Snooker’s Top Stars Target Riga

World Champion Mark Selby and defending champion Neil Robertson are among the snooker kings set to play in the 2017 Kaspersky Riga Masters.

Robertson won the world ranking event last year by beating Michael Holt in the final at the Riga Arena in Latvia. And this time he’ll be defending his title against the likes of Selby, Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham, Barry Hawkins, Kyren Wilson, Mark Williams, Mark Allen and Jimmy White.

The matches involving Selby, Robertson and the two wild card players will be held over to the final venue in Riga. All other first round matches will take place at the Guild Hall in Preston from May 31 to June 2, with the winners going through to the final stages in the Latvian capital to do battle for the first ranking title of the 2017/18 season.

Click here for the Riga Masters draw

And there is increased prize money for the tournament this year, with the winner to bank £50,000 from a total of £227,000.

Earlier this month, Selby won the world title for the third time by beating John Higgins 18-15 in the final at the Crucible.

“I’m really looking forward to getting going again, and I’ll be full of confidence coming off my best ever season,” said the 33-year-old, who won the inaugural Riga Masters in 2014. “I have always enjoyed playing in Latvia, it’s a beautiful place and the fans make us feel welcome. It will be a strong field in Riga and hopefully I can have a good run.”

Tickets for all sessions of the Kaspersky Riga Masters are now available and start at just 15.60 Euros. It’s a fantastic chance for snooker fans to see many of their heroes live, competing for a ranking title. For ticket details CLICK HERE