John the Virgin Trophy this weekend has seen Ronnie O’Sullivan makes its debut in Snooker 900, a format dubbed the ‘TikTok of snooker’ by creator Jason Francis.
It is a heavyweight formation in Goffs in County Kildare, Ireland Stephen HendryJohn Higgins and Mark Williams are also in action in the fast-paced event.
Snooker 900 has been around for a while, mostly played at amateur events, but is increasingly attracting top professionals, as in the Crucible Cup in November, won by Neil Robertson.
The 15-minute teams are played under shot clocks, with a dot cue ball and with modified rules such as ball in hand for a foul.
Along with some of the game’s greatest ever players, Snooker 900 is going the influencer route, with the upcoming Creator Clash pitting acclaimed content creators Jaack Mate, Pieface, Aaron Hunt and Sara Guzo against each other.
Francis hopes that this type of venture is what can bring a new, younger audience to the sport.
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The amount of followers and viewers they have, if we are trying to say that we are the youth TikTok snooker and the fast, exciting, modern way, then we have to try to attract young people,’ said Francis. subway.
“The influencers are partnered with a snooker legend – Dennis Taylor, Reanne Evans, Joe Perry and Tony Knowles – and in the afternoon, we give them the table and the snooker legend to create their own content for their channels. They’ll also get mentoring and coaching from that player and then at 7pm, we do the Creator Clash, so they play each other in Snooker 900.”
“It’s a massive audience to reach. If I’m going to rebrand myself as the new thing with exciting new matches, short and sharp, then these are the people who are experts at creating short, sharp and quick content.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be fantastic or just four people who can’t play snooker. It’s going to be a fun, exhibition-style event, but the main focus is just trying to bring Snooker 900 to a new audience.’
The John Virgo Trophy may also be the first time some fans have seen Snooker 900, with the excellent four-man field attracting a full house at Goffs.
The late JV great was due to work the event before his death rocked the billiards world in Februarybut his family will be represented in the iconic Irish venue.
“His daughter and son will come to present the trophy on Sunday,” Francis said. ‘John had to work here. He was part of shaping how this weekend would work. I had spoken to him about giving the undercard youngsters and legends a chance and he was totally on board with that.
“The plan was always to run it as it is, but naming it, I hadn’t really got that point. When what happened to John, we wanted to name it after him and the family were delighted to do it. It’s our little tribute. It’s our 15th year at Goffs (with seniors and 900 events) and John has been in the other 14.’
The rise of Snooker 900 comes as NST Worldwide – a company of which Francis is a director – continues its case against World Snooker Ltd and the WPBSA at the Competition Appeal Tribunalclaiming that ‘unlawful and anti-competitive practices’ were used to prevent snooker players ‘from playing in tournaments, events or matches organized by competitor promoters.’
A statement from the World Snooker Tour when the case was launched said: ‘The WST rejects the allegations and will defend them.’
The top 16 trio of O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams are able to play in the John Virgo Trophy during the ongoing World Championship qualifiers as they are ineligible to play, but will not be able to compete in a televised event away from the main professional tour while one of them is still playing.
“This is the first time there’s been a weekend broadcast, a ticketed event during a World Snooker event, that they’re not involved in,” Francis said. “It’s a pretty important milestone this weekend.
“I know I did the Crucible Cup but it was outside Reading, that’s a proper ticketed audience with a simulcast.
“We just want the players to be able to have a choice, that’s the whole point. I’m not going to suddenly come back and organize an event during the current World Cup. I’m not going to do an event Masters week. It’s just common sense.
“But a lot of the best players don’t play in the Home Nations, they don’t play in the Shoot Outs, they don’t play in the Champions League, or if they do, it’s one week out of a 10-12 week process. So these are ideal times for me to say, ‘Well, maybe there’s something else you can think about playing’.’
O’Sullivan will return to Snooker 900 action at the Global Championship, held in Reading from May 12-17, which also has a very strong field.
All involved are Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham and Matthew Stevens, as are Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Tony Drago and Joe Perry.
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