Snooker to create new world tour 27/11/2009 |
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IMG and World Snooker have announced plans for a global circuit “similar to that of tennis or golf”.
It is hoped the World Snooker Tour, which will more than double the number of international ranking tournaments to 15, will breathe new life into the troubled sport and help attract new sponsors.
Snooker has been criticised by many, including three-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, for being out of touch.
World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker is standing for re-election next week with Barry Hearn putting himself forward as a possible successor should Walker fail to win enough support.
Walker said of the proposed new tour: “We hope the players and promoters will recognise the opportunities of this ambitious plan.”
The tour would be run in conjunction with IMG, which looks after World Snooker’s international broadcasting rights.
The plan is to hold at least 15 ranking events, with additional invitational tournaments, during the first year and increase the number in the following season. The 2009/10 season has seen a reduction from eight to six ranking events.
Walker said World Snooker had brought forward its announcement about the World Tour as a response to “misleading, inaccurate and downright untruthful comments about the sport” over the past few months.
He added that the snooker’s “history of turmoil” had ended and it was now in a “financially stable” position.
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