O’Sullivan And Williams Dominate Awards
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Crucible king Mark Williams each won two categories at the annual World Snooker Awards ceremony in London tonight.
O’Sullivan took the main Player of the Year award having enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career, capturing five ranking titles in a single campaign for the first time. The 42-year-old won the English Open, Shanghai Masters, UK Championship, World Grand Prix and Players Championship.
O’Sullivan also received the Kunlunshan Fans’ Player of the Year award, voted by many thousands of fans on Twitter, Facebook, WeChat and Weibo.
Williams won the Betfred World Championship last Monday for the third time in his career and first since 2003; the 43-year-old becoming the oldest player to conquer the Crucible since fellow Welshman Ray Reardon in 1978. Earlier in the season he also lifted silverware at the Six Red World Championship, Northern Ireland Open and German Masters.
He was handed the Snooker Writers’ Player of the Year award, voted by the sport’s journalists. And Williams also received the Performance of the Year award for his tremendous display at the Crucible.
The Rookie of the Year category was won by China’s 20-year-old Xu Si, whose impressive debut season was highlighted by a run to the semi-finals of the Indian Open.
Magic Moment of the Year was won by Michael Georgiou for his dramatic victory at the Coral Shoot Out, beating Graeme Dott to the title with just a few seconds on the clock.
Ding Junhui was inducted into snooker’s Hall of Fame. Asia’s best ever player, Ding has won 13 ranking events and had a huge influence on the growth of snooker in China over the past 12 years.
Also inducted into the Hall of Fame was World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn, for leading the global development of the sport since he took charge in 2010.
The awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel also helped raised money for Jessie May Children’s Hospice at Home, which is World Snooker’s official charity – for more details see www.jessiemay.org.uk
World Snooker Awards: 2017/18 winners
Player of the Year – Ronnie O’Sullivan
Kunlunshan Fans’ Player of the Year – Ronnie O’Sullivan
Snooker Writers’ Player of the Year – Mark Williams
Performance of the Year – Mark Williams
Rookie of the Year – Xu Si
Magic Moment of the Year – Michael Georgiou
Hall of Fame – Ding Junhui and Barry Hearn
