Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker: Date, schedule and rules with Ronnie O’Sullivan competing in Saudi Arabia

THE inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker will be the first-ever WST event to take place in Saudi Arabia.

A brand new tournament will feature eight of the world’s top players and two wild cards.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has confirmed he will compete in the new tournamentGETTY

The top eight stars in the official world rankings at the end of the Players Championship (February 19-25) will automatically qualify to compete.

In addition to the best eight stars, two wild cards will join to complete the ten-player field.

Luca Brecel will be the top seed following his World Snooker Championship triumph last year.

World No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has already confirmed that he will compete at the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.

On X, The Rocket announced: “Very excited to be playing in the @RiyadhSeason World Masters of Snooker! Can’t wait to get out there and play in Saudi Arabia for the first time!”

When is Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker?

• The Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker will begin on Monday, March 4.
• The tournament will conclude on Wednesday, March 6.

What are the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker rules?

Each game will be played under the World Snooker rules and regulations.

However, there will be a special new 23rd ball in use, which is known as the Riyadh Season ball.

The new ball will be worth 20 points and can only be potted once all of the other balls have been successfully cleared from the table if a player is on course to make a maximum break to make it 167.

What’s been said?

HE Advisor Turki Alalshikh said: “We are thrilled to be hosting our first-ever professional snooker tournament in the Kingdom.

“Snooker is watched and played by millions around the world and we look forward to welcoming some of the greatest players and snooker fans to our country and showing them what Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season has to offer.” 

Matchroom COO Steve Dawson said: “It is a great privilege for the World Snooker Tour to work in partnership with HE Advisor Turki Alalshikh to stage an event in Saudi Arabia for the first time.

“This is a huge breakthrough for snooker into a new territory, and we see this as the beginning of a new adventure for our sport in the region.

“We are looking forward to being a part of Riyadh Season on this fantastic new event featuring the world’s best players.

“We will be honoured to bring our sport to the amazing city of Riyadh, and for the local fans, this will be their first chance to see some of snooker’s all-time greats.”