World Snooker Tour

{{Short description|Series of snooker tournaments}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox sports league | title = World Snooker Tour | current_season = 2025–26 snooker season | last_season = | upcoming_season = | logo = WST_logo_2024.png | Formerly = | sport = Snooker | founded = 1997 | organiser = | owner = Matchroom Sport (51%) | ceo = Steve Dawson | inaugural = | country = Worldwide | headquarters = Bristol, United Kingdom | venue = | most_champs = '''Triple Crown wins''': {{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie O'Sullivan (23) {{flagicon|SCO}} Stephen Hendry (18) {{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Davis (15) '''Ranking title wins''': {{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie O'Sullivan (41) {{flagicon|SCO}} Stephen Hendry (36) {{flagicon|SCO}} John Higgins (33) | qualification = Q School Q Tour | folded = | relegation = | website = {{URL|https://wst.tv/|wst.tv}} | singles = | director = Jason Ferguson | Director = | TV = ''See Broadcasters'' BBC Sport, 5 (UK) TNT Sports (UK & Ireland) Eurosport (Mainland Europe) CCTV-5 (PRC) Sportcast (Taiwan) Now TV (Hong Kong) True Sports (Thailand) StarHub (Singapore) Astro (Malaysia) TAP (Philippines) Sportstars (Indonesia) Sky Sport (New Zealand) | Founder = }}

The '''World Snooker Tour''' ('''WST''') is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of about 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season.<ref name=":0" /> It is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial arm of professional snooker, first formed in 1982 as the commercial arm of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). It is also the organiser of most of the events throughout the professional circuit, including the prestigious World Snooker Championship.

As more professional tournaments were held outside the British Isles since the 1980s, the "World Snooker" banner was increasingly being used for different tournaments along with the growth of the sport to other countries. The establishment of the World Snooker Association (WSA) in 1997 introduced a unified branding for the professional game, and it was further revised to its current form in 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=WST {{!}} WPBSA {{!}} Snooker |url=https://wpbsa.com/participation/wst/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=WPBSA |language=en-GB |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205024413/https://wpbsa.com/participation/wst/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 January 2020 |title=WST – Brand Relaunch For Snooker As Part Of Global Vision |url=https://wst.tv/wst-brand-relaunch-for-snooker-as-part-of-global-vision/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=World Snooker |language=en-US |archive-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109153051/https://wst.tv/wst-brand-relaunch-for-snooker-as-part-of-global-vision/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since 2010, the principal stakeholder in World Snooker Ltd is Matchroom Sport, which owns 51 percent of the company; WPBSA, the sport's governing body, owns 26 percent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WST {{!}} WPBSA {{!}} Snooker |url=https://wpbsa.com/participation/wst/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=WPBSA |language=en-GB |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205024413/https://wpbsa.com/participation/wst/ |url-status=live }}</ref> To compete on the World Snooker Tour, players must be WPBSA members.

== {{anchor|Modern era}} Background == thumb|World Snooker Tour logo (2020-)|200x200px thumb|120x120px|World Snooker logo previously used in the 2000s The current incarnation of the World Snooker Tour was created in the early 1970s when the WPBSA took over the running of the professional game. At the time of the takeover, in 1971, there were only a handful of professional events to play in, but further events were gradually added throughout the 1970s, and by the end of the decade there were over twenty events on the calendar and snooker was a regular televised fixture.{{sfn|Hayton|2004|p=7}} This period in the professional game, since 1969, has come to be known as the "modern era"—when the BBC commissioned Pot Black and the modern-day knock-out format for the World Snooker Championship was introduced.<ref>{{cite web |first=Joe |last=Wright |title=Who has won the most World Snooker Championship titles? Hendry, O'Sullivan, Davis and the players with the most trophies |date=2 May 2022 |work=The Sporting News |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/snooker/news/most-world-snooker-championship-titles-hendry-osullivan-davis-trophies/joqsk1qyc3vivgpfptced4rl |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Gaurav |last1=Goel |first2=Amita |last2=Handa |title=Sports Industry and Marketing |year=2020 |publisher=Friends Publications |isbn=9789388457736 |pages=49–50}}</ref>

