‘Absolute f***ing embarrassment’, say fans as ‘sold out’ Saudi snooker tournament sees just a handful of fans turn up

FANS claimed it was an “absolute f***ing embarrassment” after only a handful of spectators turned up to the “sold out” Riyadh World Masters of Snooker.

The tournament has already proven to be hugely controversial following the introduction of the golden ball.

PA

Ding Junhui romped to victory in the opening match of the Riyadh World Masters of Snooker[/caption]

Only a handful of spectators turned up to watch despite it being ‘sold out’

The golden ball, which will be worth 20 points, can be used to make a break of 167 and anyone that achieves that “miracle” will receive a mega £400,000 cash bonus.

Despite the huge prize on offer for the 167 break, it won’t get acknowledged officially as an extra 23rd ball carrying such a points value is not in the rule book.

And the final details of its introduction were not even confirmed with 48 hours to go until the action got started.

The Saudi organisers were then accused of “making it up as they go along” after another major change on the eve of the controversial tournaments.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, Luca Brecel and Mark Allen are among those who will battle it out with a prize pool of £800,000 up for grabs.

Saudi organisers were accused of “making it up as they go along” after another major change on the eve of the controversial tournaments.

Originally it was supposed to be eight of the planet’s best snooker stars plus two Middle Eastern wildcards involved but two more names were added to the line-up at the last-minute. Chinese star Ding Junhui, 36, and Scottish icon John Higgins, 48, were announced as part of the “expanded” event.

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Despite all of the chaos and frustrations, Saudi chiefs announced on Saturday that tickets had completely sold out for the Riyadh World Masters of Snooker.

However, footage of Ding Junhui’s 4-0 romp over Omar Alajlani in the opening match appeared to tell a different story.

And even though tickets may well have all been sold, only a tiny number of people actually turned up to watch the action live in Riyadh.

Hundreds of empty seats dominated the screen background as EuroSport showed the clash live, and it did not take long for snooker fans to stick the boot in on social media.

One posted: “By the look of all those empty seats at the world masters of snooker event in Saudi Arabia, the fans have spoken and most have boycotted the tournament.

“Bringing in the ‘golden ball’ gimmick is unnecessary and makes a joke of the whole event.”

A more conservative snooker supporter wrote: “Doesn’t look to be much of a crowd for the Saudi Snooker event.

“Might be the size of the venue. It will be interesting to see from the quarter finals onwards.”

But an irate third posted on X: “This Saudi snooker tournament is an absolute f***ing embarrassment.

“From the 167 golden ball b******s, to the strange list of invitees, to the tragic crowd here. A travesty to the sport.”

Another said: “All this hype about snooker in Saudi and there’s no one in the audience. Money talks as always…”

While a fifth commented: “Just turned the snooker on to see what all the fuss is about with the golden ball as I expected it’s pretty soulless lucky if there’s one man and his dog watching all money money money as you’d expect with the Saudis = all Mickey Mouse.”