Surprise wins and Saudi Expansion

With the first round of the Northern Ireland Open wrapping up this week after a quiet period without any snooker matches, it’s time for a new issue of Snooker Weekly. The first round of the Northern Ireland Open was quite spectacular, with many remarkable wins—the victory of Jimmy White over Hossein Vafaei being perhaps the most surprising. The final frame was not without controversy, with both players taken aback by a called foul. Ironically, Luca Brecel, traveling back and forth between Belfast and Mallorca, still managed to win his first match of the tournament.

🇸🇦 Big steps in Saudi Arabian snooker
Saudi Arabia has made a big splash in snooker with the opening of the Ronnie O'Sullivan Snooker Academy in Riyadh. O'Sullivan launched the academy in Boulevard City, which features five Star Xingpai tables and will be run by former pro Nigel Bond. Saudi Arabia has already hosted two major snooker tournaments this year, with huge prize money, and the academy is part of a plan to boost local talent and coaching.

O'Sullivan is excited to help fast-track young players in Saudi, planning to visit regularly, while Bond will oversee daily operations. WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson praised the academy for raising the profile of snooker in the Middle East, bringing it to a more professional level. The project has big ambitions, though it's still to be seen how it will compare to major centers like Sheffield.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship returns this December with a $1 million bonus for a golden 167 break, making it one of the most lucrative events in the sport. Featuring the world’s top 10 players and two wildcards, the winner will take home £250,000. Last year's inaugural event saw Ronnie O’Sullivan defeat Luca Brecel and create headlines with a unique gold ball rule.

🔀 In other news

• Dave Gilbert is questioning snooker rules, suggesting changes like shortening finals, scrapping "the worst rule ever," and even banning a specific type of bow tie.

• Nick Metcalfe wonders why don't more tournaments have fixed venues.

• David Grace is fighting for his tour card this season after a really tough time off the table.

• The World Grand Prix will be played in Hong Kong and prize money is increased by 80%.

• Jordan Brown tells about his ‘terrible couple of years’ in an interview with Phil Haigh.

🎙️ Snooker podcast episodes
It was a busy week for snooker podcasts, offering hours of entertainment on your favorite podcast app.

• The Wine Rack reflects on the Wuhan Open and moans about the WST calendar and its seeming lack of clarity and direction.

• BBC’s Framed has Allan Taylor as a guest, who talks about his entertaining career and the “fire” that still burns for snooker.

• In The Onefourseven Podcast Shaun and Phil talk about the Wuhan Open, Chris Wakelin’s travelling woes, Stephen Lee, Ronnie’s “first ever” snooker academy, cheese, and more!

• In the latest Talking Snooker Phil and Nick catch up with your correspondence. Subjects include Kyren Wilson's British Open complaints, the form of John Higgins and where to sit at the forthcoming UK Championship.

• Snooker Club are joined by Alan McManus, where the trio give their controversial Hot Takes from the season so far and reveal the best and worst performances of their careers.

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Thanks for reading, and see you next week!