The World Snooker Tour will stage a minimum of three tournaments in China in 2023, including the first world ranking events since 2019.

Aside from the 2022 Hong Kong Masters which was an eight-player invitation event, these will be the first professional snooker events hosted in China for four years.

The tournaments are:

Shanghai Masters – invitational with 24 players. September 11-17

Wuhan Open – world ranking event. October 9-15

International Championship – world ranking event. November 5-12. Host city to be confirmed

Total prize money for these three events combined will exceed £2 million.

WST Chairman Steve Dawson said: “This is a momentous announcement for our sport as we ramp up our return to staging events in Asia. To have a minimum of two world ranking events, plus a major invitation tournament, in China later this year is fantastic for the players and fans.

“Throughout the pandemic we have maintained dialogue and relationships with the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association as well as our key partners and promoters across China. This has allowed us to make a fast return to staging key events now that travel restrictions have lifted.

“We promised our players that this was top of our agenda and we have delivered on that promise, adding more than £2 million in prize money to the tour. We will continue to explore opportunities to stage further events in China and beyond.

“We are excited to host a tournament for the first time in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and a vibrant city of 11 million people. The Shanghai Masters has a long history and is renowned for its prestige.

“There is a vast appetite for snooker among fans in China and they will keenly anticipate the return of our star players. We look forward to working with our partners on building a bright future for snooker in the region.”

Judd Trump won the 2019 International Championship, which ran from August 4 to 11 in Daqing. He beat Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final to win the title for the second time, taking the £175,000 top prize.

When it was introduced to the calendar in 2012 it immediately became the richest snooker tournament ever staged outside the UK, with a top prize of £125,000. Judd Trump won the inaugural title in the city of Chengdu, then home favourite Ding Junhui won it in 2013, followed by Ricky Walden in 2014. In 2015, the event moved to Daqing in the north east of China for the first time and was won by John Higgins, beating David Gilbert in the final. In 2016 Mark Selby won the title for the first time by thrashing Ding Junhui 10-1 in the final. And he retained the title in 2017 by beating Mark Allen 10-7. In 2018 it was Allen who lifted the trophy, beating Neil Robertson 10-5.