A press conference for the 2019 World Snooker Shanghai Masters and National Amateur Snooker Masters was held at the Regal International East Asia Hotel today, attended by defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and China’s top player Ding Junhui.

This year’s Shanghai Masters is sponsored by the Bank of Shanghai and will run from September 9-15 at the Regal International East Asia Hotel. It will be a 24-man invitational event, featuring the world’s top 16 plus the next four highest-ranked Chinese players, two CBSA nominations and the two winners of the Amateur Masters.

O’Sullivan beat Barry Hawkins in the final last year

O’Sullivan and Ding were announced as the mentors of the Amateur Masters. The amateur events will be officially launched on June 15 and will be divided into two stages: the trials and the national finals. The trials will be held in Shanghai, Wuxi, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Xi’an in June and August. The top three players in each of the trials will enter the national finals in Shanghai in September. The champion and runner-up of the national finals will receive the 2019 Shanghai Masters wild cards, to compete with the world’s top stars.

Speeches were made by Luo Wenhua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau, Liu Chunsheng, deputy secretary general of the China Billiards and Snooker Association and Yang Yibin, deputy general manager of Shanghai Juss Sports Industry Development (Group) Co., Ltd. Barry Hearn, Chairman of World Snooker, also expressed support and greetings to the event and the fans through a video.

The press conference also featured an exhibition match, involving Ding, O’Sullivan and eight amateur players.

Source: World Snooker