Latest news with #Wakelin
Daily Record
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Chris Wakelin shows no sympathy for Zhao Xintong over ban saying 'I don't make silly mistakes'
Chris Wakelin saw his dreams of World Championship glory end at the hands of one of snooker's most controversial characters. But the Englishman has tipped China's Zhao Xintong to make history by becoming the first ever Chinese world champion . Despite admitting that he has no sympathy for him, after a 20 month ban for betting offences. Ranked ninth in the world when the scandal shocked snooker , Zhao found himself unable to compete for more than a year - before returning on the amateur circuit. Still classed as an amateur, he faced four 19 frame qualifiers just to earn his spot in Sheffield. But he's taken full advantage with some stunning displays, and a semi-final epic with hero Ronnie O'Sullivan now looms on the horizon. Asked about how difficult returning from a ban to compete at elite level would be for Zhao, Wakelin told SportsBoom : "I don't know because I've not been suspended. "I don't do silly things. I don't make silly mistakes. We're all aware of the dangers when we get on tour. You get involved in that sort of thing, you're gonna get punished for it, you learn a hard lesson. 'He is back on tour now, but he has missed out on two years in his mid-twenties, which should be the golden stage in his career. 'I've had no doubt that he'll go on to have several successes down the line now that he is back. But it was really stupid, the whole situation for all those guys that got involved. But in terms of where Zhao's going, I think he's got his better days in front of him now. "He served his time, you know, the WPBSA dealt with it externally, the whole case was dealt with in a professional way. They did exactly what they should have done. 'He served that sentence, he's more than welcome to come back and try his best again because he's a great asset to our sport. He just needs to stay on the right side of things." Despite showing absolutely no sympathy for his ban, Wakelin does believe that snooker has benefited from Zhou's return - and has backed him to make history as the sport's first ever Chinese world champion. He joked: "He was terrible yesterday, but I was just extra terrible. 'This was a big pressure match for both of us, getting through to that one table setup, that is the dream. So, it's almost like winning the tournament getting through to the semi-finals. 'We all know how talented Zhao is. He's a fabulous kid as well, he is great, he's got a great smile and he's very tenacious out there. 'His talent is just off the scale, some of the balls that he knocks in and the opportunities that he's created. He does things that a lot of players on tour aren't capable of. 'There's no reason at all that he can't go on to lift the trophy this week. I think it would be amazing for snooker if he did. 'We all know the troubles that he's faced over the last couple of years, hopefully now that's behind him and he can do himself proud in the semi-finals.'
Wales Online
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
World Snooker Championship star and wife in disagreement after £50,000 win
World Snooker Championship star and wife in disagreement after £50,000 win Disagreements come with the territory in married life, but one star at the World Snooker Championship is currently having a unique quarrel with his other half One snooker star has a lot of convincing he needs to do (Image: Tai Chengzhe, VCG via Getty Images ) Chris Wakelin has pocketed a cool £50,000 for his impressive run to the World Snooker Championship quarter-finals - and is eyeing even more. Wakelin, 33, is enjoying the best run of his snooker career at the Crucible. He has already had an incredible tournament, knocking out 2010 world champion Neil Robertson and World No.8 Mark Allen. Wakelin had only made three appearances at the World Championship prior to this year and had lost in the first-round every time. He has been one of the breakout stars at the Crucible and will pocket prize money unlike any he has ever seen before. His displays also look set to open many sponsorship doors, which will only bring in more paycheques. All he and his wife need to do is decide what they would like to do with the money. His stellar performance in Sheffield has caught the eye of Hot Tubs of London, and they've promised him a "massive" hot tub, regardless of how he fares in the quarter-finals. Wakelin is thrilled by the prospect, despite a little domestic debate with his wife Lucy about whether their garden shed should be sacrificed to make space. He said: "Jamie, who owns Hot Tubs of London, has promised me a hot tub. "Unfortunately we have got a shed in the garden at the minute, which Lucy thinks is more important than a hot tub. But who knows? Article continues below "I think we'll end up getting a hot tub in the garden at some point. We have got a great partnership. We'll have to make a deal." Wakelin will surely be disappointed if he cannot get his hot tub (Image: Getty Images ) Wakelin, who has a mountain to climb after finishing the second session trailing Zhao Xintong 12-4, is not just taken by the prize money but also the sheer size of the hot tub. He even visited Essex to check them out and came away impressed. He said: "I went down to see the showroom last year, the ones that Jamie sells are a bit different from normal hot tubs. Why are they so different? They are massive. I didn't know hot tubs could come that big. "But as much as I'd love to have a swimming pool in my back garden, I can't swim. When I started running a couple of years ago, a friend of mine suggested I should do a triathlon. He gave me my bike to ride for a few weeks – but I fell off it. Wakelin has it all to do against Zhao (Image: Getty Images ) Article continues below "He then said: 'What about swimming?' I said: 'I can't swim, so all the best for that one.' I won't be doing any triathlons any time soon." Wakelin, who used to work full-time as a delivery driver for ASDA before turning professional, has the chance to boost his winnings significantly by overcoming Zhao's lead. If he makes it to the semi-finals, he could pocket an extra £100,000. Should he reach the final, he's looking at a guaranteed £200,000, and the top prize is an eye-watering £500,000.
