For many players, and fans, the 2024/25 season will start in earnest in two day, on Thursday 25 July 2024, with the 2024 Xian Grand Prix qualifiers. You know my opinion on having those qualifiers held in the UK but, for now at least, that’s the way it is. Anyway… with those events upon us, WST has made two announcements.
The first player to make 100 century breaks on the World Snooker Tour during the 2024/25 season will win a massive £100,000 bonus.
This new WST initiative gives all tour players the chance to chase the landmark of 100 tons in a single season.
This has only ever been achieved twice before – by Neil Robertson who made 103 centuries during the 2013/14 campaign, and Judd Trump who compiled 102 in 2019/20.
All events on the 2024/25 WST calendar count towards a player’s tally, and the first to reach 100 centuries will earn the bonus. If two (or more players) reach the 100 milestone having played the same number of frames in the same round of the same tournament, then the bonus will be shared.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “We are delighted to introduce this new bonus as it creates an extra storyline which will run throughout the season. If a player is on target for the ‘century of centuries’ going into the last few events then the drama will build with every match!”
Trump tops the charts so far this season having made ten centuries in winning last week’s Shanghai Masters. Fans can keep track of which players are topping the centuries list here
Before I come to how I feel about the initiative … following the link above sends me to this:
WTF is this ??? Why on earth do fans need to sign in to a site to see such information ???
Anyway… of course, fans love big breaks and centuries, so encouraging the players to go for them makes some sense BUT this is a professional sport and you would expect players to try to win above anything else. Hum?
TOP 144 SNOOKER PLAYERS TO STAR IN THE FIRST SAUDI ARABIA SNOOKER MASTERS
144 of the best snooker players are set to compete in the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters in Green Halls, Riyadh from August 30th – September 7th.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, a world ranking event, will feature a mammoth prize pool of over £2 million. This tournament is part of an exciting legacy commitment with the Ministry of Sport for Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation, aiming to develop snooker and pool in the region over next decade.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will be open to all 128 tour players, plus 16 wild card players selected by the Saudi Arabian Billiard & Snooker Federation, to create the total field of 144 players.
Stars names including Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Allen, John Higgins, Mark Selby, World Champion Kyren Wilson and the rest of the world’s top 32, as well as leading women players Reanne Evans, Mink Nutcharut, Bai Yulu and Baipat Siripaporn will be in the line-up for the first ever ranking event staged in Saudi Arabia.
The event will start on Friday August 30th, with the thrilling final set for Saturday September 7th. Further details on ticket information will be announced soon.
They will compete in the same format as the Snooker World Championship:
Round one: Seeds 81-112 v seeds 113-144 (August 30th) Round two: Those 32 winners v seeds 49 -80 (August 31st) Round three: Those 32 winners v seeds 17-48 (September 1st) Round four: Those 32 winners play each other (September 2nd) Round five: Those 16 winners v seeds 1-16 in the last 32 (September 3rd)
Reigning Snooker World Champion, Kyren Wilson will be among the elite players heading to Riyadh: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the World Snooker Tour. I am looking forward to competing in this new ranking event and aiming for the top spot in Riyadh.” Wilson said.
Saudi Arabia Billiards & Snooker Federation President, Dr Nasser Saab Al-Shammari, added: “History will be written once more for snooker in Saudi Arabia, and we could not be more thrilled. Seeing world class talents from across the globe compete here will be truly special, offering both the players and fans an unforgettable experience.”
WST Chairman, Steve Dawson said: “Given the magnitude of this outstanding new event, in working with our partners in Saudi Arabia we felt it was crucial to have all 144 players in Riyadh. This will be the only one of snooker’s four majors with such an extensive field competing in the final stages.
“Fans in the region will have the opportunity to watch a diverse range of players, from up-and-coming rookies and local wild cards to the top 16 seeds. It promises to be a fantastic celebration of snooker, and for all of the players, it’s an amazing opportunity to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, enjoy the culture and meet the fans.
“This is a huge ten-year partnership which will focus on developing participation in snooker at all levels, so to have such a wide array of talented players in Riyadh for this incredible new tournament is an important focal point for that journey. We look forward to working with our partners on the inaugural event.”
The major ten-year deal for this event also includes the World Pool Championship – the crown jewel of the World Nineball Tour – which was recently staged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and won by Fedor Gorst, who defeated Eklent Kaci 15-14 in an epic final.
