While many are tucking into their Christmas dinner, some of snooker’s biggest stars including Ronnie O’Sullivan will be abroad.
The Rocket leads a star-studded cast in Macau for the Chinese resort city’s Masters event, starting on Christmas Day, with the final taking place on December 28.
The snooker legend is joined at the Wynn Palace Grand Theatre by current world champion Kyren Wilson, world No. 1 Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, Stuart Bingham, Jack Lisowski and Si Jiahui.
It will be the first time that the seven-time world champion has competed in Hong Kong since he was granted residency in the region.
And he will be competing in one of two matches taking place on Christmas Day. Trump will begin the competition against Ding before O’Sullivan takes on Lisowski in the night session.
O’Sullivan is scheduled to play in five matches total across the three days, returning on Boxing Day to face Fu and then the following day he will take on Si.
On December 28 the Rocket will play twice in one day, taking on Wilson who stepped in for Jak Jones after the Welshman withdrew due to personal reasons, before finishing the exhibition against Bingham.
Announcing the event, O’Sullivan wrote on social media: “Merry Christmas everyone!! Really proud to be out here in Macau doing my first joint events promotion with @wynn.macau! The venue is looking really good and it’s going to be an amazing event. Can’t wait for it to get underway and it will be the first of many!”
Hong Kong is becoming a growing force in snooker and will stage its first ranking event in 35 years in March 2025, after the World Grand Prix moved from the UK to the Kai Tak Sports Park.
In 2022, over 9,000 were in attendance at the Hong Kong Coliseum to watch O’Sullivan defeat Fu 6-4 in the final of the Hong Kong Masters invitational event.
And the Rocket, fresh off competing in the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, is excited to continue playing snooker abroad after continuing his stinging attack on British venues.
“I’m not being harsh,” O’Sullivan said in Saudi Arabia. “It’s really difficult when you go to a leisure centre. You’ve got 50-100 people all standing outside. You’ve got to get through that, play a best of seven frames.
“Then you’re not sure when you’re going to be on. They say you could be on at 8.30 but you get on at 11. It’s a nine-hour journey from my house to Edinburgh. You weigh it all up and think you can’t be bothered.
“10 to 15 years ago I’d probably have been fine but I can’t play every tournament or every week.
“I’ll try and play a minimum of 10 and I’ll pick the best 10 to play in. After that, if I feel like I need to play in a few more I will. I still want to play snooker but I want to spend time at home as well.”