Metro
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Metro
O'Sullivan and Trump take control of their World Championship quarter-finals
Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump enjoyed good starts to their World Snooker Championship quarter-finals on Tuesday afternoon, both leading after their opening sessions. The Rocket is still struggling to find his best form, but is doing more than enough at the minute at the Crucible, leading Si Jiahui 6-2. As was the case in his first two rounds, O'Sullivan's opponent has performed well below his best, meaning the 49-year-old has not really had to fire to be in the lead. Facing the seven-time world champion is a huge task, especially on the sport's most iconic stage, with the aura and presence of O'Sullivan seemingly damaging his opponents as much as his potting. However, the Rocket did start to show his unparalleled quality at the end of the session, making a brilliant 67 to win the seventh and then 121 to claim the eighth. O'Sullivan is playing with a new cue this tournament, with his long potting looking a bit suspect over the first two rounds, but with a long pot success of 92 per cent in this session will be a boost for him. On the other side of the divide on Tuesday afternoon Trump continued the impressive form he has shown so far in Sheffield, leading Luca Brecel 5-3. The world number one was fantastic in beating Zhou Yuelong 10-4 and then Shaun Murphy 13-10, and started his match with the Bullet brilliantly. The Ace fired in breaks of 71, 106, 110 and 87 on his way to building a good early lead at 4-1. However, the 2023 champion is also feeling pretty good and responded with efforts of 68 and a tremendous 128 to keep things very interesting indeed. The quarter-finals got underway on Tuesday morning, with two contrasting matches on either side of the arena floor. On one table there could scarcely be any more experience as four-time champion John Higgins faced three-time winner Mark Williams. The other table featured two players in their first ever Crucible quarter-finals as Zhao Xintong had to contend with the conqueror of Neil Robertson and Mark Allen: Chris Wakelin. Higgins is 5-3 up on his old Class of 92 rival, but that will not be troubling Williams too much in a race to 13. There were worries early on as the Welshman made a number of errors and found himself 5-1 behind, in danger of ending the session a long way behind, but breaks of 104 and 59 in the last two frames kept him in touch. Zhao leads Wakelin 6-2, but it could have been very different if the Englishman had kept up the form he showed against Robertson and Allen. Wakelin took the first frame with a 93 and looked really good, but wilted afterwards, losing six frames on the spin, four of which were close and he could easily have claimed. More Trending He nicked the last of the session to make sure it wasn't a disaster of a morning, but he has a lot of work to do to get back into contention. The encouraging news for the Wakelin camp is that Zhao has not been at his incredible break-building best, making just two half-centuries in the eight frames on Tuesday morning. The four quarter-final matches all come to an end on Wednesday, with the semi-finals then running over three days from Thursday to Saturday. MORE: Stephen Hendry points what Ronnie O'Sullivan does that irritates other players MORE: Ben Woollaston rates Si Jiahui's chances against Ronnie O'Sullivan after Crucible scrap MORE: Judd Trump defends Luca Brecel from criticism ahead of mouth-watering Crucible clash
The Sun
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Sun
‘Have to make a deal' – World Snooker Championship ace Chris Wakelin begs wife to ditch garden shed for gift off sponsor
