooker legend Marco Fu secures Wuhan Open ticket Marco Fu staged an impressive victory over Britain's Chris Wakelin to punch his round of 64 ticket. Photo courtesy of World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Three-time snooker ranking event champion Marco Fu will be the only SAR player to feature in the Wuhan Open in August, after securing a comeback victory in the qualifying round in Leicester on Tuesday. Fellow Hong Kong stars Ng On-yee and Cheung Ka-wai were both knocked out in the qualifiers, which were held over three days at Mattioli Arena. Meanwhile some of the world's best players – including Judd Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan, and reigning world champion Zhao Xintong – will begin their round of 128 in Wuhan. Fu, who reached the last 32 of the tournament last year, took on world number 16 Chris Wakelin on the final day of qualifiers in Leicester. on Tuesday recorded a stellar 5-3 victory over world number 16 Chris Wakelin at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester to punch his ticket to the Wuhan Open. Local favourite Wakelin went 2-0 up in the best-of-nine affair, before Fu replied with breaks of 120, 68 and 136 to move 3-2 ahead. After the Briton restored parity with a run of 59, Fu responded with his third century of 113 to close out the win in convincing fashion. Three-time women's champion Ng, on the other hand, fell 5-3 to China's Lei Peifan, while Cheung was unable to overcome Britain's David Gilbert in a 5-1 defeat. The main tournament is scheduled for August 24 to 30.
Wales Online
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Snooker fan collapses live on BBC during World Championship coverage
Snooker fan collapses live on BBC during World Championship coverage A snooker fan fainted live on the BBC on Thursday afternoon during the World Championship quarter-finals at the Crucible, but was soon back on his feet and appeared to be fine The snooker fan, wearing sunglasses, fainted during a segment broadcast live on Thursday afternoon (Image: BBC ) A snooker supporter suddenly fainted during a live BBC broadcast at the World Championship quarter-finals, prompting half a dozen audience members to rush over and check on him. The man, who had been watching a segment highlighting elite female players, was back upright shortly afterward and reportedly only required a large glass of water, having been affected by heat and dehydration on an unseasonably warm day in Sheffield. Dressed in a blue tee, he was seen breathing heavily and touching his forehead while Welsh presenter Abigail Davies was in conversation with top women's snooker figures Daisy May Oliver and Hannah Jones at the Winter Gardens. Moments later, he slumped to his right and collapsed. Spectators nearby moved swiftly to help, and host Hazel Irvine later gave a reassuring update live on-air. "It's certainly hot here in the Winter Gardens," Irvine said, via the Mirror. "You might have seen earlier on when Abi was interviewing some of the top women players in the game, there was a little incident behind her. "A gentleman fainted. He's absolutely fine, just a wee bit dehydrated. He's now been given a very large glass of water and an ice cream. Everything is A-OK." Article continues below Fellow spectators look on as the man falls to the ground (Image: BBC ) The clip was shown during Thursday's quarter-final coverage, with John Higgins leading Mark Williams 5-3 in a clash between two seasoned players. Meanwhile, Zhao Xintong had pulled ahead 6-2 against Chris Wakelin in their initial session. That afternoon, Ronnie O'Sullivan was scheduled to take on Si Jiahui, and Luca Brecel was set to challenge Judd Trump, the current world No. 1. The remaining matches were due to pick up again in the evening, all aiming for 13-frame victories. If O'Sullivan manages to win his match, he could then meet Zhao Xintong or Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals. Zhao has returned after serving a 20-month suspension for match fixing, and previously held the UK Championship title. The fan is reportedly OK after fainting at the Winter Gardens (Image: BBC ) O'Sullivan, however, shrugged off the idea that his path to the final might be easier than expected. "Not really. I mean I've played this so many times and the draw opens up and you get beat," he said. Article continues below "That one loses, that one wins. The guy that wins it is usually the guy that deserves to win it. So, it doesn't really matter what happens to the draw."
Daily Record
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Snooker fan dramatically faints live on BBC at World Championship as others rush to help
A snooker fan unexpectedly collapsed live on BBC while watching the World Championship quarter-finals at the Crucible, prompting around six nearby fans to rush to his aid. The man had been watching a segment featuring prominent women's players when he went down, but he quickly recovered and just needed a substantial amount of water, as he appeared to be dealing with dehydration amid Sheffield's unusually high temperatures. Wearing a blue shirt, he was seen taking slow breaths and wiping his brow while presenter Abigail Davies interviewed women's snooker talents Daisy May Oliver and Hannah Jones inside the Winter Gardens venue. Without warning, he tilted to the right and hit the floor. Onlookers swiftly checked on him, and presenter Hazel Irvine shortly shared an update on his situation. "It's certainly hot here in the Winter Gardens," Irvine said, via the Mirror . "You might have seen earlier on when Abi was interviewing some of the top women players in the game, there was a little incident behind her. "A gentleman fainted. He's absolutely fine, just a wee bit dehydrated. He's now been given a very large glass of water and an ice cream. Everything is A-OK." The incident aired during Thursday's quarter-final broadcasts, where John Higgins had taken a 5-3 advantage over fellow veteran Mark Williams . Meanwhile, Zhao Xintong led Chris Wakelin 6-2 after the first part of their match. Later in the day, Ronnie O'Sullivan's face-off with Si Jiahui was scheduled, along with Luca Brecel's duel against top seed Judd Trump . The two remaining contests were set to resume in the evening, with the quarter-finals requiring 13 frames to win. If O'Sullivan defeats Si, he will next face either Zhao Xintong, returning from a lengthy ban, or unseeded Chris Wakelin in the semis, as he aims to secure an unprecedented eighth world crown. Still, The Rocket played down talk of an easy route to the title. "Not really. I mean I've played this so many times and the draw opens up and you get beat," he said. "That one loses, that one wins. The guy that wins it is usually the guy that deserves to win it. So, it doesn't really matter what happens to the draw."
