2006-2007 Main Snooker Tour Schedule Announced
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The season begins with the Northern Ireland Trophy at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast in August - the first time a ranking event has ever been staged in Northern Ireland. It was staged as an invitation tournament last year and now gains ranking status.
The world’s top 32 players plus 16 qualifiers will compete at Belfast’s premier venue for indoor sporting events from August 13 to 20.
The calendar also includes the four major events televised by BBC Sport - the Grand Prix, the UK Championships, The Masters and the 888.com World Championships - as well as the Welsh Open and overseas trips to Malta and China.
Prize money on the World Snooker Tour has swelled by over £400,000 to £3.26million.
World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker said: “I have stated many times that our goal is to increase the number of ranking tournaments and the level of prize money and I’m delighted that we are now in a position to start fulfilling that promise.
”This growth has been achieved through our recent sponsorship and broadcast deals and it is only the first step in the development of the Tour. We intend to continue to boost events and prize money in the coming seasons.
“Hopefully snooker fans and players will recognise today’s announcement as very encouraging news for the sport.”
| Date | Event | Location | 2005-2006 Winner | 2006-2007 Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 13-20 | Northern Ireland Trophy | The Waterfront Hall, Belfast | Matthew Stevens (Wales) | |
| September 2 | Pot Black | TBC | Matthew Stevens (Wales) | ||
| October 21-29 | Grand Prix | Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre | John Higgins (Scotland) | |
| December 4-17 | UK Championships | The Barbican Centre, York | Ding Junhui (China) | |
| January 14-21 | The Masters | TBC | John Higgins (Scotland) | ||
| January 29-February 4 | Malta Cup | Hilton Conference Centre, Portomaso | Ken Doherty (Ireland) | |
| February 11-19 | Welsh Open | The Newport Centre | Stephen Lee (England) | |
| March 25-April 1 | China Open | Beijing University Students Gymnasium | Mark Williams (Wales) | |
| April 21-May 7 | World Championships | The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield | Graeme Dott (Scotland) |
The events in green are ranking events, whereas events in grey are non-ranking, invitational events.
Source
- www.worldsnooker.com
Date
Sat 06/17/06, 5:34 am EST