Outside of the British Isles, Commonwealth nations such as Australia, Canada and South Africa were the only major host countries for snooker tournaments before the 1980s; In a bid to boost popularity in snooker globally, the tournament was extended to the Far East with the likes of China and Thailand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Other Non-Ranking and Invitational Events |url=http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc2.html#HKMas |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216160458/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/misc2.html#HKMas |archive-date=16 February 2012 |accessdate=1 March 2018 |publisher=Chris Turner's Snooker Archive}}</ref> It would prove to be a success, and Asian countries have been an integral part of the snooker calendar since.

=== Participation === Historically a player just needed to become a professional member of the governing body to participate in events, which was attained by formal invitation by an existing current member, and this system was eventually replaced by the Pro-Ticket series.<ref name="Hendon (9 May 2011)"/> The game went open for the 1991–92 season, whereby anyone could apply for professional membership and enter the tournaments.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hendon |first=Dave |title=Past Masters #9 |date=15 July 2009 |work=Snooker Scene Blog |publisher=Snooker Scene |url=https://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2009/07/past-masters9.html |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-date=27 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827124546/http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2009/07/past-masters9.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to over-subscription, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted for the 1997–98 season: the primary tour—officially now known as the World Snooker Tour but previously known (and still commonly referred to) as the Main Tour—with a limited membership, and a secondary tour was established for the rest of the professional membership.<ref name="secondary"/>

== Structure ==

=== Tournaments === {{main|List of snooker tournaments|List of snooker ranking tournaments}}

The World Snooker Tour consists of ranking tournaments that contribute to a player's ranking, and invitational events that do not.<ref name="calendar">{{cite web |title=Full Calendar |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/Tournaments/FullCalendar |access-date=12 May 2013 |archive-date=12 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412025537/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/Tournaments/FullCalendar |url-status=live }}</ref> All players on the tour can enter a ranking event, whereas the entry criteria for an invitational event is often set by the sponsor or broadcaster, and usually excludes many players on the tour.<ref name="tournaments">{{cite web |title=Tournaments |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/TournamentsHome |access-date=12 May 2013 |archive-date=17 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217091926/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/TournamentsHome |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Årdalen |first=Hermund |title=Tournaments |date=15 May 2011 |publisher=Snooker.org |url=http://www.snooker.org/trn/#Facts |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-date=21 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821023828/http://www.snooker.org/Trn/#Facts |url-status=live }}</ref> The list of ranking tournaments have expanded throughout the years; there are now around 20 ranking tournaments regularly showing up on the snooker calendar each season.

