Category Archives: Snooker

‘The whole country is proud’: Chinese snooker fans hail Zhao Xintong triumph

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Crowning of country’s first world champion set to give fresh boost to sport that has boomed in popularity in China

Chain smoking under the fluorescent lights of a cavernous billiards hall in Beijing, Brother Yuan can’t stop smiling. The previous day, along with 150 million other people across China, he had been at home watching the snooker world championships final. Now he’s with his fellow cue-heads, celebrating the win of China’s first snooker world champion, Zhao Xintong.

“He’s a great role model for young people in China,” Yuan, 55, says of the generation Z upstart who on Monday claimed snooker’s top prize. “He’s bringing the excitement back.”

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Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott faces sexual abuse charges

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  • The 47-year-old is charged with abuse of a boy and a girl
  • He defeated Peter Ebdon to win 2006 world title

The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been accused of sexually abusing children. The 47-year-old is facing charges of sexual abuse against a boy and a girl.

Court papers allege he abused the girl in Glasgow between 1993 and 1996.

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Snookered by China? Masters tournament owner plots Asia expansion

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World Snooker and PDC World Darts owner Matchroom weighs up India and south-east Asia amid feared overreliance on China

The owner of the Masters snooker tournament is plotting an expansion trail across Asia after the pandemic exposed the company’s reliance on China, its chair has revealed.

Steve Dawson, the chief executive of World Snooker Ltd, told the Guardian it was considering staging tournaments in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, after its business was held back by three years of Beijing-imposed Covid lockdowns.

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Are we facing a summer of sporting protests? – podcast

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High-profile protests at the Grand National and the World Snooker Championships made headlines around the country; the London Marathon could be next. Sean Ingle and Damien Gayle report on what sporting stunts can achieve – and whether the authorities can stop them

It began with a protest at Britain’s biggest horse racing event. Members of the activist group Animal Rising scaled the fences at Aintree and attempted to stop the Grand National. As stewards and fans intervened, the protest managed only to delay the race for 14 minutes. As if to help prove the protesters’ point, one of the horses in the race was killed in a fall.

As chief sports reporter Sean Ingle tells Nosheen Iqbal, it was followed just days later by a stunt by another activist group. This time the target was the World Snooker Championship; play was postponed when a Just Stop Oil protester managed to clamber on to the the snooker table and launch an orange powder bomb over proceedings. This weekend, all eyes will be on the London Marathon.

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‘I was the king of sabotage’: Ronnie O’Sullivan on controversy, comebacks and becoming a carer

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The greatest, most charismatic snooker player of all time prefers long-distance running. He discusses drugs, breakdowns, victory – and his unexpected new career path

Ronnie O’Sullivan is driving over from Essex and says he’s bringing a friend. “Gloria’s with me. She’s brilliant. She picks me up when I’m properly on the floor.” It’s only two days since he won the World Snooker Championship – his sixth triumph in the sport’s biggest contest. Why would he be on the floor?

“You must be happy,” I say, when he arrives at my house – he pocketed £500,000 along with the trophy. He laughs. “You know what? I got up this morning and I felt a bit low. And I remembered every time I win a big tournament it puts me on a low. But I’ve accepted it. It’s just part of any high.” Typical Ronnie.

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‘Whoopee cushion’ disrupts final before Stuart Bingham wins Masters snooker

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  • Perpetrator expelled after referee airs grievances
  • Stuart Bingham beats Ali Carter 10-8 in final

Stuart Bingham won the Masters 10-8 but one of the biggest days in the snooker calendar was briefly disrupted by an electronic “whoopee cushion” in the crowd.

“Play momentarily stopped at Alexandra Palace. Looks like someone has planted a whoopee cushion inside the arena and it keeps going off making a ‘poooooop’ sound. Crowd laugh, Bingham not happy,” tweeted BBC journalist Shamoon Hafez.

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