Snooker titans play for Romanian fans this weekend

Bucharest may have lost the European Snooker Championship to Cluj-Napoca, but seven of the best snooker players in the world come to Romania’s capital for exhibition matches this spring. This weekend (April 2-3), snooker legends Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, and Jimmy White will play at the Globus Circus in Bucharest in a mini tournament called Snooker Titans. The event is organized by McCann/Thiess Events. Ronnie O’Sullivan plays in Romania for the second time after an exhibition match against Stuart Bingham, in November 2015. The great crowd at the Globus Theater determined O’Sullivan to promise that he would return to Romania for the European Snooker Championship. Ronnie O’Sullivan is 40 and has been a professional snooker player since 1992. Many consider him to be the best snooker player ever. He has earned the nickname "The Rocket" because of his rapid playing style. In his career, he has won five World Championships, six Masters, and five UK Championships. He has a total of 28 titles won so far, which put him in the second place behind Stephen Hendry, who has 36 major titles. Scot Stephen Hendry, 47, the World Championship seven times, a record in the modern era, and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive seasons between 1990 and 1998, and again in 2006/2007. He has made 11 maximum breaks during competitions, second only to Ronnie O'Sullivan, who has 13. Hendry retired from pro snooker in 2012. Welshman Mark Williams, 41, is also a former number one professional snooker player. He has won 18 tournaments in his career, including two World Championships and two UK Championships. Jimmy White, 56, has never won a World Championship but has played six finals. He has won ten major titles, including a UK Championship. Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams will open the Snooker Titans event on Saturday, playing in the first semifinal starting 17:00 and Ronnie O’Sullivan will play against Jimmy White in the second match, probably starting at 19:00. They will play best of 11 frames. Two other matches are scheduled on Sunday at the same hours. The final will start after 19:00. Tickets are still available on eventim.ro for prices starting at RON 194 (EUR 44). Those who want to meet and take pictures with the four players, and have dinner with them at a luxury restaurant in Bucharest, have the Ultra VIP Experience tickets available for them. The price for such a ticket is some EUR 535. And this is not the only big snooker event in Bucharest this spring. Three of the top professional snooker players will have exhibition matches at the Globus Circus on May 22. The world’s number one Mark Selby will play against Neil Robertson (no.3) and Judd Trump (no. 6) in the event, which is called