Nine of the world’s top ten ranked snooker stars are among the 32 competitors who have qualified to contest the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Galway in March.
World number one and Masters champion Mark Selby, world number two Mark Williams, world champion John Higgins, potting sensation Judd Trump and Asia’s top player Ding Junhui will join Ireland’s Ken Doherty among the cast of star names appearing at the Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway from March 12 to 17.
Neil Robertson who was beaten by Selby 10-6 in a Masters final watched by a record TV audience on Sunday will also participate in the tournament.
One of snooker’s richest prizes, €119,000, will be up for grabs in the Players Tour Championship which will be broadcasted on the Eurosport channel and is expected to attract up to 40 million viewers worldwide.
Tickets go on sale today for the tournament which has been expanded to six days this year, with the number of players increasing from 24 to 32. Over the last six months, players have been battling for order of merit points in locations such as China, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Belgium, and the UK and it will be the top 25 players from the order of merit syste, plus the top seven from the Asian order of merit, who are eligible to partake in the PTC competition in Galway.
World snooker chairman Bary Hearn warned the public that pre-booking seats is advisable. “We are urging fans to book their seats as soon as possible as this event will be in high demand and many sessions will sell out quickly. There is so much passion for snooker in Ireland and the atmosphere in Galway is going to be magical.”
Tickets from €10 per session are available from www.worldsnooker.com/tickets