As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has emerged as a premier destination for some of the biggest global sports events, embracing both male and female athletes. From football and motorsports to tennis, equestrian, and esports, Saudi Arabia has welcomed over 2.6 million enthusiastic sports fans to witness these world-class competitions.
The title of this piece is a bit baffling as there is no snooker ranking list outside the one WST “offers”, and that list, based on earnings in professional events, shouldn’t really take amateurs into account and doesn’t comprise 144 players anyway at this stage of the season!1 OK, so, the field will be made of all the pros who will enter the event plus amateurs, including 16 wildcards chosen by the Saudis.
The good thing is that it has a tiered structure and all matches will be played at the venue. No qualifiers in the UK for this one. All players welcome in Saudi Arabia!2 The less good thing is that given the schedule it can only be a very short format unless the venue can accommodate a huge number of tables. How many, if any, will be televised or streamed, and via what channel(s) isn’t known yet.
Unless they use a secret ELO ranking list … but I’m dreaming… ↩︎
Just as well probably that there are currently no Israēli players on tour … ↩︎
World Grand Prix move to Hong Kong part of plan to reduce UK’s snooker dominance
Phil Haigh
Ronnie O’Sullivan won the World Grand Prix last season in Leicester (Picture: Getty Images)
The World Grand Prix is likely to leave the UK for the first time since it arrived on the World Snooker Tour calendar in 2015 and that looks set to be a sign of things to come in the coming years.
Talks are at an advanced stage for the tournament to be held in Hong Kong this season, in the new 10,000-seat indoor arena at Kai Tak Sports Park, which is still under construction.
Official confirmation of the move to the new venue is yet to arrive, but WST are ‘very confident’ that it will happen, in what would be a big step for the event which has been held in Leicester, Cheltenham, Coventry and Milton Keynes in recent years.
This is part of a plan to spread the sport across the globe a little more fairly as the World Snooker Tour is still mainly based in the UK.
Last season there were 23 professional tournaments held in the UK, with just seven abroad across China, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
This season there are 20 events currently on the calendar with 13 in the UK and seven elsewhere – although with more to be added to the schedule in the near future including the Grand Prix and World Masters of Snooker.
This is getting closer to a 50-50 split, which WST say is the target in the short-term, with the potential for more events to be abroad than in the UK in future.
A WST spokesperson told Metro: ‘You’ll see going forward, the Grand Prix being a great example, less events in the UK at smaller venues. There’s no room for us now to keep doing stuff in smaller places.
‘We’re looking to shift to a 50-50 model in the near future. By 2026/27 it should be 50-50 and it might even go beyond that, which is what it should be really. So there will be fewer UK events but they’ll be world class.’
New events overseas have joined the calendar this season, with the Xi’an Grand Prix in China and the big-money Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters coming up next month, both for the first time, with the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh is likely to return for a second time in October.
Talk of a new tournament in Qatar was made public by Barry Hearn during the World Championship, and while that remains on the cards for 2025, it may be next season rather than the current one.
Where there has been decline, though, is in Europe where there is only the German Masters on the calendar this season, one event down from last season which saw the European Masters also hosted in Germany.
With the 2023 world champion being Belgian and hugely popular exhibition events held in the likes of Finland and Bulgaria, the presence in Europe is disappointing in terms of how global the game currently is.
However, WST insist they are ‘always looking at Europe’ and ‘desperately trying’ to expand the tour across the continent.
‘We need to move away from relying on the UK market,’ said the WST spokesperson.
Luca Brecel’s 2023 World Championship triumph is yet to lead to more European events (Picture: Getty Images)
With the imminent move for the Grand Prix, more of the ‘smaller’ ranking events in the UK could also be moved abroad or swapped for new international tournaments, with the likes of the English Open currently held in Brentwood certainly a candidate to change.
As for the World Grand Prix, confirmation is expected in the coming weeks on the venue, dates and TV coverage, with talks ongoing on all fronts.
Hong Kong is the likely destination, but dates in January and March are possible and whether ITV4 will continue to televise the event is still being discussed.
The event will remain the first in the three-tournament series which leads into the smaller field Players Championship and Tour Championship.
At last !!!
Well this is good news, well overdue but good news. And if WST is really trying to expand the tour in mainland Europe, I’m not sure what is stopping them. The appetite from the fans is there as the success of this summer exhibitions has shown. What I do know though is that Brexit isn’t making it easier and that there has to be something worth it for the local promoters/organisers. During the PTCs era, I know that organising those events cost the local promotors and staff a lot of work, time and energy and they got very little out of it. That model can’t work in the long term.
