Maike Kesseler

Maike Kesseler
Maike Kesseler at the 2014 German Masters
Born (1982-01-01) 1 January 1982 (age 42)
Mammendorf, Bavaria, Germany
Sport country Germany
Professional2013–present
Kessler (standing) Peter Ebdon (playing), at the 2015 German Masters

Maike Kesseler (born 1 January 1982) is a German snooker referee from Mammendorf near Munich in Bavaria.[1]

Kesseler began her association with snooker in 2005 mainly due to her interest in the sport in Eurosport broadcasts. After an uneventful debut as an amateur player, she opted to become a referee and two years later she passed her referee examination. At first active in Germany in amateur snooker, she refereed the professional 2010 Paul Hunter Classic.[2] Alongside Marcel Eckardt, she was one of the referees who were discovered and promoted by World Snooker and she received invitations to referee at other major professional tournaments.[3] In 2013 she refereed for the first time followed by the 2014, 2015 and 2016 German Masters (her first world ranking final).[4] She also refereed several times at tournaments in the UK. In 2017 she refereed at the 2017 World Cup in Wuxi, China, and the 2017 World Snooker Championship for the first time during the first round finals at the Crucible Theatre where Yan Bingtao faced former world champion Shaun Murphy who won 10–8.[5]

Kesseler referees as a hobby,[5] and works full-time as a customer advisor for a bank.[6] Her husband Jürgen Kesseler is a snooker tournament organiser and former German Bundesliga (snooker) player.[7][8] [9]

Major events

(As of October 2022)

  • 2010 Paul Hunter Classic' (Euro Players Tour Championship 2010/2011)
  • 2014 German Masters
  • 2015 German Masters
  • 2016 German Masters, Final: Martin Gould defeated Luca Brecel 9–5. (Kesseler officiated at her first ranking final).
  • 2017 World Cup (snooker), Final: Best of 7 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler. Wuxi City Sports Park Stadium, Wuxi, China, 9 July 2017. Ding Junhui Liang Wenbo China A 4–3 Judd Trump
  • 2017 World Grand Prix, Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler Guild Hall, Preston, England, 12 February 2017. Barry Hawkins (13) England 10–7 Ryan Day (23) Wales
  • 2018 German Masters, Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler. Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany, 4 February 2018. Mark Williams Wales 9–1 Graeme Dott Scotland
  • 2018 Northern Ireland Open, Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler. Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 18 November 2018. Judd Trump (5) England 9–7 Ronnie O'Sullivan
  • 2020 European Masters (2019–20 season), Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler. Messe Dornbirn, Dornbirn, Austria, 26 January 2020. Neil Robertson (4) Australia 9–0 Zhou Yuelong (30)
  • 2021 UK Championship. Controversy: In the 'Last 64' round on potting the pink ball in frame eight Sam Craigie was awarded the frame by Kesseler while the cue ball was still rolling giving him a 5–3 lead. Craigie then placed his cue on the table and it touched the moving white ball.[10] BBC commentator and 1997 World Snooker Champion Ken Doherty stated that a foul should have been called by the referee, the pink respotted, and Ding allowed to return to the table and attempt to level the match at 4–4; however, the frame had been awarded to Craigie prematurely.[11] Speaking on Eurosport, retired professional snooker player and now commentator Alan McManus also criticised Kesseler for awarding the frame before the cue ball had come to rest.[12][13] Craigie won the match against three-time UK Championship Ding Junhui 6 - 3, taking £12,000 in prize money. In defence of Kesseler's decision, a World Snooker spokesperson said that the referee has sole discretion for the match.[10]
  • 2022 British Open, Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Maike Kesseler. 2 October 2022 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. Ryan Day 10–7 Mark Allen

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maike Kesseler.

References

  1. ^ "Kesseler Maike". Snooker shot. Ukrainian Snooker Federation. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Maike Enjoying Life On Tour". WST TV. World Snooker Limited. 17 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  3. ^ Witzescher, Lula (31 January 2016). "Maike Kesseler: Man darf sich nicht unter Druck setzen". SNOOKERPRO.de (in German). Lula Witzescher. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Maike Kesseler". WST TV. World Snooker Limited. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Crucible Is 'Dream Come True' For Maike Kesseler". rkgsnooker. RKG Snooker. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Geschäftsstelle Fürstenfeldbruck". Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Fürstenfeldbruck eG (in German). FinanzGruppe Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Dem Reiz von Snooker erlegen". Merkur.de (in German). Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  8. ^ "German Snooker Tour" (in German). German Snooker Tour. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Juergen Kesseler Fixtures & Live Results - WorldS24". Scores24. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Trump Overcomes Wakelin - And Distractions - To Reach UK Championship Third Round". The Sportsman. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  11. ^ 2021 UK Championship: Sam Craigie vs. Ding Post-Match Analysis | Mistake by Referee Maike Kesseler, retrieved 6 December 2021
  12. ^ "'Not guilty of anything' - Sam Craigie cue ball controversy against Ding Junhui discussed by pundits". Eurosport. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  13. ^ "UK Championship snooker 2021: 'Still not an elite-level player' - Alan McManus unsure on Yan Bingtao". www.eurosport.com. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.