Ranking tournaments are often played in two stages—a qualification stage and the main draw, usually at different locations.<ref name="calendar" /> The main draw is most likely to be held at a prestigious venue where audiences can purchase a ticket and watch the players compete.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tickets |date=9 December 2010 |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/AllTicketsArticle |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-date=14 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614041932/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/AllTicketsArticle |url-status=live }}</ref> Typically only the main draw is televised,<ref>{{cite web |title=World Snooker Events – Live Coverage |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/91/89/0,,13165~166289,00.pdf |access-date=12 May 2013 |archive-date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111123727/http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/91/89/0,,13165~166289,00.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=TV Schedules |date=4 April 2011 |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/BetfredcomWorldChampionshipTournamentsArticle/0,,13165~2330491,00.html |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-date=15 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415102207/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/BetfredcomWorldChampionshipTournamentsArticle/0,,13165~2330491,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and therefore often carries considerably higher prize money than the qualifiers.<ref>{{cite web |title=2013/14 Calendar |date=8 April 2013 |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~3137162,00.html |access-date=12 May 2013 |archive-date=24 May 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130524055022/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/NewsArticles/0,,13165~3137162,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Prize Money">{{cite web | title= Indicative Prize Money Eankings Schedule 2013/2014 Season | work= World Snooker | publisher= World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association | url= http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/5e/bc/0,,13165~179294,00.pdf | access-date= 12 May 2013 | archive-date= 24 January 2014 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140124200803/http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/5e/bc/0,,13165~179294,00.pdf | url-status= live }}</ref> Some ranking tournaments also feature amateur players as wildcards in qualifiers, usually through nomination from the regional snooker governing bodies. Examples include the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) nominating wildcard amateurs to compete in the English Open,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Watterson |first=Ryan |date=2024-09-03 |title=Sykes and Deaville Announced as English Open Nominations |url=https://www.epsb.co.uk/sykes-and-deaville-announced-as-english-open-nominations/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=EPSB |language=en-GB}}</ref> Welsh Snooker for Welsh Open,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welsh Open Wildcards Third Round Update - Welsh Snooker |url=https://www.welshsnooker.com/news/615/welsh-open-wildcards-third-round-update |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=www.welshsnooker.com}}</ref> the Saudi Arabian Billiard and Snooker Federation (SABSF) for Saudi Arabian Masters<ref>{{Cite web |last=World Snooker Tour |first= |date=2024-08-21 |title=DRAW FOR SAUDI ARABIA SNOOKER MASTERS ANNOUNCED |url=https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/august/21/draw-for-saudi-arabia-snooker-masters-announced/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=World Snooker Tour |language=en}}</ref> and the WPBSA for the Shoot Out, UK Championship and World Championship.<ref>{{Cite web |last=World Snooker Tour |first= |date=2024-10-22 |title=WPBSA Nominations For Shoot Out |url=https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/october/22/wpbsa-nominations-for-shoot-out/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=World Snooker Tour |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=World Snooker Tour |first= |date=2024-11-05 |title=WPBSA Qualifiers Announced for UK Championship |url=https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/november/05/wpbsa-qualifiers-announced-for-uk-championship/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=World Snooker Tour |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Huart |first=Matt |date=2025-01-04 |title=WPBSA Qualifying Criteria Announced for 2025 World Snooker Championship |url=https://wpbsa.com/wpbsa-qualifying-criteria-announced-for-2025-world-snooker-championship/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=WPBSA |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The current three of the most long-standing and prestigious events are collectively known as the Triple Crown, which have defined the careers of many professional snooker players. Most tournaments are mainly being held in the home nations, whereas tournaments in mainland Europe, China and the Middle East has also gained traction in the past decade. Notable events include:

{{Choropleth map | color = #00A3E9 | frameless = yes | countries = CA; US; GB; SE; FI; DE; BE; BA; AL; SA; CN; AU; NZ | caption = '''Blue-filled:''' Nations that hosted a World Snooker Tour event in 2023-24 }}

==== The Triple Crown ==== * World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927 * Masters, first held in 1975 * UK Championship, first held in 1977

==== Home Nations Series ==== * English Open * Welsh Open, first held in 1980 as the ''Classic'' * Scottish Open, first held in 1981 as ''International Open'' * Northern Ireland Open, first held in 1981 as the ''Northern Ireland Classic''

'''European events'''

* German Masters, first held in 1995 * Irish Masters, first held in 1975, last held in 2007 * European Masters, last held in 2023, being played in various European countries such as Austria, Belgium, France, Romania and the Netherlands

==== Outside Europe ==== * World Open, first held in 1982, better known previously as the ''Grand Prix'' * China Open, first held in 1985 * Australian Goldfields Open, first held in 1979, last held in 2015 * Thailand Masters, first held in 1983, last held in 2006 * Dubai Classic, first held in 1988, and the subsequent Bahrain Championship and Saudi Arabia Masters in the Middle East

Other countries that have organised World Snooker tournaments include Monaco, Gibraltar, Malta, Poland, Finland, Bulgaria and Latvia in Europe, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Turkey, Pakistan and India in Asia and Oceania, and Canada, Brazil and South Africa elsewhere. Some events like the Championship League, Champion of Champions and the defunct Premier League are not directly sanctioned by the Tour but still constitute as a part of the professional snooker calendar due to historical reasons.

