Mohamed Ibrahim from Egypt has won the 2022 Snooker African Championship and will be offered a two years tour card. He defeated Hesham Shawky 5-4 on the pink to win the 2022 African Snooker Championship late last night in Morocco. Mohamed Ibrahim had already qualified for the main Tour in 2018/19, by winning the same competition. However, he never played a professional match. What will happen this time remains to be seen.. All the same, congratulations to him!
No event in China at all, not even with a “to be confirmed” tag. No Gibraltar Open either. That’s maybe not that surprising after the problems players faced last season. Indeed, because of Brexit, most players now need a “Schengen Visa” just in case, because of the weather, their plane would land in Spain rather than in Gibraltar. Last season, a number of them were sent back to the UK, after landing in Spain, missing out on possibly crucial ranking points.
BetVictor Continues Partnership With World Snooker Tour
BetVictor, a leading global gambling company, will be title sponsor of nine events on the World Snooker Tour during the 2022/23 season, with the leading money winner across the BetVictor Series to earn a huge £150,000 bonus.
WST is delighted to continue its long term partnership with BetVictor, a dedicated supporter of snooker for many years.
The BetVictor sponsored tournaments will include the four BetVictor Home Nations Series events, the new and innovative BetVictor World Mixed Doubles and four others. The events are:
BetVictor Championship League, June 28 to July 29, Leicester, promoted by Matchroom Multi-Sport
BetVictor World Mixed Doubles, September 24-25, Milton Keynes
BetVictor European Masters, August 16-21, Germany
BetVictor Shoot Out, January 26-29, Leicester
BetVictor German Masters, February 1-5, Berlin
BetVictor Home Nations Series
BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, October 16-23, Belfast
BetVictor Scottish Open, November 28 to December 4, Edinburgh
BetVictor English Open, December 12-18, Brentwood
BetVictor Welsh Open, February 13 to 19, Llandudno
All of these events, other than the BetVictor World Mixed Doubles, will count towards the BetVictor Series. All money earned by every player in the eight counting events will be tallied on the BetVictor Series Rankings. The money list leader after the eighth and final event in Wales in February will earn the £150,000 bonus.
John Higgins earned the £150,000 bonus last season
Last season, going into the final event there were 11 players still in with a chance of banking the bonus. In a dramatic finish, John Higgins came out on top and won the £150,000. Judd Trump captured the bonus in both 2020 and 2021.
All of the BetVictor-sponsored events will be broadcast live to hundreds of millions of snooker fans across the globe.
Discovery-owned Quest and Eurosport are the host broadcasters for the BetVictor Home Nations Series. Eurosport are also host broadcasters for the BetVictor Shoot Out, BetVictor European Masters and BetVictor German Masters.
The new BetVictor World Mixed Doubles will be live on ITV and ITV4, featuring the world’s top four men and top four women players. The BetVictor Championship League will be broadcast by streaming partners including Matchroom.Live
The events will also be shown around the world on WST’s broadcast partners which include TrueSport, SportCast, Now TV, Astro SuperSport, CCTV5, Liaoning TV, SPS Mongolia, Pakistan TV Sports, Premier Sports Philippines, Hub Sport and DAZN as well as various streaming partners including Huya, Youku, Migu and Matchroom.Live.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “BetVictor has been a fantastic and welcome part of the snooker family for many years and we are thrilled to continue our partnership with them. In the coming season they will sponsor a wide range of events with a variety of formats. Every tournament will feature the very best players in the world at a time when the entertainment delivered by our sport is stronger than ever.
“The BetVictor bonus has provided a fascinating extra element to our tour over the past three years. From the first event, players are striving to top the leaderboard and put themselves in line for the £150,000. To have 11 players in the race over the final three days of the series last season gave us a thrilling conclusion and we hope for a similar story next time.
“Snooker continues to grow in terms of our worldwide television and digital audience, with new and younger fans discovering the enthralling nature of the sport every year. BetVictor have joined us on that journey, bringing their brand to hundreds of millions of followers. They are a great team to work with and we look forward to developing our relationship for many years to come.”
Hull To Stage Tour Championship For The First Time
Neil Robertson and John Higgins contested a classic final last year
The Bonus Arena in Hull will host the world’s best snooker players next year, when the Tour Championship comes to the city for the first time.
The tournament is one of the biggest on snooker’s global circuit and features an elite eight-man field. Only the top eight on the 2022/23 season one-year ranking list will qualify for the world ranking event.
Running from March 27 to April 2 in 2023, the event will be televised live by ITV and a range of other international broadcasters.
Neil Robertson won the title last season in Llandudno, beating John Higgins in the final. Also in the field were Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Mark Allen, Zhao Xintong and Luca Brecel. A stellar field of the sport’s all-time greats is expected again in 2023.
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World Snooker Tour Chairman Steve Dawson said: “We are excited about going to the Bonus Arena in Hull for one of our biggest events for the first time as it is a fabulous venue and the atmosphere when it is packed out is going to be incredible. For the very best players on the planet and for the fans lucky enough to get tickets this is going to be a special experience.
“From the moment the first balls are struck this season, the players are in a race to climb high on the one year list, because only those in form qualify for the elite events in this series. The top 32 make it to the World Grand Prix, then 16 qualify for the Players Championship and by the time we get to the eight-man Tour Championship it really is the cream of the crop.
“We look forward to working with the team at the Bonus Arena and the people of Hull on delivering a sensational event.”
Hull, and this venue in particular, have hosted several important “Seniors” events. It’s a great venue and Hull is a very nice and interesting city to visit. It has both “historical” and “mordern” sides. The locals are particularly wellcoming, and helpful if you get lost! If you plan to go … take some warm clothes with you! The sea coast climate is “tonic” but not exactly hot!
World Snooker Tour Chairman Steve Dawson said: “We are excited about going to the Bonus Arena in Hull for one of our biggest events for the first time as it is a fabulous venue and the atmosphere when it is packed out is going to be incredible. For the very best players on the planet and for the fans lucky enough to get tickets this is going to be a special experience.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 