After reading the article in the Hong Kong press about the possibility for the World Grand Prix to move to Hong Kong this season, Michael Day wrote to World Snooker, seeking more information … and he got an answer!
Here is Michael’s piece, reflecting on WST answer and the possible move. I have highlighted some parts in bold as they answer questions that have been raised here and on social media in general.
World Grand Prix snooker likely to be heading to Hong Kong
Credit: AFP via Getty Images/Peter Parks | AFP via Getty Images/Peter Parks
The 2025 World Grand Prix is on course to be held in Hong Kong according to a spokesperson from the World Snooker Tour (WST).
There has been activity on social media over the last few days about the future location of the prestigious ranking event following published articles online from both Hong Kong Billiards Sports and the South China Morning Post.
Totally Snookered reached out to the WST, who have confirmed they are in advanced discussions with partners in Hong Kong to hold the tournament this season, and are hoping to officially announce details in the coming weeks.
Due to laws on hosting sports events in the country, organisers in Hong Kong are obliged to publicly announce intentions through an invitation to tender, hence why there has already been communication online about a potential new home for the World Grand Prix.
It is suggested the event will be held at the Kai Tak Sports Park – a new 10,000-seat venue – in the first quarter of 2025, depending on its availability.
There has been some confusion online whether this would be a new event, but the WST spokesperson confirmed it is the existing World Grand Prix which remains as the opening leg of the three-pronged Players Series alongside the Players Championship and Tour Championship.
Both the 2025 Players Championship (Telford, 17-23 March) and 2025 Tour Championship (Manchester, 31 March-6 April) are already scheduled on this season’s calendar, but the dates and location for the World Grand Prix – which would need to be played before the Players Championship – have yet to be mentioned.
Despite the potential move to the Far East there are no plans to change the format of the competition with only the top 32 players from the one-year ranking list invited to compete. However, as is often the case with Asian events, local wildcards may also take part.
Since the creation of the very popular Players Series several years ago, all events have been held in the United Kingdom with host broadcaster ITV continuing to support the Series with live televised and online coverage throughout the three events from start to finish. WST are keen for this event to remain on ITV and talks are ongoing.
Hong Kong has a rich snooker history having initially hosted professional invitational events from the 1980s. The Hong Kong Masters returned in 2017 and 2022; at the latter installment, Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated home hero Marco Fu in the final in front of 9,000 spectators at the Hong Kong Coliseum – a record for a live snooker audience at a venue.
In 1989, the country hosted its one and only ranking event to date – the Hong Kong Open – when Mike Hallett ousted Dene O’Kane 9-8 in the final. This was the first professional ranking event ever to be held in Asia.
As well as three-time ranking event winner Fu, Hong Kong has had several professional players down the years, including three-time world women’s champion Ng On Yee. This season, Cheung Ka Wai plays his maiden professional campaign having won the World Snooker Federation Championship earlier in the year and Wang Yuchen returns to the tour after graduating from the UK Q School.
Elsewhere in cuesports, Hong Kong’s Robbie Capito recently won the UK Open 9-Ball Pool Championship – a big event on the World Nineball Tour.
These are exciting times for the sport as the World Snooker Tour continues to expand globally. This season there is another new ranking event in China (Xi’an Grand Prix) as well as the inaugural edition of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which is set to hold a prize fund in excess of £2 million.
There are also rumours of further events to be held in the Middle East, including in Qatar.
I mainly watched Group 16 yesterday. Zhou Yuelong was very poor on the day, it has to be said. Mink, on the other hand, performed better than I expected. She managed two draws. OK, Zhou Yuelong was far from his best, but she got a draw against the eventual group winner, Fan Zhengyi, as well and she secured some precious points by finishing third in the group. She is clearly working hard and progressing. She is a petite, slender women. She lacks cue power but she has a very decent safety game as well as the right mindset and attitude. Is that enough to give her a chance on the main tour? The honest answer is that I’m not sure. What I’m very sure of though is that she deserves respect, a lot of it. She certainly doesn’t deserve the contempt that so often transpires through disparaging comments made by insecure machos in chats and posts. You know who you are.
Ali Carter got his season off to a strong start by topping Group Five at the BetVictor Championship League and earning his place in Stage Two.