The tour also hosts events of alternate forms of snooker, such as the Snooker Shoot Out with the time-constrained shoot-out rules, Six-red World Championship for six-red snooker and the Riyadh Season Championship, as known as the "golden ball" event.

=== Competition format === Players traditionally come into ranking events in different rounds based on their world ranking, and the top players in the sport—often the top 16 ranked players—are usually seeded through to the venue stage and do not have to play a qualification match; however, from the 2013–14 season the circuit began to transition to a flat format structure, with all the players starting in the first round. Some tournaments also have an amateur leg that makes it possible for non-members to enter WPBSA events.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hearn |first=Barry |title=Letter to Tour Players from Barry Hearn |date=8 April 2013 |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/d3/bb/0,,13165~179155,00.pdf |access-date=12 May 2013 |archive-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418080435/http://www.worldsnooker.com/staticFiles/d3/bb/0,,13165~179155,00.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Starting from the 2021-22 snooker season, the tour began to transition some of its events back to a seeded format using qualifying rounds. The Home Nations Series was the first set of events to follow this change, where the first round was played as a qualifying round for all non-Top 16 players, with those in the Top 16 — plus local nation wildcards — having their matches held over to the final venue. The UK Championship followed suit from the 2022 edition, which effectively turned the tournament into a near-identical copy of the World Snooker Championship, with the exception being frame length. Lower ranked players are now required to play without crowds and in cubicles for the qualifying rounds in such events.

== Qualification == thumb|500x500px|Pathways to enter the main tour; including second-tier tournaments, amateur competitions and pre-season qualification school {{main|Snooker world rankings}}

To compete as a professional on the World Snooker Tour, a player must qualify for a place on the tour. At the end of each season, a pre-determined number of players (usually outside the top 64) are relegated from the tour based on their performance in ranking tournaments, making way for new professionals to join the tour. Players who retain their place on the tour through their world rankings are only guaranteed a place for one further season.<ref name="Tour Structure" />

New professionals join the World Snooker Tour by holding a tour card that guarantees their place on the tour for two consecutive seasons, regardless of ranking. Tour cards can be obtained through various events, such as the tour's own Q School which is held immediately before the start of the new professional season, the second-tier WPBSA Q Tour, and competitions from other affiliated organisations (e.g. the WSF Championship and the EBSA European Championship). A limited number of places are also made available to players at the discretion of the governing body through invitational tour cards, first introduced in 2015.<ref name="Tour Structure" />

The main tour now regularly takes on around 128 players, with those outside the top 64 on a two-year tour card from either the previous year or the current year.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 June 2024 |title=24/25 World Snooker Tour Players |url=https://www.wst.tv/news/2024/june/05/tour-players/ |access-date=6 June 2024 |work=World Snooker Tour}}</ref> In the 2024{{nbnd}}25 season, four players were granted a tour card from rankings on the one-year list, seven from winning regional competitions (WSF, EBSA, ABSC, etc.), four from the Q Tour, two from the CBSA China Tour, two from the World Women's Snooker Tour (a qualification route since 2021), 12 from Q School, and one being granted an invitational tour card—making up the 32 places to join the main tour each season.

=== Q Tour === {{main|Q Tour}}

Following the tour structure revamp from the 1997{{nbnd}}98 season, the top ranked professionals were qualified automatically for the main tour whilst the rest of the membership had to undergo a series of qualifying events.{{sfn|Hayton|2004|pp=171–174}} These were only held once per season, and thereafter the main qualification route was via the secondary professional tour then known as the Challenge Tour.<ref name="secondary" /> Following its discontinuation, the promotion places were allocated to the International Open Series (PIOS)—an amateur open tour organised by Pontins—for the 2005{{nbnd}}06 season.

