World Open tournament confirmed
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| Snooker is set to conquer China |
Now, everything is set and the dates are confirmed: in February we are heading to Haikou, on Hainan Island for some World Open snooker.
As it happens with each ranking event the Top 16 players are getting a spot in the tournament, another 16 being able to play against them after they survive the qualifying rounds due to start this week from 11-14 of January in Sheffield.
Also, eight wildcards will be picked to play at the final venue.
The winner of the Haikou World Open event is going home with no more than £75,000 of a total amount of £400,000 prize money.
World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "We are delighted to announce the staging of the World Open in Haikou for the next five years. The popularity of snooker in China continues to grow at a phenomenal rate and we have capitalised on that by establishing a third full ranking event, alongside the China Open and Shanghai Masters. We expect to make more announcements about events in China in the coming weeks.
"My warm gratitude goes to Star Xing Pai for promoting the new Haikou World Open, and to the China Billiards and Snooker Association under the leadership of Mr Zhang Xiaoning, as well as the Haikou Government.
"Hainan Island is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and an ideal place to stage one of our world ranking tournaments. The players competing in the event are in for a wonderful time and it's fantastic to be taking snooker to a new part of China. I have no doubt that the fans there will show the same passion and enthusiasm for our sport that we have seen at our other tournaments in China."
So, with another ranking event in the book, snooker is surely ready to conquer the world.
The Haikou World Open tournament is taking place between February 27 and March 4 and there's a contract there to keep the event running for five years.
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