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Daily Tribune
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Tribune
HRH Prince Salman: Sports key to growth
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, stressed that sports represent a key pillar of the Kingdom's development, contributing to economic growth and empowering Bahraini youth. During his meeting with Barry Hearn, President of Matchroom Sport, at Gudaibiya Palace, HRH highlighted Bahrain's success in hosting major international sporting events, reflecting its rising global recognition as a premier sports destination. His Royal Highness affirmed that Bahrain continues to adopt initiatives that strengthen its global sporting stature, in line with the Kingdom's comprehensive development under the leadership of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Asharq Al-Awsat
12-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Jeddah to Host World Pool Championship, Snooker Masters in July, August
Jeddah is scheduled to host two rounds of the World Pool Championship and the Snooker Masters Championship in July and August. The events are part of a strategic partnership between the Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation and Matchroom Sport, in collaboration with the World Nineball Tour (WNT) and the World Snooker Tour (WST), and under the supervision of the Saudi Ministry of Sport. The World Pool Championship, returning for the second consecutive year, will be held from July 21 to 26 at the Green Sports Hall in Jeddah. It will feature the world's top 100 players competing for a total prize pool of $1 million. The Snooker Masters Championship, ranked as the fourth most prestigious tournament on the professional snooker calendar, will be held from August 8 to 16. It will bring together 128 professional players from around the world, along with 16 Saudi players. The total prize pool for the event will be two million British pounds, making it the second most valuable event in terms of prize money on the 2025 World Snooker Tour. The tournaments are part of the Ministry of Sport's ongoing efforts to boost the Kingdom's global presence in specialized sports, in line with the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 to empower the sport sector and expand its economic and social impact.
The Irish Sun
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Ronnie O'Sullivan offered major deal by Barry Hearn as sports icon looks beyond snooker
BARRY HEARN is keen to get behind Ronnie O'Sullivan's proposal for snooker academies across the UK. O'Sullivan, 49, revealed his potting masterplan during the World Snooker Championship for a series of clubs in the four Home Nations and Ireland. Advertisement 2 Ronnie O'Sullivan plans to build snooker academies across the UK 2 Promoter Barry Hearn is keen to back O'Sullivan's vision The Rocket reckons him and fellow Class of 92 graduates Mark Williams (Wales) and John Higgins and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty (Ireland) could use their names to front the academies. However, it needs serious funding, perhaps by government channels, and a long-term vision to help discover the next generation to rival the talented young Chinese cueists coming through. There are only two Brits under the age of 30 in the top 50 spots on the world rankings – Jackson Page (23) and Joe O'Connor (29) -- compared to 11 from China, which includes This was put to Hearn, who is a very wealthy man and the president of Matchroom Sport – who plays on Tuesday in the UK Open pool first round – who has embraced the idea. Advertisement Read More on Snooker Hearn, 76, said: 'We've got to work harder on that. We need more academies. 'But you need people that want to play and there's got to be a reason for that. 'I mean the youngsters now that watch 'There's a million people under-21 who are out of work. This is a potential disaster. We're losing the generation. Advertisement Most read in Snooker CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'And sport can be a way of curing that. Snooker can help, I hope. But we need to do more. Definitely. 'So the exhibition of snooker that we are seeing here in Sheffield, maybe a kid goes, 'I'd like to have a go at that'. Ronnie O'Sullivan makes rare blunder in first break of World Snooker Championship semi-final 'The Class of 92 are still an unbelievable story. You think every 50-year-old should start playing snooker because that's the age to be. Advertisement 'But we need the Luke Littler effect in snooker without doubt. 'Ronnie likes his academies. He's got one in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and it's beautiful. They look after him extremely well. 'I don't think he'll get quite the same treatment if he launches a series of academies in England. 'But to use his name would be a very valuable asset in trying to promote grassroots. Advertisement 'And I think if he has really serious ideas, I would welcome a meeting between him and World Snooker. Hearn backs O'Sullivan 'It's all right having a plan. My whole life has been about plans in my head. You have to live them out. 'You can't just say something now. You've gotta do something. 'But if he is serious about it, I would 100 per cent welcome it and get beyond him solidly to launch a series of Advertisement O'Sullivan has seven world titles – a record he shares with Stephen Hendry – and provided he locates a proper cue at some point, having snapped his favourite one in January, he will aim to go for No8 in 2026. Time is running out, of course, for him to achieve that dream and yet he has been badly overlooked by the honours system for what he has done in the sport, given he has only received an OBE. Ronnie praise Hearn said: 'Ronnie O'Sullivan has been the best player in the world for many years. 'There's no question about that. And what he's doing this week is typical Ronnie O'Sullivan, defying all the odds and all logic. Advertisement 'Breaks his cue. Comes back. Tries three or four cues. I mean the boy is a total phenomenon. 'There's a case to say that he deserves to be picked out and to be knighted for services to snooker. 'I mean he's human. He has different parts of attitude that may not appeal to everybody. 'But for his sheer excellence, I think there's a very good case to be made. And I would welcome it.' Advertisement
