PANeil Robertson bagged a £150,000 bonus – despite being knocked out in round two of the Welsh Open[/caption]
GettyMark Selby beat Stephen Maguire to win the crowd in Llandudno[/caption]
Selby saw off the Belgian Bullet before overcoming Stephen Maguire 9-6 in the final.
The player with the highest earnings in the Home Nations Series bags a £150k bonus.
Robertson, 43, led the standings going into last week’s tournament in Llandudno.
He was knocked out in the second round by Tom Ford – and therefore needed a favour from Selby.
Brecel was the only man who could reel in Robertson in the race for the cash.
But defeat in the semi-final for the 2023 world champion meant the Aussie walked away with the jackpot.
Taking to X, Robertson showed his appreciation for Selby’s efforts.
He penned a short tweet putting Selby’s name alongside a love heart emoji.
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Ex-pro Neal Foulds declared Robertson had been lucky to walk away with the bonus.
Speaking to Eurosport, he said: “He’s kind of won it by default in a way.
“I mean, he’s obviously picked up more money than anyone else, but the amount of people that were queueing up to take it off him, and none of them did.
“It’s happened like that a couple of times now. So congratulations to him. He’s the rightful winner.”
Brecel’s defeat to Selby means he misses out on the Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
He needed a triumph in Llandudno to move into the top 32 of the one-year rankings.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Brecel said: “I’m a bit disappointed. Obviously, I wanted to go to Hong Kong for the Grand Prix.
” But maybe it’s a bit of karma for not entering all the tournaments this year. I think I maybe skipped five or six tournaments.
“It is what it is. I had my chances I guess; I didn’t take them well. It’s all about building up the game for the World Championship, I guess, this season. It’s the only one I’ve got left.
“So for me, that’s the big one and I’m happy to be going there with a bit of confidence and some results.”
5 days agoworld NewsComments Off on Todd Boehly’s genius plan isn’t so bright after all… two trips to Brighton have sent Chelsea’s season into a tailspin
EATEN in consecutive weeks by their own ‘nursery club’, Chelsea’s season is threatening to implode.
In the early part of Todd Boehly’s Stamford Bridge reign, the American signed off almost a quarter of a billion pounds on recruiting members of Brighton and Hove Albion’s staff.
APKaoru Mitoma scored a spectacular goal as Brighton beat Chelsea[/caption]
Moises Caicedo left Brighton for the BluesGettyAPTodd Boehly has spent a fortune on recruiting players at Chelsea[/caption]
Enzo Maresca has come under fire in recent weeksGetty
From the British-record signing of Moises Caicedo to the poaching of Graham Potter and his entire backroom team.
From the eye-watering £62million fee agreed for full-back Marc Cucurella to the unconvincing goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to sporting director Paul Winstanley, there seemed an obsession with all things Brighton.
So it seemed particularly galling that after all that headhunting, Chelsea should be knocked out of the FA Cup, then handed their heaviest defeat of the Premier League season by the club they had supposedly gutted.
Throw in Enzo Maresca’s spat with Brighton’s spiky German child-boss Fabian Hurzeler and those two trips to good old Sussex by the sea have sent Chelsea’s campaign into a tailspin.
Mitoma, who famously wrote a university thesis on the art of dribbling, must have been indulging in more footballing intellectualism before he scored it.
A practical exam question: “Imagine what sort of goal Dimitar Berbatov could have scored if he’d been blessed with pace.”
Well that was it. And Chelsea only have seven senior wingers either in the building, out on loan or, in the case of £62m Mykhailo Mudryk, idling having failed a drug test.
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Maybe they need another one. Or two. Yankuba Minteh of Brighton looks pretty good.
Maresca, a curious appointment to replace Mauricio Pochettino in the summer, diminished his standing with Blues fans by claiming the Cup defeat would allow his team to concentrate on the league and the Conference League.
Some of us can remember Jose Mourinho mocking old sparring partner Rafa Benitez for winning the Europa League while Chelsea’s interim boss.
Mourinho claimed the club should never have been in Uefa’s second-tier competition.
