Riyadh Season will once again welcome the best snooker players on the planet from December 18th to 20th when the 2024 Riyadh Season Snooker Championship takes place in Boulevard City.
The tournament was staged for the first time in March 2024 following a historic agreement between His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), and the World Snooker Tour.
Famously, the tournament included a unique Gold Ball, which was worth 20 points and could only be potted at the end of a maximum 147, creating the possibility for a player to score a break of 167 which would have been the highest in the history of snooker.
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship invitation event will welcome the top ten players on snooker’s official ranking list at the end of the 2024 UK Championship on December 1st. There are still three counting events to go, so the chasing pack still have time to climb into the top ten of the Race to Riyadh and earn a place in this exciting tournament.
In March, snooker’s all-time greatest player Ronnie O’Sullivan lifted the trophy after beating John Higgins and Judd Trump to reach the final before a 5-2 victory over Luca Brecel. “It has been a fantastic tournament at a brilliant venue and the crowd have been amazing,” said O’Sullivan at the end of the final. “All the players have enjoyed the culture and hospitality. These are the tournaments I really want to play in, with a great atmosphere. Riyadh Season has a lot of the best sport – everyone needs to get to Saudi!”
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said: “We are looking forward to hosting the next Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, after the great success of our first event earlier this year. The interest in snooker is only getting bigger in Saudi Arabia. The fans love to have the best players around the world here and we are excited to have them return in December.”
WST Chairman Steve Dawson added: “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with HE Turki Alalshikh and to stage this event as part of the fabulous Riyadh Season for the second time in 2024. This year we have made huge strides forward in our development in Saudi Arabia and it is exciting to see snooker growing so fast in this region and attracting a new audience. There is huge motivation for the players over the next few weeks to climb into the top ten and guarantee a place in the field at what will be a fantastic three days of the highest quality action. We would love to see one of them pot the Gold Ball and make history!”
Details of the venue and how fans can buy tickets or watch the event on television or online will be announced soon