Riyadh Season is racking up sporting milestones, and this weekend it is turning the spotlight on snooker.
Saudi Arabia has already welcomed football icons and blockbuster boxing nights, and now the green baize is taking its turn. The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship gets underway today at SNB Arena and runs for three days until 21 November, giving fans the chance to see some of the biggest names in the game live in action.
This is not your standard ranking event. The format has been created to dial up the drama, with a special 20-point golden ball that only comes into play once a player has completed a 147 break. If they then pot the golden ball, they make a 167, a feat that has never been achieved in professional competition. Anyone who does it in Riyadh will walk away with more than SAR 3.75 million, the equivalent of 1 million US dollars in prize money and a place in snooker history.
Across the three days, 12 professional stars will compete for glory. The line-up includes Mark Allen, Ding Junhui, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Kyren Wilson and Zhao Xintong. They will be joined by two homegrown wildcards, 15-year-old Ziyad Al Qabbani and 22-year-old Ayman Alamri, who will be making their tournament debuts on home soil and testing themselves against some of the sport’s most decorated names.
Riyadh already has form when it comes to world-class snooker. Last year, the city staged the Snooker Masters by Battle on the Blaze, which brought a host of elite players to the Kingdom. Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Allen, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, and Judd Trump are all returning to Saudi Arabia for this latest chapter.
Tickets for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship are now available, starting at just SAR 30. Whether you are a long-time snooker fan or simply enjoy high-pressure sporting showdowns, SNB Arena is the place to be this weekend. With big names, bold stakes and the tantalising possibility of a record-breaking 167, this could be one of Riyadh Season’s most memorable nights.
GO: Visit https://webook.com for more information.