The amateur status of the PIOS event meant that players who had been relegated from the main tour and wished to compete on PIOS had to relinquish their professional membership. This was unpopular because players who relinquished their professional membership would be ineligible to enter the World Snooker Championship, previously open to all professional members including those not competing on the main tour.<ref name="PIOS" /> Another issue was that players could not compete on PIOS whilst also competing on the main tour, meaning that they were unable to safeguard their membership on the main tour by immediately re-qualifying via PIOS.<ref name="secondary" /> This unpopular contest was discontinued after the 2009{{nbnd}}10 season,<ref name="PIOS" /> with a new amateur-only secondary tour being brought back in 2018 whom renamed as the Q Tour in 2021.

=== Q School === {{main|Q School (snooker)}}

In contrast to the fully fledged secondary Q Tour, the Q School was established in an attempt to streamline the qualification process for the main tour through its knock-out format, and it has replaced the PIOS since the 2010{{nbnd}}11 season. A series of play-offs are run through to the quarter-final stages only. Players pay a fixed entry fee to enter all the play-off events, and there is no prize money. Each player who wins a quarter-final game qualifies for a two-year tour card on the main tour. All the players that have entered the event compete in the first play-off, and those that are not successful are automatically entered into the next play-off, and so on. Q School is open to everyone; players who have just been relegated from the World Snooker Tour are eligible to enter Q School and, if successful, immediately regain their places on the main tour.<ref name="Hendon (9 May 2011)" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Q School 2018 |work=World Snooker |publisher=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/q-school/ |access-date=28 April 2018 |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308184445/http://www.worldsnooker.com/q-school/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Those who do not manage to qualify for the World Snooker Tour may still be entered into professional tournaments using the Q School top-up list, known as the Order of Merit. This list ranks the amateur players by their performance during the play-offs: should a tournament not consist of 128 World Snooker Tour players for any reason (such as the tournaments that ran through the 2020{{nbnd}}21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic), the highest ranked players on the top-up list are invited to play in professional tournaments as amateurs. For this reason, players are encouraged to perform well, because they may still feature in World Snooker Tour events and thus have television exposure if they were to reach the televised stages of an event they have entered.<ref>{{cite web|title=Q School 2021 Entry Deadline Monday|work=World Snooker Tour|url=https://wst.tv/q-school-2021/|access-date=7 May 2021|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418201607/https://wst.tv/q-school-2021/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Business ==

=== Broadcasters === Domestically in the UK, the BBC has long been the broadcasting partner of the World Snooker Tour with the Triple Crown events' television coverage produced by them since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Two Television – 17 April 1978 – Snooker |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbctwo/england/1978-04-17#at-22.00 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207163829/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbctwo/england/1978-04-17#at-22.00 |archive-date=7 February 2016 |access-date=2 February 2016 |website=BBC Genome Project |publisher=BBC |df=dmy-all}}</ref> BBC currently holds the right to broadcast the Triple Crown events until 2032.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-20 |title=BBC chalks off Triple Crown extension to 2032 |url=https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/bbc-chalks-off-triple-crown-extension-to-2032/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=SportBusiness |language=en-GB}}</ref>

European terrestrial TV rights to broadcast World Snooker Tour events were picked up by Eurosport in 2003 and has since been broadcasting in multiple languages across Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurosport signs new 10-year deal with World Snooker |url=https://www.tntsports.co.uk/snooker/eurosport-signs-new-10-year-deal-with-world-snooker_sto5541556/story.shtml |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=www.tntsports.co.uk}}</ref> In China, the majority of snooker tournaments are broadcast on CCTV-5, the state-owned television network. Other former and current broadcasters for specific tournaments include the ITV, DAZN, Sky Sports and Viaplay.

