German Masters 2012 SF – Ronnie beats Stephen Lee 6-4

The match wasn’t a classic by any means, both players playing some fantastic shots but also making a mess of what looked like straightforward shots at times. Ronnie lead 3-1 at the MSI and 5-2 but then appeared to struggle for concentration and made it hard work to finish it. Lee’s confidence on the contrary was growing and he was potting some really scary difficult ones. The suspense lasted to the last ball …
Ronnie later revealed that he is suffering from glandular fever since end November and was feeling really exhausted. He duly praised Lee saying he had a good season and was playing some excellent match snooker. Let’s hope he can get some rest before the final where he will face either Stephen Maguire or Shaun Murphy.

You can listen to Ronnie’s press conference after the match here

German Masters 2012 QF – Ronnie beats Matthew Stevens 5-3

Ronnie looked as if his run in the tournament would end in the quarters when he was 1-3 down at the MSI and missing easy balls right, left and centre. But as it happens, the MSI came at the right time for him and he came back fighting. He crucially won the fifth frame to trail only 2-3 and from there he was able to put his opponent under pressure and he never looked back winning 5-3. He made breaks of 88, 62, 56 and 54 while his opponent only scored 52 points in losing the last four frames.

turning point of the match – winning the first frame after the MSI

German Masters 2012 Round 2 – Ronnie beats Joe Perry 5-1

Ronnie beat Joe Perry very convincingly this afternoon by a score of 5-1 and compiling 2 centuries in the process (110 and 123).
He refused to get carried away though, saying that he was just happy to be through and scoring heavily. He praised his opponent, saying that Joe is a tough player and that he’s having a good season, so he had to play well to beat him.
He will play Matthew Stevens in the quarters tonight.

Listen to Ronnie’s press conference after the match here

German Masters 2012 Round 1- Ronnie wins 5-4 against Andrew Higginson

Ronnie won a dramatic match this afternoon against Andrew Higginson. Andrew lead 4-0 at the MSI without Ronnie doing much wrong actually. Andrew was playing excellently.
After the MSI Ronnie came back fighting and clearly determined to make it a game. The turning point of the match was probably frame 6 where Andrew was 63-0 up, snookered himself on the red he wanted to play and let Ronnie in. From there Ronnie made a magnificent pressure clearance to win the frame. He was still 2-4 down but now the pressure was on Andrew … and Ronnie won the last 3 to secure a very important win.

Listen to Ronnie’s press conference after the match here

Masters 2012 – Ronnie loses to Judd Trump in the last 8

Ronnie lost to Judd Trump by 6-2 in the last 8 of the Masters 2012 this afternoon.
Judd totally dominated the first mini session and headed to the MSI leading 4-0. It was a case of Judd serving a snooker master class rather than Ronnie playing badly. One missed black off the spot, one split going wrong and two or three loosish safeties, that’s all it took. Given half a chance, Judd punished every mistake severely.
After the MSI Ronnie came back fighting, did make it a game and served the fans some very good snooker of his own. He took the fifth frame to make it 4-1, potting an extremely difficult pink in the middle pocket to start the break that ultimately allowed him to win that frame. Then after losing the sixth, being 5-1 down, he produced a marvelous 141, highest break of the tournament, not a mean feat when you are with your back against the wall.

After the match, Ronnie praised his opponent, stating clearly that Judd was the better player in that match, played to a very high standard.

He scored heavily, potted some fantastic balls and under pressure made some good clearances, so all credit has to go to him,’ ‘He’s performed better than me on the day and deserved his victory.
‘When someone’s scoring as well as he is and full of confidence, it’s hard to stop them.’

He also said that himself gave it 100%, couldn’t do more than trying his best but it wasn’t enough.

Congratulations to Judd for the win, fully deserved and impressive.
Congratulations also to Ronnie for the spirited fight back, the discipline and commitment. That was great to watch, as was the 141, currently the HB of the tournament.

No dilemma over China

Ronnie says:

With reference to my article on the BBC website talking about “my dilemma over China”..

When I gave my interview with the BBC it was my intention to talk about the way I am continuing to balance my playing career with my personal life.

At the time I spoke to them I did not know there were to be five ranking events in China, and this is good news for the game.

