Latest news with #MatthewSelt
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Xiao Guodong leads Chinese charge as snooker's balance of power tilts
Xiao Guodong was in impressive form in the early stages of his match against Matthew Selt. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA There are few sports as synonymous with one place as snooker is with Sheffield. For two weeks every year, this city becomes the beating heart of the sport, with supporters from across the globe descending upon South Yorkshire – but this year there is a distinct feel of significant change on the horizon. Advertisement That is not to suggest that the future of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible is any more under threat than usual: there have been almost annual murmurings about the event being moved from its spiritual home, though there is hope a new deal can be agreed to keep it here beyond the end of the current deal in 2027. It is more on the baize this year where there is the potential for a seismic shift. Related: Kyren Wilson: 'It's not just me that's world champion. It's my whole family' The queues wound around Tudor Square to get inside the Crucible on Saturday. Inside the adjacent Winter Gardens, from where the BBC often broadcasts mid-session, there were scores of fans playing, watching or just talking all things snooker. Sheffield makes an effort every year, despite the size limitations of the Crucible, to show that it is the home of snooker, and among the healthy crowds were a significant number of Chinese fans – who have plenty to be excited about. Chinese snooker has been a turbulent place of late, headlined by the 2023 match-fixing scandal that threatened to engulf the sport in Asia as 10 of the most prominent players from China were banned. But there are encouraging signs that a resurgence remains eminently possible, with the record 10 Chinese players in this year's tournament being almost a third of the field. Advertisement They are not here to make up the numbers either. Three were in action on the opening day and given the draw there is the high prospect of at least one all-Chinese quarter-final. Two of the players had contrasting mornings in the event's opening session; Lei Peifan trailed the world champion, Kyren Wilson, 6-3 while Xiao Guodong led Matthew Selt 7-2. It is estimated as many as 200 million people will be watching in China, raising the question of whether snooker's ceiling could be elevated should any of the 10 go all the way and become the first Chinese world champion. There always been hope in that regard but walking around Sheffield there was an increasing sense of expectation. Arguably the most intriguing Chinese player is Zhao Xintong. He was one of the players suspended in 2023, receiving a 20-month ban for his part in the match-fixing scandal. The 28-year-old has returned to the amateur circuit and made his way through qualifying to reach the Crucible, only the third non-professional to get this far. He starts his match against Jak Jones on Sunday. Stephen Hendry has declared Zhao the best Chinese chance of a world championship victory, with Jimmy White identifying him, Si Juahai and Wu Yize – who trails Mark Williams 5-4 after their opening session – as the trio that could become this generation's Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins. That suggestion perhaps neatly embodies where snooker finds itself. The old guard who have brought so much success to the sport are intertwined with the Crucible, but there is a big, wide world beyond Sheffield. You can feel the Chinese presence on and off the table more than ever in 2025. If snooker does find itself crowning its first Chinese world champion on 5 May, what doors could that open for an event so famously associated with one city and one venue in particular?
South China Morning Post
09-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Kai Tak Arena was warned snooker curfew would affect Hong Kong's image: source
The incident at the World Grand Prix where Hong Kong snooker fans were kicked out while a match was in progress could have been avoided entirely, the Post has learned, sparing the city from an embarrassing episode that made headlines around the world. Advertisement A source said officials and organisers had been arguing for a month about the imposition of a curfew on events at Kai Tak Sports Park, the city's prized new sporting facility, and had been warned that forcing fans to leave early could damage the city's reputation. But five days after a first-round match between Kyren Wilson and Matthew Selt was halted so fans could be removed some time around 11.15pm, no one has yet taken responsibility for the fiasco or explained how it happened in the first place. Nor has anyone clarified when the curfew was first imposed, who imposed it and why, given the HK$30 billion complex is the planned venue for events guaranteed to run late into the evening. KTSP has failed to respond to numerous requests for comment from the Post, while Simon Brownell, the World Snooker Tour CEO, did his best to minimise the incident saying he did not believe it would be too detrimental to the city or the tournament. 01:52 Hong Kong is hosting a world-class snooker tournament: here's what you need to know Hong Kong is hosting a world-class snooker tournament: here's what you need to know Sources with knowledge of the discussions said an 11pm curfew was first communicated to the organisers of the snooker tournament by KTSP as early as last month.
South China Morning Post
05-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Fans kicked out of Kai Tak Arena early at World Snooker Grand Prix due to curfew
Kai Tak Sports Park bosses kicked snooker fans out of the World Grand Prix mid-way through Kyren Wilson's late-night clash with Matthew Selt on Tuesday, because they said it was time for them to go home. Advertisement Officials had instituted a midnight curfew for the venue to coincide with public transport stopping for the night, and would not change their minds The World Snooker Tour said spectators had been 'required to leave early before the match concluded'. Organisers issued an apology in the early hours of Wednesday and said the situation would not happen again, adding they had 'actively communicated with the venue operator' and fans would be allowed to stay should matches run late during the rest of the tournament. Wilson battled back from 3-2 down to beat Selt 4-3 in a thrilling finish, but his management team were less than impressed with the situation, posting on X: 'Literally, fans HAVE to leave, due to policies. You can't make it up!' The Post has contacted Kai Tak for comment.
BBC News
23-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Selt given suspended ban for 'aggressive' behaviour
Matthew Selt has been given a three-month suspended ban and fined £10,000 for "rude and aggressive" behaviour at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Englishman was charged with three breaches of governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) code of conduct at September's event in angrily conceded defeat against China's Pang Junxu in the fourth round after missing a straightforward pot, losing world number 30 was accused of displaying aggressive behaviour and using rude and abusive language towards an executive from promoter Matchroom and a fellow WPBSA 39-year-old, who is vice-chairman of the WPBSA players' association, was also accused of sending an abusive text to a fellow WPBSA said Selt accepted all three charges and has made a "full and wholehearted apology" to the persons also accepted that Selt was under "a significant amount of stress and pressure" at the suspension will be activated if there are further breaches before the end of the 2025-26 well as the fine, Selt was ordered to pay £11,000 towards the WPBSA's legal costs.
