European Masters - getting ready for a genuine snooker show

21st of September marked the date for the first press conference dedicated to Romanian's biggest snooker event of all times - the European Masters - due to take place in Bucharest, at the Circus Arena between 3rd and 9th of October 2016.

The organisers, McCann & Thiess Events, which have also been involved into no less than three editions of Snooker Titans Trophy (a series of exhibition matches that introduced the Romanian public to top snooker players) were happy to announce the latest details about the coming European Masters.

The event will be held at the Circus Arena from Bucharest (the same location that was used for two of the Snooker Titans Trophy editions) between 3-9 October and will see no less than 32 snooker players.

The organisers promised one hell of a show with the guarantee that at least eight of the Top 16 players will be present in Bucharest and five world champions will also delight the Romanian audience.

The European Masters will be fully covered by EuroSport and EuroSport 2, which is actually a premiere for such a huge sport event held in our country.

The matches will start from 10am and the "match of the day" (as the organisers call it) is scheduled to start from 7.30pm.

Matches will be played on "the best of 9" rule up until the semis which will be played on "best of 11" and the final will get to see "best of 17" frames.

The semis are scheduled to take place on Saturday from 1pm and 7pm, while the final will be disputed the next day, on Sunday in two sessions, at the same hours.

The full match schedule will be released shortly, after the qualifying stages will be completed.


Mr Bogdan Enoiu (McCann World Group Romania's General Manager) said:

"Ronnie O'Sullivan means to snooker what Roger Federer means to tennis because he has such a distinct way of playing the game.

The sport itself has many resemblances with chess because one must think up to six moves ahead.

It's such a great honour to have eight out of the Top 10 snooker players playing here, because the fans will be spoiled for seven days with outstanding matches."

McCann & Thiess Events has signed a three-year contract with World Snooker for staging this event in Romania, but the organisers are waiting to see how the first edition will go and how the Romanian audience will respond in order to raise the bar and also hold the qualifying stages here (at the moment, due to lack of a suitable venue they will be held in Preston, UK).


Mr Cosmin Hodor, the man behind the European Masters organisational team added:

"The European Masters is the second most prestigious ranking event held outside the UK borders so we are delighted with this opportunity.

The prize money reaches 350.000 euros, while the organisational costs up to 500.000 euros.

The venue is perfect for snooker and the audience will have the chance to see four matches per day and at least one Top 10 player evolving at the table for decent prices."

Asked about the name of the referees in change, the organisers promised that the Romanian public will see Alex Crisan on duty, but they are still waiting for the disclosure of the full list of referees from World Snooker.

The tickets are still available on eventim.ro prices starting with 55 RON per day, so be sure to check the website and book your snooker experience.

This is the real deal! You just can't miss it! ;-)