The Middle East has quickly become a world-class sporting hotspot. Cristiano Ronaldo’s playing out there, the FIFA World Cup uprooted its schedule to play there in the winter, and the first boxing match for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion title in the four-belt era was hosted by a country in the region.
Throw in countless other exhibition events and staple world championship meets that are now going to the western fringes of Asia, and it’s clear to see that business is booming. So, it was only a matter of time before professional snooker dipped its toe in the Middle East.
Getting in while the going’s good and Mohammed bin Salman is still committed to his economy diversification plans outlined by Saudi Vision 2030, the World Snooker Tour now has Saudi Arabia stapled on its calendar. If Barry Hearn’s comments hold true, the Matchroom-run competitions may also branch out to Qatar in the seasons to come. So, what’s on the table from the Middle East to bolster the professional snooker schedule?
Snooker comes to Saudi
Snooker’s first professional foray into the Middle East under the World Snooker Tour came in the form of a new invitational event in March 2024. Offering up a prize pool of £785,000 and a shot at even more cash with its ‘Golden Ball’ feature, it’s easy to see the instant appeal of what was the first Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
In the non-ranking event, ten world-ranked players were in attendance, including Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luca Brecel, along with a wild card player from Qatar and another from Saudi Arabia. The Golden Ball wasn’t successfully potted to mark a world-record 167 break, but had it been, the player would have received £400,000.
The creative addition certainly made for an extra level of intensity on the break, and next year, apparently, the super maximum prize earned with the Golden Ball will be pumped up to £780,000. However, for fans west of Saudi Arabia, and even in The Kingdom, scheduling was a bit hit-and-miss.
In the quarter-finals, John Higgins met Ronnie O’Sullivan, but the match couldn’t start until 1:48 am in Saudi Arabia. That’d be nearly midnight in the UK. For maximum viewership and the sake of competition, this will need ironing out at the next edition of the tournament.
The next outing for professional snooker to the Middle East, however, is much sooner than the second hosting of this invitational. On 31 August, the so-called “fourth major” will also be held in Riyadh. O’Sullivan, bar any setbacks, will be at the new major, drawing in snooker fans from around the world. He’ll almost certainly be the favourite in the odds for all of the live snooker matches in the tournament, so it’d be ideal for TV times to align more with European viewing hours.
Like the big-money invitational, the headline-grabbing aspect of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters is that the prize fund will be £2 million. That sum is only second to the World Championship for money. Soon after the Masters was announced as a new ranking event, Riyadh Season was named an official partner of the World Snooker Championship on a ten-year deal, with Ronnie O’Sullivan serving as ambassador for three years.
More snooker coming to the Middle East
For the better part of a decade, each year, the debate arises of whether the World Snooker Championship should move on from its storied home.
The Crucible Theatre has been its host since 1977, but it’s easy to see why calls for a new venue are getting louder. It has a capacity of just 980, and to say that it’s in need of renovation would be an understatement.
Moving to another venue that’s of a higher quality for fans and players seems like a beneficial move for everyone involved, especially as a new home would mean more seats and more revenue for the event. Being a “World” event, there’s also the obvious critique that just playing in England doesn’t offer much for the global audience.
Enter the Middle East, its state-of-the-art venues, and all of the money The Kingdom and Qatar are currently happy to throw into major sporting events. If the Crucible Theatre was to be deserted, the big-money play would be the obvious one. After all, Hearn has hinted at events coming to Qatar, but those are likely akin to the 2024 Saudi events.
The highest level of professional snooker has made its way to the Middle East and looks set to expand its presence from Saudi Arabia to Qatar and perhaps beyond in the coming years. In return, the WST and its players will get to enjoy world-class venues and earn plenty of cash.
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