The Captain opened his day with a 2-2 draw against Joshua Thomond, where he lost the final frame to surrender victory. However, he recovered well with a 3-1 defeat of Indian tour rookie Kreish Gurbaxani. That set up a group decider against Xing Zihao, who won his opening two matches with Thomond and Gurbaxani. It was Carter who crafted breaks of 87 and 73 en route to a 3-1 victory and the next round.
Former BetVictor European Masters champion Fan Zhengyi prevailed in Group 16. He opened with a 3-0 whitewash win over former World Seniors finalist Alfie Burden, before making breaks of 121 and 65 in a 2-2 draw with women’s world number one Mink Nutcharut. Fan faced Chinese compatriot Zhou Yuelong in a crucial final game, but crafted contributions of 113 and 57 in a group sealing 3-1 victory.
Former World Champion Ken Doherty has been awarded an Invitational Tour Card which will allow him to compete on the World Snooker Tour for the next two seasons.
Ireland’s Doherty has been ever-present on the tour since 1990. He would have been relegated at the end of last season having finished 79th in the world rankings, but has accepted the Invitational Tour Card which gives him the chance to enter events during the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.
Doherty conquered the Crucible in 1997 and in all has won over 20 professional tournaments.
WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “In view of Ken’s tremendous record as a player and a fantastic ambassador for snooker, we had no hesitation in offering him a tour card. He is a great asset to our sport and also remains very competitive as a player and no doubt fans will continue to enjoy watching him in action over the next two seasons.”
Stephen Hendry was also offered an Invitational Tour Card but has decided not to accept. The seven-time World Champion had held the card since 2020, but now feels that he is unable to commit to the tour due to other priorities including the growth of his CueTips YouTube Channel and brand, broadcast commitments and ambassadorial role in China.
“Let’s be honest, I wasn’t pulling up any trees, was I?
“I was a little bit surprised with how good the standard was, but I’ve just got so many other work commitments, I won’t be able to dedicate enough time to practising.
“I know the game inside out, I still know all the shots, but unfortunately the body is not performing like my brain wants it to.“
Stephen Hendry did the right thing. Respect. It’s always hard to cope with the situation when your body starts to fail you because of age. You have to accept it and adapt. It’s not easy at all. Ken took the offer and I saw some very negative comments about his decision on social media. “He should leave his spot to young players who are better than him”. Possibly … BUT … bear in mind that the likes of Ken and Jimmy still put bums on seats, quite a lot of bums too. They bring money to the game that way, money that, amongst other things, helps supporting to the rookies and young on tour financially. No matter how good they may be, these are players very few would pay to watch, quite simply because they don’t know them (yet).
Ronnie continues his “China Tour” with Jason Francis and it’s not just for exhibitions.
As reported by WST, Ronnie also took part to the media day to “launch” of the 2024 Xi’an World Grand, a new event that will be played for the first time later during this summer.
O’Sullivan Helps Launch Xi’an Grand Prix Media Event
On the afternoon of May 28th, the press conference for the 2024 World Snooker Xi’an Grand Prix was held at Xi’an SKP Center. Legendary seven-time World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, along with over 200 people including representatives from more than 70 brands, guests, fans, and media reporters were in attendance. This event was hosted by Shaanxi Tourism Group and Shaanxi Sports Industry Group.
The press conference was attended by distinguished guests and leaders, including Anthea Heffernan, Regional Cooperation Counsellor at the British Embassy in China; Wang Xiaojiong, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of CBSA; Zhang Wangping, Deputy Director and Party Leadership Group Member of the Shaanxi Provincial Sports Bureau; He Dong, Party Committee Member and Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Tourism Group; and Mike Ganley, Tournament Director for WST.
Steve Dawson, Chairman WST, and Jason Ferguson, Chairman of the WPBSA, recorded video messages for the press conference. Mike Ganley participated in the guest dialogue session, where he talked about the background for the event to be hosted in Xi’an.
The 2024 World Snooker Xi’an Grand Prix is scheduled to take place from August 19 to 25th at the Xi’an Qujiang Sports Center. Top international players will gather in the ancient city of Xi’an to compete in thrilling matches.
Jason also shared a couple of photos
The second photo is from the 10000 seats venue… Jason also shared this short video:
Before that they were in Shanghai and I never realised that they were doing the exhibition in Disneyland!
