RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has been granted residency in Hong Kong – and he may move there full-time when his snooker career is over.
The Rocket, who has maybe another 4-5 years left in the pro sphere, spends a lot of time in Asia – where he is a huge celebrity – for ranking tournaments and lucrative exhibitions.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan is a huge star in AsiaCredit: Getty
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The Rocket has been granted residency in Hong KongCredit: AFP
This week the Hong Kong Immigration Department awarded the seven-time world champion residency in the county under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.
According to his camp, this change in status could result in more rights in the future as a citizen and hopefully make travel there much easier from the UK.
O’Sullivan, who turns 49 next month, said: “Obviously, I love Macau, Hong Kong, and China.
“All these countries (and regions) have been very, very good to me over the years, and I have a lot of love for these places.”
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Speaking at a press conference for the Macau Snooker Masters – which opens on Christmas Day – the world No.5 disclosed he had initiated the residency application process several months ago.
He said: “I probably do about 70 per cent of my work in China and Asia now.
“I have to make a life here. I have to make a home.
“If you work a long time in a certain place you need to make it as comfortable as possible.”
The Rocket recently opened an academy in Saudi ArabiaCredit: Getty
O’Sullivan – who this year opened an academy in his name in Saudi Arabia following a multi-million pound deal – is looking to expand his brand across the globe, especially in gambling city Macau.
He said: “Hong Kong is just the start for me.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan shows off his driving skills in Top Gear
“I know some people in Hong Kong and they said: ‘We want to try and make this possible for you.’
“Maybe Macau will be the next one because obviously I have some friends in Macau that are saying it’s a good idea to do something in Macau as well.
“Now that I have the ID card, it will be much easier to come and stay for longer periods.
“The plan is to spend more time here, and then maybe in four, five, or six years, I’ll move here for good. I think snooker is a very popular sport in Asia.”
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Early on Sunday, O’Sullivan faces 2022 women’s world champion Mink Nutcharut in a heldover qualifier in the International Championship in Nanjing.
November is a busy month for the famous potter because he is due to play in the Champion of Champions in Bolton and then there is the UK Championship in York.
Inside Ronnie’s colourful career
FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O’Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
Max Verstappen will take a five-place grid penalty for an engine change for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, as he moves on to his sixth internal combustion engine of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The championship leader had already taken a new ICE beyond the allowable limit of four at July’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, this being the third successive year that Red Bull had chosen to take the hit at that circuit.
Following a series of power unit issues in Mexico’s Friday sessions, as an air leak kept Verstappen confined to the garage during the final part of FP1 and the majority of FP2, Red Bull has chosen to take another engine from outside its pool.
This means that Verstappen will lose five places from wherever he qualifies for Sunday’s grand prix, although his sprint race qualifying result will be unaffected.
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Verstappen will also use a new exhaust system, taking him up to eight used throughout the season, with eight permitted through the year.
The Dutchman has been in an increasingly precarious situation with his engine allowance for much of the season, as a problem with one unit in practice for the Canadian Grand Prix in June led to a lengthy inspection – leading to a fourth ICE being used as early as Spain.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
This led to Red Bull taking a new Honda powerplant at Spa, but Verstappen has now lost another from his pool as a result of the issues in Mexico.
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Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF that the engine eventually used at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez “was no longer intended for the race, and the older an engine gets, the more its performance diminishes.”
He added that the Red Bull was giving up approximately “three to eight km/h on the straights” thanks to the reduction in horsepower.
Asked on Thursday if Brazil was one of the less compromising races to take a power unit penalty, Verstappen responded that it was not a certainty that he could recover ground lost to a penalty.
“That is something that is always unknown. You think that one particular track is the best place to take an engine or whatever penalty, but it’s never guaranteed. But yeah, it’s a possibility.”
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Danny Parkins makes his predictions for the best bets to pursue in Week 9, including the Philadelphia Eagles under the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Indianapolis Colts over the Minnesota Vikings, and the Atlanta Falcons under the Dallas Cowboys.
A man has been arrested following a burglary at England cricket captain Ben Stokes’s home, police have said.
Stokes, who was in Pakistan for the recent Test series, said his wife and two children were at the property in Castle Eden, County Durham, during the break-in on 17 October, when his OBE and other valuables were taken.
Durham Police said a 32-year-old man from North Yorkshire was arrested overnight on suspicion of burglary.
He has been released on bail while the investigation continues, the force added.
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – UFC Fight Night 246 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT).
The weigh-ins take place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.. The same venue hosts Saturday’s event (ESPN+). In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the official UFC Fight Night 246 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.
Sergio Perez has changed chassis for the Brazilian Grand Prix after Red Bull agreed to a request from the struggling Mexican driver.
In the wake of a hugely disappointing home outing for Perez in Mexico City last weekend, he has been looking for answers about why his form has been so disappointing in recent outings.
Red Bull has now confirmed that as part of its bid to do everything possible to help its driver, the team has agreed to swap chassis for this weekend’s Interlagos event to see if that brings any improvement.
Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan said: “We’ve changed him back into a different chassis, which we can do.
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“He asked if we can, and we said fine. The boys have got a bit of work, but they didn’t mind.”
Monaghan clarified that this was a chassis that had been used previously this year, rather than being brand new.
“We don’t make a new one at this point of the season,” he said.
While he has been given a different chassis, Perez will continue to run an older-specification floor in Brazil compared to team-mate Max Verstappen – but hopes he will have the same spec by Las Vegas.
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Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Speaking about the new floor, Perez said: “We don’t have it at the moment. Hopefully for Vegas, as there will be a little bit more time.
“[It means] we are carrying a little bit of weight, and it is not ideal, but the team is doing the best they can.”
Monaghan has played down the differences though, suggesting the detailed tweaks are not that major to lead to a lap time deficit.
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“Checo is on a different edge specification from Max,” said Monaghan. “So, if you look at the edge wing itself, it’s subtly different. It’s a small difference.
“The magnitude is, I would argue, small enough that it’s not going to cause him to have a significant difference to Max.
“We’ve done it like that purely and simply because it’s the best way to service two cars and ensure that we can service them fairly with spares.”
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Red Bull also said that the brake problems that Perez complained about hurting his pace in Mexico were nothing major.
“I don’t know there was anything particularly wrong with the car, but the brake material, we don’t put it on for multiple events,” he added.
“We can vary the temperature of the brakes. Equally he can vary them if he sits in traffic and so on. But I think we’ve resolved the doubts we have over those.”
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