Macau Snooker Masters: region the best hosts, says new Hong Kong resident Ronnie O’Sullivan
The 7-time world champion, who will face 6 players at the Macau Masters in December, says players love the fans and how events are organised
Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world that consistently put on ‘A grade’ tournaments, says Ronnie O’Sullivan, as he and several other players look ahead to the World Grand Prix in the city next year.
O’Sullivan, who has become a Hong Kong resident under the city’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, said many of the world’s biggest events were in Asia, and “everybody loves coming here”.
The prestigious World Grand Prix event in March will be held at the Kai Tak Sports Park, and marked the return of a ranking tournament to the city for the first time in 35 years.
“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,” said the seven-time world champion, who was in Macau on Thursday to mark the launch of the casino city’s Snooker Masters over Christmas.
“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.”
O’Sullivan said he loved coming to the region for fans who displayed a level of enthusiasm missing elsewhere.
“They love and know snooker, they’re a very knowledgeable crowd … [going back to the days when] Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry came in the 1980s, and Jimmy White said there’s no better place to play snooker than Hong Kong,” the 48-year-old said.
