Snooker in March 2011

Big month this March 2011! For snooker, for me (well, it might just be my birthday today, but you didn’t found it out from me, ok? :-))) ).

First of all we shall have the honor to see the World Championship qualifiers and from what I’ve heard it seems like the World Snooker gang will permit audience to come to the venue (it was a rumor that the competition will be held behind close doors, this year), second of all we shall fly to Ireland to see the boys of snooker play in the PTC Finals, we will finally found out who gets a free spot in this year’s Snooker Premier League and once again we shall leave the UK, this time for China ;-)




When?: 3-13 March
Where?: Sheffield, the UK
Defending champion: -
Who’s playing?: click here for the draw.
Ranking points: -
Prize money: £5,000 for the maximum break.




When?: 10-13 March
Where?: Hainan, China
Defending champion: - (first edition)
Who`s playing?: John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Ding Junhui, Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui, Ali Carter, Shaun Murphy, Peter Ebdon, Jamie Cope, Ricky Walden, Graeme Dott and Dennis Taylor (as a special guest) along with some local wildcards: Li Yan, Cao Yupen, Jin Long, Tian Pengfei and Yu Delu.
Ranking points: - (invitational event)
Prize money: winner (£40,000), runner-up (£18,000), losing semi-finalists (£7,000), number two of each group (£3,500), number three of each group (£1,500), number four of each group (£500). There is also a prize for the maximum break (£5,000) and one for the highest break of the competition (£1,000).



When?: 16-20 March
Where?: Dublin, Ireland
Defending champion: - (first edition)
Who’s playing?: click here for the draw.
Ranking points: winner (3,000 points), runner-up (2,400 points), losing semi-finalists (1,920 points), losing quarter-finalists (1,500 points), last 16 (1,140 points) and for the last 24 (840 points).
Prize money: winner (£60,000), runner-up (£25,000), losing semi-finalists (£15,000), losing quarter-finalists (£7,500), last 16 (£4,000) and for the last 24 (£2,500). There will also be a prize of de £3,000, for the highest break.




When?: 21-24 March
Where?: Crondon Park - Essex, UK
Defending champion: -
Who’s playing?: G7 - Mark King, Matthew Stevens, Stephen Lee, Liang Wenbo (from G6), Marco Fu, Martin Gould and Andrew Higginson; Groups Final: Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter, Ryan Day, Mark Allen and the winner of G7.
Ranking points: -
Prize money: For the group phase: winner of each final (3,000), runner-up in final (£2,000), losing semi-finalists (£1,000). There is also a prize of £ 100 for every frame won and a £500 for the highest break of the group.
For the winners group: overall champion (£10,000), overall runner-up (£5,000) and losing semi-finalists (£3,000). There is also a prize of £ 300 for every frame won and one of £1,000 for the highest break.




When?: March 28th - April 3rd
Where?: Beijing, China
Defending champion: Mark Williams
Who’s playing?: click here for the draw.
Ranking points: winner (7,000 points), runner-up (5,600 points), losing semi-finalist (4,480 points), losing quarter-finalists (3,500 points), last 16 (2,660 points), last 32 (1,960 points and *980 points), last 48 (1,610 points and *805 points), last 64 (1,260 points and *630 points), last 80 (910 points and *455 points) and for the last 96 (56 points and *280 points).
Prize money: winner (£60,000), runner-up (£30,000), losing semi-finalists (£15,000), losing quarter-finalists (£8,000), last 16 (£5,925), last 32 (£4,000), last 48 (£2,200) and for the last 64 (£1,500). There is also a prize for the highest break (£2,000).
* for the top seeds