What the old Special One would think of a Stamford Bridge boss concentrating on the third-class Conference League — in which Chelsea have so far, from memory, beaten Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons and Camper Van Beethoven — is anyone’s guess.
Who do Chelsea think they are? West Ham or something?
The back-to-back defeats are part of an 11-match run during which Chelsea have beaten only Morecambe, Wolves and, fortuitously, Potter’s Hammers.
During this time they have increasingly resembled a bunch of talented youngsters in dire need of guidance from some grown-ups.
Boehly’s Chelsea project is based on the ‘genius’ idea of signing up dozens of young prospects on vastly lengthy contracts. And so this was always likely to happen.
Alan Hansen was lampooned for insisting “You can’t win anything with kids,” when Manchester United’s Class of ’92 began to emerge at the start of the 1995-96 campaign — a season when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side went on to win the Double.
But that United squad included seasoned campaigners such as Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin and Brian McClair
Chelsea do not have a single outfield player over 30.
Even the outstanding 22-year-old Cole Palmer is showing the strain of having carried Chelsea for 18 months.
In April, Palmer missed a visit to Arsenal and Pochettino urged his players to prove ‘they are not Cole Palmer FC’. Chelsea lost 5-0.
Maresca correctly claimed his side were not ready for a title challenge when things looked rosy earlier in the season.
Yet he now faces the prospect of failing to qualify for the Champions League.
Fifth should be good enough. Chelsea are sixth and shot of confidence.
Is Maresca under threat? Maybe but what good would a sixth manager in 2½ seasons be when Boehly’s entire project looks so flawed.
Not even Brighton try to win solely with kids.
AN EFFIN’ BIG DEAL
ReutersJude Bellingham was sent off in Real Madrid’s draw with Osasuna[/caption]
AS THE only manager to have won the title in all five major European leagues, Carlo Ancelotti can swear proficiently in five different languages.
So when Jude Bellingham was sent off for using foul and abusive language at a referee during Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Osasuna on Saturday, Ancelotti, 65, played the cunning linguist card.
The Real boss claimed: “I think the referee did not understand Jude Bellingham’s English. He said ‘f*** off’, not ‘f*** you’ . . . that’s way different.”
This opens up an entire can of foul-mouthed worms.
Firstly, is ‘f*** you’ really significantly stronger than ‘f*** off’?
Given that ‘f***’ is the most versatile word in the English language, should Spanish referees really be expected to understand the nuances of its myriad uses?
Are Premier League refs trained to understand the usage of foreign swear words so as to weigh up whether any specific instance merits a red card?
And if not, does this give overseas players an advantage over native English speakers in our top flight?
Or maybe Bellingham should simply stop swearing at officials all the time.
MIGHTY MOUSH
GettyOmar Marmoush netted a stunning hat-trick against Newcastle[/caption]
MANCHESTER CITY clearly signed a couple of seriously good players in January.
So why didn’t boss Pep Guardiola have the nerve to start either Omar Marmoush or Nico Gonzalez in the first leg of City’s Champions League play-off against Real Madrid?
In Saturday afternoon’s 4-0 humping of Newcastle, Marmoush bagged a hat-trick, while midfield anchor-man Gonzalez was dubbed ‘mini-Rodri’ by his manager.
Guardiola reckons his side have just a one per cent chance of overturning a 3-2 deficit in the second leg at the Bernabeu tomorrow night.
But with those two in the team, City’s chances should be a whole lot better.
OLIVER’S TWIST
GettyOliver Glasner often wears a knitted jumper on the touchline[/caption]
MANAGERIAL touchline fashions have become fascinating in recent years.
From Roberto Mancini’s Man City scarf to Pep Guardiola’s roll-necks to Scott Parker’s entire wardrobe, fashionistas have often salivated.
Yet for me, a middle-aged man who spends a lot of winter evenings out in the cold watching football, there is a clear winner.
Which is why I hope that I’ll soon be able to choose from the Oliver Glasner Alpine Knitwear Collection at the Crystal Palace club shop.