However it’s not right to say I “admitted” that I am “unlikely to play in China”. I love the country and its fans and people and it’s somewhere I love travelling to.

I am still going to continue to balance my professional and personal lives but if I have to make a choice I would place my playing schedule in China first.

Masters 2012 – Ronnie defeats Ding Junhui in the last 16

Ronnie faced a tough task taking Ding Junhui, the defending champion, in the opening match of the tournament. He started strongly building a 4-1 lead before Ding came back at him and made it 4-4. It looked as if Ding had the momentum when frame 9 got underway but Ronnie kept his discipline and made it 5-4 with a break of 51 before finishing the match with a wonderful 125.

It was a high quality match from both and a very enjoyable start of the tournament. Ronnie was watched by his mother and his two young children Lily Jo and Ronnie Jr.

Some quotes by Ronnie after the match

speaking about his current standing in the rankings and how he sees his career in the future

‘I know I’m not ready for the qualifiers, ‘I know I’m too good to be playing the qualifiers and that’s not being big-headed.’
‘I was ready to retire last year. At this time last year I’d made my mind up’
‘Then I met Steve Peters and I didn’t want him really to be able to help me.
‘But he has, and I’ve been working with him and I’ve had a couple of blips along the way.
‘But he asked me to be honest with him, and each time I’ve been honest with him and we’ve found out I do want to play snooker – but I just want it on my terms.
‘I’m not prepared to travel 28, 29 weeks of the year, living out of a suitcase in hotel rooms.’
‘It’s quite lonely, particularly when you’ve got these (children) at home. So I’m not going to do that, and I’ve decided that if I have to qualify, I have to qualify. That’s the nature of how my life is.’
‘I’m still dedicated. I don’t see anyone play as hard as me practice-wise. Some of them are like part-time, they’re on their phones tweeting. I switch it off and it’s business.’

Speaking of the venue, the atmosphere and having his kids there

‘I like it, it’s different to Wembley,’
‘But it’s a great crowd and fantastic atmosphere out there.’

He admitted his son Ronnie had been a slight distraction at one stage, explaining:

‘I missed a red in the second frame and he was moving, so I said ‘Keep still’.
‘They were moving about and laughing and my mum was there and it was like a jolly day out.’

Ronnie will play Judd Trump or Stuart Bingham next … as he said with tongue firmly in cheek “Easy!”

Ronnie and Jimmy exhibition in Croydon – June 17, 2012

Press release –“Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White ‘break’ off in Croydon!”

We are excited to announce that 3 times World Snooker Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan will be playing with his great friend, and former World Seniors Champion, Jimmy ‘Whirlwind’ White.
Ronnie is undoubtedly the biggest name in Snooker and very rarely plays exhibitions so this is a great chance to see ‘The Rocket’ and ‘The Whirlwind’ go head to head. The date for this event is Sunday 17th June 2012
John Virgo will be on hand to provide expert analysis and generally keep the crowds entertained and leading referee Michaela Tabb will officiate on this special night with Snooker returning to Croydon.

VIP packages are available which guarantees the holder a prime seat at the event and entrance to the pre-event Champagne reception where you can meet Ronnie, Jimmy, Michaela and JV.
Tickets  on sale from January 16th, 2012, box office 020 8688 9291, or book online at www.fairfield.co.uk

This exhibition is produced by Snooker Legends in association with ROS147
Snooker Legends logo and all content copyright © 2012 Snooker Legends. All rights reserved

Ronnie and Jack in Bulgaria…

Ronnie and Jack (Lisowski) were yesterday in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia with their manager Django Fung.

They were to play an exhibition match in Sofia’s Arena-West cinema complex. Then Ronnie was to play three frames against local talents as part of Bulgarian-organized Black Ram Snooker Show.

Some 600 snooker fans attended the show, that was sold out well before the event.

Yesterday I asked Django to inform me about how the show was going and possibly to send me some pictures. As a (prompt) answer I got this

But about the actual snooker I know nothing yet …

Whatever, here are some videos

Ronnie and Jack press conference
Ronnie live on TV before the show
Event pictures album

If I happen to learn anything about scores, breaks … I’ll keep you posted guys.
Watch this space!

Thanks to Bulgarian fans who were there here we have a report! Much appreciated!