The Sun
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Ronnie O'Sullivan offered major deal by Barry Hearn as sports icon looks beyond snooker
BARRY HEARN is keen to get behind Ronnie O'Sullivan's proposal for snooker academies across the UK. O'Sullivan, 49, revealed his potting masterplan during the World Snooker Championship for a series of clubs in the four Home Nations and Ireland. 2 2 The Rocket reckons him and fellow Class of 92 graduates Mark Williams (Wales) and John Higgins and 1997 world champion Ken Doherty (Ireland) could use their names to front the academies. However, it needs serious funding, perhaps by government channels, and a long-term vision to help discover the next generation to rival the talented young Chinese cueists coming through. There are only two Brits under the age of 30 in the top 50 spots on the world rankings – Jackson Page (23) and Joe O'Connor (29) -- compared to 11 from China, which includes new world champion Zhao Xintong, who is 28. This was put to Hearn, who is a very wealthy man and the president of Matchroom Sport – who plays on Tuesday in the UK Open pool first round – who has embraced the idea. Hearn, 76, said: 'We've got to work harder on that. We need more academies. 'But you need people that want to play and there's got to be a reason for that. 'I mean the youngsters now that watch Luke Littler achieve his dreams in darts and suddenly become a multimillionaire – they want that, too. 'There's a million people under-21 who are out of work. This is a potential disaster. We're losing the generation. 'And sport can be a way of curing that. Snooker can help, I hope. But we need to do more. Definitely. 'So the exhibition of snooker that we are seeing here in Sheffield, maybe a kid goes, 'I'd like to have a go at that'. 'The Class of 92 are still an unbelievable story. You think every 50-year-old should start playing snooker because that's the age to be. 'But we need the Luke Littler effect in snooker without doubt. 'Ronnie likes his academies. He's got one in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and it's beautiful. They look after him extremely well. 'I don't think he'll get quite the same treatment if he launches a series of academies in England. 'But to use his name would be a very valuable asset in trying to promote grassroots. 'And I think if he has really serious ideas, I would welcome a meeting between him and World Snooker. Hearn backs O'Sullivan 'It's all right having a plan. My whole life has been about plans in my head. You have to live them out. 'You can't just say something now. You've gotta do something. 'But if he is serious about it, I would 100 per cent welcome it and get beyond him solidly to launch a series of Ronnie O'Sullivan snooker academies all over the country to inspire young people to play. Let's have a chat about it.' O'Sullivan has seven world titles – a record he shares with Stephen Hendry – and provided he locates a proper cue at some point, having snapped his favourite one in January, he will aim to go for No8 in 2026. Time is running out, of course, for him to achieve that dream and yet he has been badly overlooked by the honours system for what he has done in the sport, given he has only received an OBE. Ronnie praise Hearn said: 'Ronnie O'Sullivan has been the best player in the world for many years. 'There's no question about that. And what he's doing this week is typical Ronnie O'Sullivan, defying all the odds and all logic. 'Breaks his cue. Comes back. Tries three or four cues. I mean the boy is a total phenomenon. 'There's a case to say that he deserves to be picked out and to be knighted for services to snooker. 'I mean he's human. He has different parts of attitude that may not appeal to everybody. 'But for his sheer excellence, I think there's a very good case to be made. And I would welcome it.'
The Sun
06-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Who are Barry Hearn and Andy Goldstein playing in the UK Open Pool Championship 2025?
Nyle Smith, Sport SEO Editor Published: Invalid Date, IT has been confirmed that Barry Hearn and Andy Goldstein will be playing at the UK Open Pool Championship 2025 - and SunSport can reveal their opponents. Matchroom Sport President Hearn and renowned talkSPORT radio host Andy Goldstein join a stellar 256-player field that features 128 professional players from the World Nineball Tour. Hearn, 76, is set to become the oldest person to appear in a professional pool tournament in the UK. 2 2 And the OBE shared his excitement by saying: "The US Open Pool Championship last year was the greatest experience of my life, even though I lost my first match 9-1. "I thought that would be the end of my Nineball career, but I got addicted, and what I thought would be a one-off has turned into a return—I'm back for the UK Open this May!" "No pressure, no excuses. This year, I'm not just aiming to win a match—I'm here to play better than you (Goldstein)!' Meanwhile, Goldstein said that his goal isn't to just win a match but he is determined to break into the world rankings. Unfortunately, the pair won't be playing each other just yet, but SunSport can reveal who their first UK Open Pool Championship 2025 encounters will be against. Who is Barry Hearn playing at the UK Open Pool Championship 2025? Barry Hearn faces a tough test against Danish icon Mickey Krause in the first round. The Viking won the 2024 European Open when he defeated Johann Chua 13-8 in the final. And Hearn was also part of the 2024 winning Mosconi Cup team that comfortably beat USA. What was even more impressive is that Krause was the only rookie in that competition. Who is Andy Goldstein playing at the UK Open Pool Championship 2025? Andy Goldstein is scheduled to go up against Turkish star Ramazan Akdag in his opening encounter. Akdag, 34, is yet to secure any major pool success. But his career has been marked by numerous national championships and strong rankings in European events. How to watch the UK Open Pool Championship 2025? The entire UK Open Pool Championship 2025 will be broadcast LIVE exclusively on WNT TV. However, fans in the UK can watch the final two days on Sky Sports. Fans can also head to WNT to live stream the mouthwatering tournament. Alternatively, head to SunSport's blog as we'll be covering the UK Open Pool Championship from start to finish.