START TO AD UP
GettyAdama Traore impressed against Nottingham Forest[/caption]
SINCE Adama Traore arrived in England a decade ago, the Spaniard has had the potential to be the most fearsome winger in football.
Built like a bull but blessed with Speedy Gonzalez pace, there has been a tendency to watch Traore and say: “Imagine if he could cross a ball.”
Well, under Fulham’s hugely underrated boss Marco Silva, Traore has learned how to at the age of 29 — as exemplified in his man-of-the-match display against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The prospect for Premier League left-backs is terrifying.
HEADING SOUTH
RexMatt Le Tissier watched on as Southampton were beaten by Bournemouth[/caption]
WHILE Southampton’s death march towards relegation continued with a home loss to Bournemouth, cameras panned to their greatest Premier League player — the wild conspiracy theorist Matt Le Tissier.
“I wonder if he’s got his boots,” said the Match of the Day commentator.
“I wonder if he believes Southampton’s disastrous season is down to the malign influence of a shady international cartel run by an evil reptile overlord,” said me.
ITS A SIN
The Mega AgencyJannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban[/caption]
WORLD tennis No.1 Jannik Sinner has accepted a three-month ban for failing a doping test — conveniently scheduled so that the Italian misses precisely NO Grand Slam events.
Sky likes to roll out monthly deals to keep things interesting, and there are often some winners in the mix.
The latest Sky Glass Gen 2 and Essential TV package starts from £29 per month, while the plug-and-play Sky Stream, which comes with Sky Entertainment and Netflix, cuts out the middle man.
With more than 300 channels available through Sky, you’ll never be short of something new to watch.
Netflix is also included in all Sky TV packages with a library of thousands of shows and movies.
You can also tailor your subscription to take account of your household’s viewing habits, with different packages for movies, kids, and sports.
Sky has just unveiled two brand-new versions of its Sky Glass smart TV, with one already up for grabs.
Our Senior Tech & Science Reporter, Jamie Harris, got an early look at the Sky Glass Gen 2, while the Sky Live Air is set to land later this year.
Get the full scoop on the latest Sky TV upgrade, with Jamie noting that the new ‘extra vivid’ mode makes colours pop like never before, especially in movies.
Sky’s best deals are always changing, so we’ve rounded up the latest offers for you here.
Whether you’re new to Sky or a seasoned subscriber, keep checking back for fresh updates and the best Sky deals.
Launched this month, the Sky Glass Gen 2 is a brand-new Smart TV with upgraded 4k Ultra HD resolution, with a new ‘extra vivid’ viewing mode ideal for movie night.
Like the previous generation, it has Sky services built in and instant voice command, allowing you to switch up shows and channels.
Plus, it has an incredible sound system with an additional speaker, bringing the total to seven, all supporting 360-degree Dolby Atmos.
From £29 per month, you can purchase a Sky Glass Gen 2 43” 4K TV and Essential TV package, which includes Netflix Standard with ads and Discovery+.
Check out the Sky Deals page for more information.
Sky Stream deals
SkySky Stream is much more accessible to all[/caption]
Sky is currently offering a whole host of deals and these change regularly so it’s worth bookmarking this page to keep an eye on updates.
This month we love the Full Fibre broadband deal which comes in at £27 per month.
However, if you’re also looking to bag a new TV deal, we would seriously consider spending £35 per month for Essential TV and Full Fibre 150 broadband.
What is Sky Stream?
Sky Stream allows you to watch Sky Entertainment and Netflix on your TV through Wi-Fi – so it completely removes the need for satellite dish installation.
The palm-sized box is available for next-day delivery and works once plugged into any TV.
Just simply plug in and play and you’ll be able to instantly stream over 30,000 shows on your TV.
It offers access to 150 channels and 100,000 hours of aggregated content.
There are two ways to purchase Sky Stream.
Customers can either pay for a 24-month contract or go for a flexible 31-day rolling contract that can be cancelled at any time.
At the moment you can pick up Sky Essential TV from just £15 per month on a 24-month contract, or £18 per month on a 31-day rolling contract.
