{"id":6481,"date":"2026-04-12T11:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T11:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6481"},"modified":"2026-04-12T11:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T11:40:17","slug":"ronnie-osullivan-leading-tiktok-of-snooker-charge-with-900-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=6481","title":{"rendered":"Ronnie O’Sullivan leading ‘TikTok of snooker’ charge with 900 debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t<\/div>Ronnie O\u2019Sullivan has dipped his toe in Snooker 900 action this weekend (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The John Virgo Trophy this weekend has seen Ronnie O\u2019Sullivan make his Snooker 900 debut, a format dubbed the \u2018TikTok of snooker\u2019 by creator Jason Francis.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a heavyweight line-up at Goffs in County Kildare, Ireland as Stephen Hendry, John Higgins and Mark Williams are also in action in the fast-paced event.<\/p>\n
Snooker 900 has been around for a while now, mainly played in amateur events, but is increasingly attracting top professionals, such as at the Crucible Cup in November, won by Neil Robertson.<\/p>\n
The 15-minute frames are played under shot clocks, with a spotted cue ball and with amended rules, such as ball-in-hand for a foul.<\/p>\n
Along with some of the game\u2019s greatest ever players, Snooker 900 is going down the influencer route, with the upcoming Creator Clash featuring well known content creators Jaack Mate, Pieface, Aaron Hunt and Sara Guzo facing each other.<\/p>\n
Francis hopes this kind of venture is what can bring a new, younger audience to the sport.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tAre you mad about snooker?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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You’re in the right place. I’m Phil Haigh, and I cover the game we all love for Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t<\/div>Phil has been reporting on snooker for over a decade, since working in World Snooker’s press office in 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
I’ll be analysing the biggest talking points, breaking down frames and crowning the week’s winners and losers every Monday.<\/p>\n
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\u2018The amount of followers and viewers they have, if we\u2019re trying to say that we\u2019re the new TikTok of snooker, and the fast, exciting, modern way, then we\u2019ve got to try and attract the young people,\u2019 Francis told Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\u2018The influencers get partnered with a snooker legend \u2013 Dennis Taylor, Reanne Evans, Joe Perry and Tony Knowles \u2013 and in the afternoon, we give them the table and the snooker legend to create their own content for their channels. They\u2019ll also get mentoring and coaching from that player and then at 7pm, we do the Creator Clash, so they play each other at Snooker 900.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s a massive audience to potentially reach. If I\u2019m going to rebrand myself as the new thing with the new exciting, short, sharp matches, then these are the people that are experts in creating short, sharp, fast content. <\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll be amazing or, or just four people who can\u2019t play snooker. It\u2019ll be a fun, exhibition style event, but the key focus is just to try and bring Snooker 900 to a new audience.\u2019<\/p>\n
The John Virgo Trophy may also be the first time some fans have seen Snooker 900, with the superb four-man field attracting a full house at Goffs.<\/p>\n
The late great JV was due to work at the event before his death rocked the snooker world in February, but his family will be represented at the iconic Irish venue.<\/p>\n
\u2018His daughter and son are coming over to present the trophy on Sunday,\u2019 said Francis. \u2018John was due to work here. He was part of shaping how this weekend was going to work. I\u2019d spoken to him about giving an opportunity for the juniors and the legends on the undercard and he was fully involved in that.<\/p>\n
\u2018The plan was always to run it as it is, but the naming of it, I hadn\u2019t actually got that point. When what happened to John happened, we wanted to name it after him and the family were delighted to do it. It\u2019s our little tribute. It\u2019s our 15th year in Goffs [with seniors and 900 events] and John\u2019s been at the other 14.\u2019<\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>Snooker icon John Virgo passed away aged 79 in February (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The rise of Snooker 900 comes as NST Worldwide \u2013 a company Francis is a director of \u2013 continues its case against World Snooker Ltd and the WPBSA in\u00a0the Competition Appeal Tribunal, claiming that \u2018unlawful and anti-competitive practices\u2019 have been used to prevent snooker players \u2018playing in tournaments, events, or matches organised by competitor promoters.\u2019<\/p>\n
A statement from World Snooker Tour when the case was launched read: \u2018WST rejects the claims and will\u00a0defend\u00a0them.\u2019<\/p>\n
The top 16 trio of O\u2019Sullivan, Higgins and Williams are able to play in the John Virgo Trophy during the ongoing World Championship qualifiers as they are not eligible to play, but would not be able to compete in a televised event away from the main professional tour while one is going on that they could play in.<\/p>\n
\u2018This is the first time there\u2019s been a weekend broadcast, ticketed event during a World Snooker event, that they\u2019re not involved in,\u2019 said Francis. \u2018It\u2019s quite a significant milestone this weekend. <\/p>\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/div>Stephen Hendry has retired from professional snooker but is in action this weekend (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u2018I know I did the Crucible Cup, but that was out of Reading, this is a proper ticketed audience with a simulcast broadcast.<\/p>\n
\u2018We just want players to be able to have choice, that\u2019s the whole point. I\u2019m not going to suddenly turn around and put an event on during the actual World Championship. I am not going to put an event on Masters week. It\u2019s just common sense. <\/p>\n
\u2018But a lot of the top players don\u2019t play in the Home Nations, they don\u2019t play in the Shoot Out, they don\u2019t play in the Championship League, or if they do, it\u2019s one week out of a 10-12 week process. So these are ideal times for me to be saying: \u201cWell, maybe there\u2019s something else you can consider to play in\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan will be back in Snooker 900 action at the Global Championship, held in Reading from May 12-17, which also features a very strong field.<\/p>\n
The likes of Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham and Matthew Stevens are all involved, as are Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Tony Drago and Joe Perry.<\/p>\n
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