Ronnie made five centuries, I think they were 101, 105, 117, 110, 120.
They played a mixture of matches. First of all, Ronnie played one frame against a bulgarian player (of course Ron won).
Then, it was a match Team: O’Sullivan vs Team: Lisowski.
In each team were 2 players, one professional and one amateur.
Jack’s team won 3-0.
After that, the last one was Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Jack Lisowski.
Jack lead 3-1, but after the break, Rocket won 3-4. He showed a great game, many long pots, he potted the balls in middle of the pocket.

He said he’s enjoying the game and everything is going well… and that he will be very happy to improve his form and to win a big tournaments next year (2012).

And yes, he said he will give an autographs and a photos with the fans, but 600 people wanted this, it wasn’t possible for him to make all these wishes true. So he gave a few autographs and photos, but then more and more people made a queue, so the security group left the hall with Ronnie, normal.
So, I’m glad that I finally saw him playing live, he was in a very good mood, I just shaked his hand and I did greet him. That was it.

and

just to be correct Ronnie made 4 centuries 109, 103, 121 and 101 and the last 3 were made in the last 3 frames to make it from 1:3 for Jack to 4:3 for Ronnie ofcourse
and in the last frame he made some jokes with the referee poting the balls so fast that the referee could hardly managed to replace them on their spots

UK Championship 2011 – Ronnie loses to Judd Trump in the last 16

Ronnie lost a high quality match against Judd Trump yesterday, by 5-6. The match featured nine breaks over 50, including a 114 by Ronnie, and there was never more than one frame between the two players. It looked that the match might even go to a respotted black when Ronnie was fighting back from 67 down with 67 on the table in the decider. It was not to be as he ran out of position after getting a bad kick and consequently missed a very difficult black.
Ronnie was understandably disappointed and mainly pointed at poor beak-offs as being a flaw in his game.
But most of his press conference was devoted to a reflection on his life and career. He said:

“I feel in a very good place but I really can’t see me having much longer playing. I am in a good frame of mind. I don’t want to feel how I do when I play. My game’s not up to scratch, where it used to be. It’s not even playing, it’s how I feel in between games, in between tournaments. I’m feeling quite nervy and anxious a lot of time. I’ve had enough of the anxious times in between games and tournaments. Having those emotions going round, in general I find quite difficult. Even though I’m managing it in possibly the best way I’ve ever done.”

“I’m not saying this from an angry or hurt place, but sometimes the truth needs to be told. I’ve given it a really good go but I just want to enjoy my life. I’m 36 and would like to meet somebody, to share my time with somebody. Sometimes when I feel how I do in between tournaments, I find it very difficult for this to happen. This dominates my life a lot and there’s more to life. I’d like to meet someone and settle down, maybe do some other things and not have the anxious thoughts that have plagued me. Though it has got better, it still isn’t quite cutting it for me, but I’ll try to tough it out for a bit.”
“I will talk to (psychiatrist) Steve Peters, and for my own peace of mind I think there is life beyond snooker. Sometimes I have to see it how it is. I still want to work, I don’t want to wake up with nothing to do. I don’t want to be living on my own, travelling round the world on my own being anxious and lonely and carrying these emotions.”
“Feeling how I feel, I’ve not been in the right place for that. It’s important for me that I give myself that opportunity. I’m not an easy person to get along with when I’m playing snooker because sometimes I go into my own little world and carry my emotions. It’s not fair to put someone you want to be with through that.”
“For me to be the real Ronnie I need to get away from what is causing the problem.”

On a personal note I’d like to point out that what Ronnie expresses there is only very normal human desires. Also, bear in mind that the players are interviewed minutes after the match, and that, maybe, quotes made right on the back of a defeat should be taken with some perspective. But, should he decide to put an end to his carrier, as a fan, I would badly miss the beautiful player he is. But as a human person, I only want to see him happy and well within himself. He has only this life and he deserves so much. He’s achieved what he has – and it’s a lot – through very hard work and dedication for over more twenty years. He owes us nothing and has nothing to prove to anyone.

So for now, I wish Ronnie a nice and relaxing Xmas break and quality time with his loved ones … and hopefully see him back in the Masters refreshed and smiling.