There are also discounts available on Sky’s Ultimate TV plans, so it’s well worth a closer look.
What is Sky Glass?
The all-in-one Sky Glass streaming TV claims to be smarter than a smart TV
Sky Glass is a 4K QLED TV designed to eliminate the need for a satellite dish.
Much like a regular smart TV, Sky Glass can connect directly to the internet to enable the viewing of countless channels.
The device is innovative in the sense that it allows the whole Sky Q experience to be enjoyed over Wi-Fi.
The TV also has a completely redesigned Sky software experience, a built-in soundbar and subwoofer, and three size options (43-, 55-, and 65-inch.)
Sky Glass is available in five unique colours; Ocean Blue, Ceramic White, Racing Green, Dusky Pink, and Anthracite Black.
The TV is available either as a one-off purchase or as part of a Sky Glass contract.
If you choose the first payment option, you’ll spend £599 when you bag the 43-inch version, £849 if you prefer the 55-inch offering, and for those who love the 65-inch model, you can expect to pay £1,099.
Of course, you’ll still have to pay a monthly subscription to watch Sky channels.
The upfront cost means that a Sky Glass package deal is often more appealing and budget-friendly.
Check out the deals above, where we’ve rounded up the best pay-monthly bundles.
Sky Q was once Sky’s premium service, but it’s perhaps not as popular as the platform’s other packages now.
Essentially, Sky Q is a family of services integrated into either a 1TB or 2TB set-top-box with smart TV features and Ultra HD support (for the 2TB version).
Sky also offers a Q Mini box, a device that connects to your main Sky Q box to watch TV in other rooms.
The Sky Q remote included in the box can control both devices via Bluetooth and features a built-in microphone to allow for voice search functionality.
Since the Sky Q main box includes 12 TV tuners, you can simultaneously record up to six channels and share content around the house at the same time.
How much do the Sky Q boxes cost?
The cheapest Sky Q box subscription starts at £31 a month for a 24-month deal, plus there’s a set-up fee of £20.
For this, you’ll get the Sky Q 1TB box.
The boxes themselves don’t cost anything – they simply come from Sky and are included in your subscription.
If you’re hoping to customise your plan, then you’re in luck, as there are discounts up for grabs on TV extras such as Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, and Sky Kids.
What channels are on Sky Entertainment?
Sky’s Entertainment bundle includes roughly 30 dedicated Sky channels in addition to the Freeview ones.
Arguably the most viewed is Sky Atlantic, being the one where all of HBO’s latest programs can be watched.
Sky One is another channel that has seen a spike in views in recent years, broadcasting shows such as Modern Family, In The Long Run, and The Simpsons.
Other entertainment channels include Sky Living, Fox, and Universal, as well as Comedy Central and Gold.
There’s also a whole host of children’s channels so your little ones can catch up on shows such as Dennis and Gnasher, Dragons: The Nine Realms, The Deep, Danger Mouse, and more.
What Channels are on Sky Sports?
Sky has a long history of excellence when it comes to sports channels, and despite competitors such as BT having stepped up their game, Sky’s Sports channel portfolio is still one of the best.
The main sports channel available to Sky premium customers is Sky Sports Main Event, showing all main events across different sports.
Other channels focus on individual sports, with some of the most viewed being Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Golf, and Sky Sports F1.
Football fans also get a Sky Sports Football channel, offering a comprehensive number of lower league matches.
Can I watch BT Sport ESPN on Sky?
Yes, you can!
BT Sport ESPN is included in the Sky Sports package.
You can find BT Sport ESPN on Sky Channel 423 if you want to watch it in HD and Channel 876 if, for some reason, you need an SD stream.
If you’re not familiar with this particular channel, BT Sport ESPN originally belonged to US-based sports broadcaster ESPN.
While it was acquired by BT in 2013, the channel continued to mainly focus on coverage of American sports.
Because of this, on BT Sport ESPN, you can follow most Major League Baseball (MLB) and American College sports matches.
