Snooker 900 lands in China, and Ronnie cuts the ribbon
Afternoon from London. Something a bit different to lead with at lunchtime. Snooker 900, the shot-clock format Ronnie O'Sullivan has been banging the drum for all year, has crossed to China. Its first Chinese stop opened in Changsha yesterday with a ceremony and exhibitions, and the main draw starts today at the Changsha Red Star International Convention Centre. It runs until 14 October.
O'Sullivan was there for the launch and played an exhibition for the local crowd, but he isn't in the draw. He won the first Global Snooker 900 Championship in Reading back in May and has been its loudest supporter ever since.
The entry is what makes this one interesting. Per Sina Sports and reports from the launch, 224 players have entered, with pros and amateurs mixed together in one draw, and anyone aged from 8 to 70 could sign up. The prize fund is ¥900,000 (yuan), with ¥300,000 to the winner.
If you haven't seen it, here's how it works:
- Every frame is capped at 900 seconds (15 minutes), and the higher score when the clock runs out wins.
- You get 20 seconds for each shot.
- Any foul gives your opponent ball in hand anywhere on the table.
- If a frame finishes level, it's settled by a sudden-death shootout on the blue.
The organisers say there'll be four Chinese stops and a Grand Final this season, with ¥1 million for the overall winner. It's not part of the World Snooker Tour, so there are no ranking points, just money. O'Sullivan, 13th in the official rankings, says he expects to play a lot more of it. The real test is whether Chinese crowds take to it.
Goseong: 1,536 players, and a prize pot cut by three-quarters
One of Korea's big national events starts today. The Goseong County Cup national billiards championship runs from today until Sunday in South Gyeongsang, and Billiards & Sports reports a huge entry of 1,536: 593 elite players and 943 club players across carom and pocket billiards. There's a K-Billiards Division League team competition running alongside it too.
Two names stand out. Cho Myung-woo, the world No.1 at three-cushion, is going for back-to-back titles and a third Goseong win overall. He beat Heo Jung-han 50–32 in last year's final, and last month he won the Lier World Cup in Belgium, beating Dick Jaspers 50–38. That was his third World Cup title of the season and his sixth in all.
Seo Seoa is also back on home soil for the first time in about seven months, fresh from finishing runner-up to Chou Chieh-yu at the Women's World 9-Ball Championship in Bali on Sunday. Her last domestic event was in March, when she won the women's 10-ball, and she won the Women's World 10-Ball Open in Austria in June.
The less happy story is the money. The men's carom winner gets ₩5 million this year, down from ₩20 million in 2025. The women's carom and pocket winners get ₩2 million, down from ₩8 million. Billiards & Sports puts it down to the former Korea Billiards Federation president Seo Soo-gil stepping down. The bigger prizes had been backed by SOOP, the president's company. The federation elected a new president on 1 October. The pocket event has also switched from 10-ball to 9-ball this year, and snooker and English billiards have moved to a separate Grand Prix. SOOP and IB Sports have the broadcast.
Ahmedabad is under way, and India know who they're up against
We previewed the Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships properly this morning, so here's just what's new. PTI reports that the second edition opened today with 144 players from 42 nations, split evenly between 72 men and 72 women, and 10 medal events across English billiards, snooker, 10-ball, heyball and blackball.
The visiting field gives the home squad plenty to think about. PTI names England's Kelly Fisher and Rebecca Kenna, Wales's Darren Morgan, South Africa's Craig Bouwer and Malaysia's Lim Kok Leong among the big names. WCBS vice-president Mubarak Al-Khayarin told the launch press conference: "The Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships represent an important occasion for the sport, and we are delighted to see this year's edition take place in Ahmedabad." The last 16 is played tomorrow.
Blackball: a family affair for South Africa
Here's one I liked. The Post in Durban reports that Erin Lazarus, 23, her father Ian and her uncle Graeme have all qualified to represent South Africa at the WPA Blackball World Championship at the Thistle Hotel in London, 20 to 28 October. Erin plays in the ladies' division, and the brothers play in the over-60s.
Her dad first put a cue in her hands when she was 16. She has since won KwaZulu-Natal, South African and world doubles titles. "It means everything that I get to do this with my family as well," she said. "I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of pool," she added. The family fly to London on 18 October.