CHRIS WAKELIN faces a big battle at home – to persuade his wife to agree to a free hot tub. Where F1 drivers have commercial deals with top fashion firms and tennis stars have tie-ins with Rolex watches, snooker stars must look more local for their financial backers. 2 This has been the best season of Wakelin's life, as he broke into the world's top 20, made the International Championship final, appeared at the Masters for the first time and reached the Crucible quarter-finals. His career-defining displays have meant huge exposure for his top sponsors, Hot Tubs of London, who are actually based in the Essex town of Maldon. On their website, the company 'specialise in swim spas, hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, chill tubs and decking'. Given his improvements and additional TV appearances, Wakelin, 33, has been promised a super-duper hot tub at some point, regardless of how he does at the World Snooker Championship. But his partner Lucy is not yet convinced given the lack of space in their garden. Father-of-one Wakelin, who hails from Rugby, said: 'Jamie, who owns Hot Tubs of London, has promised me a hot tub. 'Unfortunately we have got a shed in the garden at the minute, which Lucy thinks is more important than a hot tub. But who knows? 'I think we'll end up getting a hot tub in the garden at some point. We have got a great partnership. We'll have to make a deal. 'I went down to see the showroom last year. The ones that Jamie sells are a bit different from normal hot tubs. 'Why are they so different? They are massive. I didn't know hot tubs could come that big. 'But as much as I'd love to have a swimming pool in my back garden, I can't swim. 'When I started running a couple of years ago, a friend of mine suggested I should do a triathlon. He gave me my bike to ride for a few weeks – but I fell off it. 'He then said: 'What about swimming?' I said: 'I can't swim, so all the best for that one.' I won't be doing any triathlons any time soon.' Meanhile, Wakelin is taking on Chinese sensation Zhao Xintong in the quarter finals at the Crucible. He was trailing 6-2 after the opening session.
The Irish Sun
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Have to make a deal' – World Snooker Championship ace Chris Wakelin begs wife to ditch garden shed for gift off sponsor
CHRIS WAKELIN faces a big battle at home – to persuade his wife to agree to a free hot tub. Where F1 drivers have commercial deals with top fashion firms and tennis stars have tie-ins with Rolex watches, snooker stars must look more local for their financial backers. 2 Wakelin is up against it at home despite his brilliant run on the table Credit: Getty This has been the best season of Wakelin's life, as he broke into the world's top 20, made the International Championship final, appeared at the Masters for the first time and reached the Crucible quarter-finals. His career-defining displays have meant huge exposure for his top sponsors, Hot Tubs of London, who are actually based in the Essex town of Maldon. On their website, the company 'specialise in swim spas, hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, chill tubs and decking'. Given his improvements and additional TV appearances, READ MORE SNOOKER But his partner Lucy is not yet convinced given the lack of space in their garden. Father-of-one Wakelin, who hails from Rugby, said: 'Jamie, who owns Hot Tubs of London, has promised me a hot tub. BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS 'Unfortunately we have got a shed in the garden at the minute, which Lucy thinks is more important than a hot tub. But who knows? Most read in Snooker 'I think we'll end up getting a hot tub in the garden at some point. We have got a great partnership. We'll have to make a deal. 'I went down to see the showroom last year. The ones that Jamie sells are a bit different from normal hot tubs. 'Why are they so different? They are massive. I didn't know hot tubs could come that big. Fans baffled as referee makes incredible blunder at World Snooker Championship while respotting pink in O'Sullivan clash 'But as much as I'd love to have a swimming pool in my back garden, I can't swim. 'When I started running a couple of years ago, a friend of mine suggested I should do a triathlon. He gave me my bike to ride for a few weeks – but I fell off it. 'He then said: 'What about swimming?' I said: 'I can't swim, so all the best for that one.' I won't be doing any triathlons any time soon.' Meanhile, Wakelin is taking on 2 Zhao Xintong is looking in superb form Credit: Getty World Snooker Championship 2025 WE are BACK at the Crucible for another thrilling fortnight of snooker action! There will be a new champion this year after reigning champ You can follow every frame of the tournament LIVE - plus the latest news, interviews and reaction - as it happens with our dedicated BLOG. Latest News Snooker Explained FULL schedule and results for 2025 How much prize money can be won? Who are the BBC snooker presenters and pundits?
