City hosts start of new snooker season
- Source: Global Times
- [08:54 September 06 2010]
- Comments
Chinese snooker player Ding Junhui is approached by fans Sunday during the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Masters, which gets underway today. Photo: IC
By Shen Weihuang
Thousands of snooker fans are expected to fill the Shanghai Grand Stage this week for the 4th annual Shanghai Masters that opens the start of a new snooker season today, even though the UK's Ronnie O'Sullivan pulled out of the tournament in a last-minute decision over the weekend.
The World No.1 and defending champion cited family reasons as behind his eleventh hour call.
"This has been a very difficult decision to make, however, I have a very young family, and at this moment, I need to spend more time with them," he told World Snooker on Saturday. "I am truly sorry to my fans in China; I very much look forward to returning to China soon."
The premature departure of O'Sullivan - and the absence of World No.2 John Higgins, who is suspended from competition after admitting to taking bribes to lose frames earlier this year - puts added pressure on the Chinese mainland's favored shoe-in World No.7 Ding Junhui, according to Liu Peng, popular snooker commentator for Shanghai Sports Channel.
"With O'Sullivan and Higgins out of the picture, crowds are likely to cheer even louder for Ding," he told the Global Times Sunday. "Although Ding hasn't been practicing much lately, he's still got a good chance, especially now."
But Liu said that World No.3 Neil Robertson from Australia, could give Ding a good run.
A native of Wuxi, Ding, who is based in Sheffield, UK, is the first player outside Britain and Ireland to win the UK Championship - a prize the budding talent claimed in 2005, when he was 18.
Ding made it to the quarter-finals of Shanghai Masters last year, but joins the competition slightly disadvantaged this time around as he failed to make the Players Tour Championship (PTC) series earlier this year.
"I had a problem with my visa, and I wasn't able to get to the UK," Ding told local media. "Everyone else has been playing in the PTC events, so it might be difficult for me in Shanghai since I haven't played any matches. ... I'll just have to try hard to play well. I'm looking forward to it because the city's close to my home town and the support I get from my friends there is very special."
According to Shanghai Masters organizers, Ding's rise has done a lot to promote the lesser known sport in the city since the second-largest Chinese snooker tournament (after the China Open) debuted in 2007.
"We're still expecting a lot of fans," Pang Wenjuan, a spokesperson for Shanghai Masters, told the Global Times Sunday.
She added that all games O'Sullivan was scheduled to play have been long sold out. Other ticket sales, which range between 50 yuan ($7.40) to 2,150 yuan ($319.20) have been strong, she said.
"We're offering refunds for customers since O'Sullivan pulled out, but we don't think many will want their money back," she said. "Loyalty from snooker fans has been growing stronger, and returning fans get more into the game every time."
Wang Yihui, a snooker fan in the city, was surprised to find out that his favorite O'Sullivan is no longer coming.
"I can't believe it," he told the Global Times Sunday. "I tried to get a ticket, but all of his games were sold out."
Wang, who got hooked on snooker from watching games during his college years, said that he and his friends are nonetheless pumped about seeing who will rise to the opportunity, a showdown that concludes Sunday.
"I'll definitely be happy to cheer for Ding now," he said. "If I'm lucky I might get my hands on a ticket to see him in person."
In case Wang can't get his hands on a ticket, the Shanghai Masters will air live on Shanghai Sports Channel and CCTV-5 Sports.
Following the Shanghai Masters, the World Open, formerly known as the Grand Prix, will be staged in Glasgow later this month, to be proceeded by the UK Championship in Telford in December.
A new tournament in Berlin will be held before the Welsh Open, and then players travel east again for the China Open in Beijing.
The season climaxes with the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield next spring.
