Why Ronnie O’Sullivan is set to play snooker on Christmas Day for second straight year
Snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan admits he is thrilled to be following in the footsteps of fellow icons Jimmy White, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry by playing snooker in Hong Kong.
After announcing plans to compete at the Macau Snooker Masters over the festive period, O’Sullivan also said he was relishing the chance to chase the World Grand Prix title in Hong Kong in March.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is set to compete in a lucrative exhibition event on Christmas Day in Macau after praising tournament organisers in Asia and the Middle East for “taking care” of professional snooker players.
The seven-time world champion has been granted residency of Hong Kong ahead of his title quest at the World Grand Prix at the new Kai Tak Sports Park venue in the city in March.
O’Sullivan is also heading to Macau for a second straight year to compete in the Chinese resort city’s Masters event over Christmas (December 25-28) with world champion Kyren Wilson, world No. 1 Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, Stuart Bingham, Jak Jones, Jack Lisowski and Si Jiahui also in the starting line-up at the Wynn Palace.
“I think just the way the tournaments are organised, the promotions, the promoters..they put on a great event. And as a professional, that’s really important for a player, to feel that you’re looked after, and taken care of,” O’Sullivan told reporters.
“I think nobody probably does that better than Hong Kong, China, Macau and the Middle East.
“The Middle East do a very, very good job of making sure the players have a good time.”
The Hong Kong Masters will be the first ranking event held in Hong Kong since 1989, and O’Sullivan says he is happy to be following in the footsteps of fellow icons Jimmy White, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry by committing his time to the region.
“They love and know snooker, they’re a very knowledgeable crowd,” said O’Sullivan, who claimed the Hong Kong Masters before a world-record 9,000 crowd two years ago.
“Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry came in the 1980s, and Jimmy White said there’s no better place to play snooker than Hong Kong.”
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan is set to return to competitive action at the International Championship in Nanjing (3-10 November) when he faces former women’s world champion Mink Nutcharut on Sunday morning at 6am live on Eurosport and discovery+