The channel also occasionally shows European sports when BT Sport 1, 2, and 3 are covering other matches.
What HD Channels do I get on Sky?
Many HD channels are already available in the basic Sky package.
These include BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC News.
CBBC and CBeebies are also available in high definition without the need for further upgrades, together with ITV, 4, 5, NHK World, and RT.
Sky HD boasts over 40 channels in high definition, including Sky Atlantic, Fox, and many more.
How do I get the best deal on Sky?
Sky periodically promotes sales on their deals, bringing their prices down on particular occasions and festivities throughout the year.
The package features M350 Fibre Broadband, access to perks and experiences with Priority, and over 200 TV channels.
What is Sky’s cheapest package?
Sky offers a range of services, from broadband and TV to their Sky Q streaming services, so it depends on what you’re after, as prices will vary greatly depending on whether or not you want multiple services or just one.
However, from our findings, you can get Sky broadband for as little as £25 a month.
Sky stream packages start from £15 per month including Sky Entertainment and Netflix, then you can purchase additional TV packs as required,
Lastly, Sky Glass packages start from £27 per month, allowing you to again build a plan that’s specific to your interests and needs so you can get the most out of your money.
What are the best Sky TV deals available now?
There are a few deals and discounts Sky is currently offering, as well as some recurrent deals that are definitely worth considering.
You can find all of the best deals, including those in this guide, on the Sky website.
Sky’s Glass subscriptions are certainly worth considering if you want to secure a TV package and a shiny new screen in one fell swoop.
How much is Sky TV for new customers?
The overall price of your package will depend on your personal preferences.
All new customers have to pay a £20 set-up fee, which goes up to £49 for existing customers upgrading to Sky Q.
Of course, the price includes the installation of both broadband and phone lines, as well as the TV box setup.
Do existing Sky customers get better deals?
While Sky typically offers better deals to new customers (often in an attempt to poach them from competitors), the company does have a dedicated page listing discounts for existing customers.
In addition, there’s something else existing customers can do to get better prices; haggling.
We have a dedicated guide to the art of haggling, but it essentially involves letting your service provider know that you will leave them for a chapter alternative unless they give you a better deal.
We believe this is currently the best way for Sky’s existing customers to save some extra cash.
Sky deals for existing customers
Currently, existing customers can enjoy several deals.
Here are a few of our favourite offers existing customers can snap up today:
900Mb/s Full Fibre Broadband, £39 per month – upgrade here
Netflix Basic is included in all of Sky’s TV packages.
With the basic subscription option, you can watch films and TV shows on a single screen and not in HD.
If you do want HD, however, you can purchase the Sky HD pack to watch Netflix in HD (Netflix Standard) or the Sky Ultra HD pack to watch Netflix in Ultra HD (Netflix Premium).
If you already have a Netflix subscription, you can easily connect your account to retain your library and profiles.
Can you still get Sky+?
For new customers, Sky+ is no longer available as Sky Q replaced the Sky+ service in 2016.
However, existing customers can continue to use the box.
5 days agoworld NewsComments Off on I tried Love Island Elma’s peel off lip liner hack on my whole face – trolls say it looks like ‘road rash’
PEEL off lip liner has become all the rage for perfecting the perfect pout.
One woman decided to see if the make-up product would have the same effect for creating a blushing glow.
tiktok@rachelalexandra/TikTok user Rachel Alexandra tried a unique beauty hack to give her cheeks a semi-permanent blush[/caption]
ITVLove Island’s Elma Pazar applied lip stain liner during her appearance on the All Stars series[/caption]
Given Boots is the official supplier for the series, Elma had to be subtle when it came to the £18 buy, which is not available at the high-street retailer.
Available from Amazon or Beauty Bay, the item is designed to give you fuller-looking lips with a hyper-stain.
The waterproof colour doesn’t transfer, fade, feather, or need touching up.
Some beauty fanatics decided to test if the product could be used to create a low maintenance blush look.
Rachel applied the lip stain to her upper cheeks as well as the bridge of her nose.
