Snooker fans angry as Ronnie O'Sullivan match delayed in 'chaotic' scenes - 'Ridiculous'

Snooker fans angry as Ronnie O'Sullivan match delayed in 'chaotic' scenes - 'Ridiculous'

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Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 25/03/2024

- 12:28

Updated: 25/03/2024

- 13:40

The 48-year-old's match did not start on time due to an issue with seating at the stadium

Snooker fans were left angry on Monday when a Ronnie O'Sullivan match in Hong Kong was delayed for almost an hour.

The Rocket was set to compete against Mark Williams at 1pm local time in the Hong Kong Snooker All-Star Challenge but fans were made to wait to see the stars in action.


O'Sullivan stayed in China after being knocked out of the World Open at the last-16 stage by Hossein Vafaei last week.

Judd Trump, fresh from winning the tournament in Yushan, was also present for the event alongside fellow Brit Jack Lisowski.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Snooker fans were made to wait to see Ronnie O'Sullivan in action in Hong Kong

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O'Sullivan was set to play the first game against three-time world champion Williams.

However, the pair didn't start their encounter until 1.51pm local time, 51 minutes later than originally scheduled.

According to the South China Morning Post, fans were left disgruntled by the setup of the chairs at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Some of the most expensive seats, costing around £341 (HK$3,380) each, put fans by the side of the snooker table and close to the players.

However, the chairs were not slanted and therefore made it difficult for fans in the back rows to see the balls on the table.

Some spectators were also stuck outside in long queues by the time the match between O'Sullivan and Williams was due to begin.

The executive president of the organisers Beyond Borders Sports Academy, Gentle Hui, said the price of the ticket did not guarantee a good view.

Hui said: "I think it’s hard to objectively describe what you should see with the HK$3,380 ticket.

"If you want to see the full table, a HK$880 ticket is actually a great option.

"A spectator needs to balance what they want, is it the close contact and a photo opportunity with the star players?

"If you want commentary, watching from the television is the best because you don’t get that inside the arena."

The 3,500-capacity arena was only partially filled for the opening match before organisers eventually allowed fans to pick their own seats.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan played Mark Williams at the Hong Kong Snooker All-Star Challenge

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One fan, Barry Leung, said the scenes were 'chaotic' at the stadium.

He said: "The arrangements were chaotic, we were all waiting downstairs outside at the 1pm start time.

"The seats were not correctly numbered and labelled, but this really should have been done long ago.

"It’s also ridiculous the seats for the most expensive tickets are placed horizontally, how are we supposed to watch, let alone the viewing angles if those seats are on the far ends."

Mark Williams

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams' match started almost an hour later than scheduled

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Hui recently said that tickets for the event were expensive because they didn't want to be funded by the government.

He said: “We would be accused of misusing public funds if we seek government funding.

"And then there will be accusations of us being too commercial [and charging too much for a ticket].

"If we asked for HK$200 per ticket, with 7,000 seats [over two days], do you really think we can invite such a class of players?"

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