It's a busy month for the game. The separate IBF World Championships are in Cape Town from 24 October to 1 November, and the Gibraltar Chronicle says four Gibraltar players have been picked for the Ultimate Blackball Match there, the British & Irish Lions against the Rest of the World. They are Stacey Napoli, Nicky Correa and Jenny Rumbado for the ladies and James Patterson for the men. Gibraltar has also been confirmed as host of the EBA European Cup, 24 to 30 October 2027.
National champions, from San Jose to Singapore
The WPBSA's latest international update has caught up on a stack of amateur national snooker titles. My pick of them:
- USA: Renat Denkha completed a hat-trick of national titles, beating Hasanain Alsultani 5–4 in a deciding frame at the PABSA Academy in San Jose. That's 23 matches unbeaten in the event.
- Canada: Edward Ling won his first national title in Toronto, also 5–4 in a decider against Cheukyin Kwan.
- Ireland: David Morris won his sixth Irish amateur title, beating Ryan Cronin 7–3 in Carlow.
- Denmark: Daniel Kandi won his tenth Danish title, whitewashing Alfred Melbye 5–0 in Aarhus with a top break of 77 in the final.
- Italy: Gianmarco Tonini won his fifth Italian title and his third in a row, beating Marco Palmieri 5–2 in Treviso.
- Singapore: Bernard Tey Choon Kiat came from 2–0 down to beat Marvin Lim Chun Kiat 4–2, from a field of 79.
There were also titles for Viktor Iliev in Bulgaria, who retained his title 5–4 even though George Petrunko made the top break of the final, a 105. Filips Kalnins won in Latvia (5–0) and Niel Vincent in France (5–4).
Goyang: a first meeting for Kim Ga-young, and a split result for a married couple
First, the promise from this morning. I still haven't seen a confirmed result for Daniel Sánchez against wildcard Ko Jun-seo from a source I trust, so I won't guess. It'll be in tonight's update.
What we do know is that Kim Ga-young, going for a third straight Crown Haitai LPBA title, plays Kang Yu-jin in the last 16 tomorrow. Billiards & Sports says it's their first ever meeting on the LPBA tour. Kang reached her first final at the last tour event, where she lost 4–2 to Park Jung-hyun.
There was also a mixed day for a married couple at the Kintex. Park Da-som came from a set down to beat Choi Hye-mi 3–1 and reach the LPBA last 16, where she plays Lim Kyung-jin. On the next table, her husband Lee Sang-dae came back from two sets down against Hwang Deuk-hee, then lost the shootout 2–1 on a bank shot.
Where to watch / What's next
- Goyang (PBA 128, day two): Choi Sung-won v Lee Chan-hyung and Kim Young-won v Cho Byung-wook are in the 22:30 Korean slot (14:30 BST) on BilliardsTV. LPBA last 16 tomorrow.
- Ahmedabad (to Sat 10 Oct): the last 16 tomorrow, then the quarters and semis on Friday and the finals on Saturday. Live pool scores are on DigitalPool.
- Changsha (to 14 Oct): Snooker 900 Open, main draw from today.
- Goseong (to Sun 11 Oct): Goseong County Cup, carom and pocket, on SOOP and IB Sports.
- Sydney (8–11 Oct): Q Tour Asia-Pacific event four, the Australian Open at Mounties, 112 players including past event winners Vinnie Calabrese and Hassan Kerde. The first session is at 09:00 Sydney time on Thursday, which is 23:00 BST tonight. Scores are on WPBSA SnookerScores.
- Bristol, Tennessee (7–11 Oct): WPBA Borderline Brunswick/Pechauer Invitational, $20,000 added.
- Further out: WPA Blackball Worlds in London from 20 October, IBF World Championships in Cape Town from 24 October.
Have you played the 900 format, or would you? And if your club's had a national champion through the door, tell us below.
— Reggie Rutherford
Sources: Sina Sports, The Sun, SnookerHQ, Billiards & Sports (Korea), Edaily, PTI / Rediff, WCBS, The Post (IOL), Gibraltar Chronicle, WPBSA, WPBSA SnookerScores, WPBA / AzBilliards, AzBilliards.
Feature image: “To pot the red” by MichaelMaggs, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.
