Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee set for groundbreaking mixed doubles snooker event alongside Ronnie O’Sullivan, Reanne Evans, Judd Trump
- Ng will take part at WST World Mixed Doubles with top four men’s and women’s players in September
- ‘First in history and can’t wait to play with the legends, everyone really wants it!’ world No 2 writes on Instagram.
Hong Kong snooker star Ng On-yee will take part in a new mixed doubles tournament featuring the sport’s biggest names ahead of her second season on the professional tour, which begins in mid-July.
The world’s top four men – Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby, and Neil Robertson – and top four women – Reanne Evans, Ng, Nutcharut Wongharuthai, and Rebecca Kenna – will compete in the inaugural WST World Mixed Doubles over September 24-25 in Milton Keynes, England.
“First in history and can’t wait to play with the legends, everyone really wants it!” world No 2 Ng wrote on Instagram.
A random draw ahead of the event will determine four teams of two – each with one male and one female player, to compete in a round-robin format, followed by a final between the top two pairings.
“This is the first time that a mixed doubles snooker event will be broadcasted live, so it’s a very significant moment for our sport,” WST chairman Steve Dawson said.
“Snooker is a game for everyone, regardless of age, gender and nationality. There is no reason why men and women can’t compete together.”
It will be the first time a mixed doubles snooker event has been televised live since 1991, though the 31-year-old Ng will take part in two rankings tournaments beforehand.
Ng will compete on July 18 at the Championship League Stage One in Leicester, where she will face China’s Tian Pangfei in group play, before heading to the UK Women’s Snooker Championship in Leeds on July 30-31.
“On-yee has worked hard over the summer and is looking forward to the challenges ahead,” head coach Wayne Griffiths said of Ng, who returned to Hong Kong after losing in the World Championship qualifying round in Sheffield in April.
“Hong Kong snooker is fighting to maintain its elite status [at the Hong Kong Sports Institute], and the inclusion of On-yee in this groundbreaking event demonstrates that Billiard Sports is putting Hong Kong in the global spotlight as an elite sport.”
If cue sports are not included in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Hong Kong stars including Marco Fu Ka-chun and Ng will lose most of their public funding beginning in 2022.
“Having sports where men and ladies can compete side by side is seen very favourably by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and this may be another step toward potential future Olympic and Asian Games status for billiard sports.
“With billiard sports already confirmed for the Asian Games in 2030 [in Doha], we are hopeful that this positive news can save the sport’s funding which has been threatened by recent Hong Kong Sports Commission announcements.”
In April, a new social media campaign with the hashtag #CuesportsNagoya2026 was launched by the Hong Kong Billiard Sports Control Council, with the goal of having the sports included in the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, in a bid to halt the demotion of cue sports’ status at the HKSI.