And again there is also a short video…
And now they have arrived in Hong Kong
For a sport to really grow big… it needs big audiences and China brings that. That’s why the top players love it there. It may not please the British fans, but it’s the commercial reality. And that’s why it would be good for the sport to have it’s World Championship traveling around the World in big venues, situated in big cities. History and traditions are all well and good but it shouldn’t become an obstacle to the growth and development of the sport, because, it is does, it will kill that sport eventually.
And some more pictures found by Kalacs – thank you Kalacs!
According to automatic translation: Ronnie walking the city, on a film set (looks like a venue to me) and visiting a Temple
After a 4-2 win over Ashley Hugill to reach round three of Q School, Paul Deaville admitted he will have a tough decision to make if he qualifies for the pro tour.
During a successful junior career, highlighted by victory in the 2023 English Amateur Championship and 2024 English Under-21 Championship, 19-year-old Deaville has always maintained an emphasis on education. He is currently in the first year of a three-year university course in Business Sports Management, and has not yet decided whether he would quit the course if he has the chance to turn pro.
“I am juggling my education with snooker to give myself something to fall back on,” said Deaville, who faces Anthony Wall next. “If I get on tour then I don’t know what I’d do. My goal eventually is to be a snooker player. If that doesn’t happen at Q School, I’ve got my second year of university ahead so that takes pressure off. I have practised hard for this, I needed to do that just to give myself a chance. There are still nerves. There are only eight spots here and a lot of good players. The pressure here is different to anything else.”
Riley Powell, a promising 15-year-old from the snooker hot-bed of South Wales, impressed in a 4-3 victory over experienced Peter Lines. From 3-2 down, Powell recovered to take the last two frames and set up a tie with Alex Clenshaw.
“It feels amazing, beating such an experienced player in such good conditions,” said Powell. “At 3-3 I felt calm and just played my game. I might be a bit too young to get on tour because I don’t have that much experience. If it comes, it comes. If not I still have a few more years to try to make it.”
Former ranking event finalist Gerard Greene scored a 4-1 win over Steven Hallworth. Jenson Kendrick came from 3-1 down to beat Edward Jones 4-3, taking the deciding frame by clearing from brown to black. Former Ruhr Open champion Rory McLeod edged out Manuel Ederer 4-3 thanks to a run of 52 in the decider, while former Crucible semi-finalist Andy Hicks saw off Sean Maddocks 4-1.
DEAVILLE PLEASED WITH PROGRESS
Maybe it’s just me but it feels like there is a change in style in those last WST reports, more focus on the player(s) less on the “snooker numbers, scores and breaks”. I like that, as I like Paul Deaville’s attitude.
The player nicknamed “Cruella” by some comes across as an intelligent and mature young man, with a solid head on his young shoulders. It’s a shame that he may have to choose between his studies and his career as a snooker professional. The money list system will leave him with no choice: either he plays in about everything or he will not be able to stay on tour. This is typically a case where a rating system would bring huge benefits, allowing players like Paul to really pick and choose and still maintain or even improve their rating provided they do well in the events they are able to enter. And they wouldn’t come into yje pro tour on zero points either as a proper – and properly run – rating system could encompass both the amateur and pro game.
I watched a bit of Riley Powell in round 1 and the kid impressed me. That said, I’m not sure I want him to turn pro this year. IMO he’s too young and tour is very brutal. We had a number of examples in the past of young talents who were destroyed by the brutality of the system. I’d rather not have more of this and have him to wait for another year or two before turning pro. The “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” is nonsense as being a pro implies many things, and responsibilities, in addition to what you can do on the table.
On the other hand, I’m very pleased for Jenson Kendrick who after two miserable years on tour showed what he capable of – and made of – at the 2024 World qualifiers. I think that he is capable of building on that and be successful on tour. I hope he get through the Q-School(s). I also hope that Iulian Boiko new approach will prove succesful and that he can get back on tour. He’s just booked his place in round 4…
Most names in that comp are unfamiliar to us, European fans, but Luo Hong Hao and Sunny Akani are both competing in Thailand and I’d love to see them back on tour and on our screens!
he Billiard Sports Association of Thailand will host Asia and Oceania Q School 2024 from 22 May to 2 June 2024 at the BSAT Academy at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok. There will be two tournaments and the two finalists from each event will earn a place on the World Snooker Tour for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons.
Former pros Sunny Akani, Gao Yang, Himanshu Jain, Luo Honghao and Hamza Akbar will be among those battling for tour cards. For results and pictures follow the BSAT Facebook page HERE.