After leaving the product to set, she carefully peeled it off and gave the camera a panicked look as she took in the harsh contrast.
The TikToker decided to use a face cloth to attempt to blend out the lip stain.
She rubbed vigorously, pausing a few times to show her stress to her audience.
Rachel gave a sarcastic thumbs up as she removed the product from her nose to reveal what looked like a bloody scrape.
“Sometimes the beauty hacks work and sometimes they aren’t worth the effort,” she concluded in the clip’s caption.
Top beauty trends for 2025
Hayley Walker, Beauty Expert at Justmylook spoke exclusively to Fabulous about the big beauty trends for 2025.
Haircare
Hair gloss treatments are a must-have as beauty enthusiasts love the salon-quality shine and enhanced colour delivered by the trending treatment.
Hair glosses are multifunctional as they nourish the hair while offering a vibrant, healthy-looking finish, combining 2025’s core trends. This treatment is perfect for those seeking an affordable, at-home glow-up.
2025 will focus on skin repairing and texture-enhancing treatments.
Skincare
Rejuran treatment, a celebrity-endorsed procedure, will see a rise in demand this year as many seek to enhance the skin’s appearance. The procedure entails injecting polynucleotides derived from salmon DNA to enhance skin texture and elasticity. “Rejuvenation is expected to dominate 2025 skincare trends as many seek to a achieve flawless, youthful complexion.
Skincare routines will also include back-to-basic products for a simplified routine.
Ginseng cleansing oil and panthenol cream are among the trending products for 2025. The cleansing oil is excellent for dissolving makeup and impurities without clogging pores and is enriched with nourishing properties to leave the skin feeling and looking refreshed and radiant.
Makeup
Makeup trends will follow suit to achieve youthful and radiant looks. Under-eye brighteners will be sought-after products for delivering coverage while enhancing natural radiance. This beauty tool will complement natural beauty while improving and brightening dull skin.
Makeup looks will be bigger and bolder in 2025 with cluster lashes expected to surge this year. These lashes bring the glam to glamorous looks as they deliver dramatic volume to enhance everyday or special occasion looks.
Peel-off lip stains circulated the beauty industry in 2024 and are expected to dominate in 2025. The growing popularity of this product is due to its ability to provide long-lasting, transfer-proof colour to lips, enhancing a natural aesthetic. Additionally, cherry-coded aesthetics are expected to be everywhere this year as the deep, rich hue can be achieved using peel-off lip stains or bold lip looks for a dramatic effect.
Nails
2025 will be another year of countless, show-stopping nail trends. Goddess Nails and Aura Nails deserve an honourable mention as these designs channel an ethereal, celestial aesthetic for bold, self-expressing nails.
Rachel revealed that she planned to “stick to” her trusted liquid blush in the future.
TikTok users shared their thoughts on the hack in the comments section.
“A lil bit of road rash didn’t hurt no one,” joked one viewer.
“You know what, I saw your vision though and that’s what counts,” said another follower.
“It’s cute but the process of even watching this stressed me out,” commented a third person.
tiktok@rachelalexandra/Rachel showed her followers the rash-like look the lip stain created on the bridge of her nose[/caption]
5 days agoPinoy TvComments Off on Total breakdown of law and order in Andhra Pradesh, says Jagan
Vijayawada, Feb 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) YSR Congress Party President and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday alleged that there is a total breakdown of law and order in the state and...
5 days agoPinoy TvComments Off on ‘The Brutalist’ Director Says He’s Earned ‘Zero Income’ From the Film
The Brutalist director Brady Corbet is opening up about the realities of life as a celebrated filmmaker. Corbet, 36, revealed in the Monday, February 17 episode of the “WTF with Marc Maron Podcast” that he’s made “zero income” from the film, which has earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original […]
5 days agoPinoy TvComments Off on Eknath Shinde accuses Uddhav Thackeray of discarding Balasaheb’s thoughts for power
Mumbai, Feb 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) Shiv Sena president and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped up attacks against Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying that in 2019 he discarded Balasaheb Thackeray’s thoughts and also...
