Players unhappy as Saudi Arabia Masters cancelled

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• Published1 hour ago

The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, one of the richest events on the World Snooker Tour calendar, has been cancelled, with key players unhappy at the announcement.

Former World Championship finalist Barry Hawkins called the news "very disappointing", saying the players found out on Saturday morning when they received a "stupid email".

In 2024, a 10-year deal was announced and the inaugural event was given the unofficial title of the sport's 'fourth major' by organisers.

The ranking tournament was the richest outside the UK, with a £2.3m prize fund and £500,000 for the winner - equal to the World Championship.

But after only two editions, the tournament will not be held again.

A statement from the World Snooker Tour said: "Following constructive discussions between The Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation and Matchroom following the conclusion of the 2025 editions, it has been mutually agreed not to proceed with future editions of the World Pool Championship and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters."

Hawkins said he was unhappy with how the players found out.

Speaking after his 13-9 win over Mark Williams on Saturday in the World Championship last 16, Hawkins said: "What a disappointment. Without sounding rude, something's gone wrong for us to lose that tournament.

"What's happened to the 10-year contract? It's just been blown out of the water.

"We don't get no explanation, nothing, which is very, very annoying. We just get some stupid email saying it's been stopped. No explanation, nothing. Very disappointing, it's a massive tournament to lose.

"It'd be interesting to see the reason behind it."

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'A terribly difficult time for the Middle East'

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Earlier this week, Barry Hearn, president of Matchroom Sport, which has owned a controlling stake in World Snooker since 2010, said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could affect snooker competitions in the area.

"Saudi is a problem," said Hearn. "We don't know where that problem's going to lead to, but we've got good influence there, particularly through the boxing and all the other sports we do.

"We can't interfere with what's going on at the moment. This is a terribly difficult time for the Middle East. Saudi, whether we're talking LIV Tour [golf] or other Olympic sports, are looking to cut back, which is fine, providing we've got other places to go, which we do.

"So on the one hand we're looking at Saudi and saying, 'Yes, there will be snooker in Saudi', but in fairness I can't tell you what exactly at the moment until this problem changes."

Earlier this month, there were reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was set to end its support for the breakaway LIV Golf tour, which would jeopardise its future.

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The Saudi Arabia Masters was first held in Riyadh, with Judd Trump beating Mark Williams 10-9 in the final in September 2024.

Last year the event moved to Jeddah, where Neil Robertson defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan by the same score last August.

The world rankings are determined by the prize money each player has earned over a rolling two-year period.

For those who did well in the event in 2024, they will lose those ranking points and potentially face dropping down the standings.

Ranking situation 'a bit unfair', says Williams

Earlier this week it was announced that the China Open would return to the calendar for the first time since 2019. It will take place in Taiyuan from 8-16 August, the same week that the Saudi event was held last year.

However, the prize fund for the China Open of £1.2m is just over half the money that was available in Saudi Arabia.

"It's a bit unfair because you've got Judd Trump defending 500,000 [points]," said Williams.

"There's 200,000 coming off me, 500,000 for Judd. We haven't got a tournament to defend it, so it's going to be tough, especially if you're fighting for a top-16 place or top-32 place.

"Other people down the rankings are going to suffer as well. We all thought it was on for 10 years, but for whatever reason it's been called off."

The Saudi Arabia Masters is separate to the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, which was last held in November and featured 10 players from the tour, plus two local wildcards.

In that tournament, a golden ball worth 20 points was placed on the baulk cushion and then removed when a maximum 147 break was no longer possible. It created the possibility of a 167 break, although no player managed to do that.

The statement did not reference that event and it is unknown at present whether that will go ahead.

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