World Snooker Tour announce another prize money boost after Grand Prix expansion
The Players Championship will see prize money boosted by 30 per cent this season, news which comes after the huge increase to the cash on offer at the World Grand Prix.
It was confirmed last week that the World Grand Prix will move to Hong Kong in March 2025 and be held in the brand new Grand Hall, Kai Tak Arena, boasting a capacity of over 4,000.
The spectacular new setting for the 32-player event has helped the prize fund climb by 84 per cent, from £380,000 to £700,000, with the champion pocketing £180,000 compared to last season’s £100,000.
The three-event series in the second half of the season sees the Grand Prix followed by the Players Championship, which features the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list, then the Tour Championship which is now the top 12 players.
Over recent years the prize pot has increased over the three tournaments as the field got smaller, but the mammoth increase to the World Grand Prix has changed things significantly.
World Snooker Tour have announced on Tuesday that the Players Championship is getting a prize fund increase from £385,000 to £500,000, with the winner taking £150,000 compared to the £125,000 of the last campaign.
The announcement also confirmed that the Tour Championship prize fund will remain at £500,000. Last season Mark Williams won the event and claimed £150,000 for doing so.
The changes in prize money do mess with the neat nature of the series, but the players involved will hardly mind, with much more cash on offer in total over the three tournaments.
WST Chief Executive Officer Simon Brownell said: ‘This is an exciting time for our tour as we expand across the globe with new and exciting events. We are delighted to increase prize money significantly for the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship, enhancing the prestige of these events.
‘The Players Series rewards those in form and there is massive incentive for all players to earn a lucrative place firstly in the World Grand Prix and then the next two in the series.
‘We continue to work on opportunities for the current season with the ambition to hit £19 million in total prize money which would be comfortably our highest ever, and an increase of 35 per cent compared to last season.
‘The opportunities available to players now have never been better, and we have ambitious plans for further growth in years to come.’
Players Series 2024/25
World Grand Prix
Dates: 4-9 March
Location: Hong Kong
Prize fund: £700,000
Players Championship
Dates: 17-23 March
Location: Telford
Prize fund: £500,000
Tour Championship
Dates: 31 March – 6 April
Location: Manchester
Prize fund: £500,000
The race to qualify for the World Grand Prix continues and will be as hotly contested as ever after the significant increases to that event and the Players Championship.
Players will have up till and including the World Open in China (24 Feb – 2 March) to make it into the Grand Prix which gets underway the following week, so plenty of chances remain to get into the top 32 on the one-year list by then.
The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship has also been added to the calendar for this season, with the event in Saudi Arabia set to take place from 18-20 December.
The invitational event will feature the top 10 players in the world rankings following the UK Championship.
It is a return of the event which was called the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker last season and won by Ronnie O’Sullivan, featuring the controversial golden ball which allowed a new maximum break of 167.
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