==== WST Play ==== In late 2024, the original on-demand streaming platform used for those countries without a local broadcaster — matchroom.live — was shut down and divested into two separate operations. While matchroom.live remains in a new format for those events wholly operated by Matchroom Sport — mainly their nineball pool series — the World Snooker Tour gained its own in-house on-demand and live stream platform called WST Play, which launched just before the start of the Masters in 2025.

The platform works in much the same way as the original Matchroom Live service, in that it offers live broadcasts of events with no local broadcaster and extensive on-demand catalogue of previous matches, except only snooker content remains rather than mixtures of sports content owned by Matchroom. Two membership subscriptions are available: a monthly subscription for £5, or a yearly subscription at £50. The yearly subscription includes priority access to ticket sales for high-profile events, 20% off hospitality at selected tournaments and free daily access to qualifying rounds that are open to fans. World Snooker Tour have also stated that the income generated from the WST Play subscriptions will be used to expand the on-demand archive of matches across the several decades of televised snooker, and that any match which is archived on their platform will be available forever in a digitised format.

=== Sponsorship === Once dependant on sponsorships from tobacco companies, the legislation to ban tobacco advertising in 2003 means the Tour had to attract other sponsors to sustain the development of the game. Betting sponsors have rose to prominence to take up title sponsorship for major events such as the World Championship from 2006 to 2022.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 March 2021 |title=Betfred extends World Snooker Championship deal until 2022 |url=https://www.sbcnews.co.uk/marketing/2020/08/17/betfred-extends-world-snooker-championship-deal-until-2022/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224230350/https://sbcnews.co.uk/marketing/2020/08/17/betfred-extends-world-snooker-championship-deal-until-2022/ |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=20 February 2021 |website=SBC News |df=dmy-all}}</ref> A multi-year deal for the British motor dealer Cazoo in the early 2020s as the title sponsor of the Triple Crown, Players Series, Champion of Champions and the British Open signals a gradual shift away from betting sponsors in the tour.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-02-02 |title=CAZOO LAUNCHES PARTNERSHIP WITH WORLD SNOOKER TOUR |url=https://matchroom.com/snooker/cazoo-launches-partnership-with-world-snooker-tour/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Matchroom Sports |language=en-GB}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+Current major tournament / series naming rights !Tournament !Sponsor |- !World Championship |Halo Service Solutions |- !Masters |Johnstone's Paint |- !UK Championship |Victorian Plumbing |- !Home Nations Series |BetVictor |- !Players Series |''Vacant'' |}

=== Video games === {{main|Snooker 19}}

The official licensed World Snooker Tour video game, Snooker 19, was published in 2019 with all officially licensed tournaments from the 2018–19 snooker season.<ref>{{cite web|last=Barker|first=Sammy|date=October 17, 2018|url=https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/10/complain_about_the_smell_of_venues_like_ronnie_osullivan_in_snooker_19|title=Complain About the Smell of Venues Like Ronnie O'Sullivan in ''Snooker 19''|website=Push Square|access-date=September 25, 2025}}</ref>

== Awards == {{main|World Snooker Tour awards}}

thumb|Ronnie O'Sullivan is the latest player to win all three Player of the Year titles in the same season, achieving the feat in 2024 At the end of each snooker season, the World Snooker Tour publishes a list of Player of the Year awards as a commendation to the performances of snooker players during the season. It was originally created by the Association of Snooker Writers, a group of journalists who wrote about snooker, and was held for the first time in 1983.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=9}} After the takeover by World Snooker Tour in 2011, the scope of the award was further expanded; there is now three different Player of the Year titles to be awarded, each decided by the Tour itself, the Snooker Journalists' Association, and the fans through an online public voting process. The Hall of Fame is also introduced, with eight winners of multiple World Championships as the initial inductees.<ref name="SCENE2011">{{cite magazine |date=June 2011 |title=Awards for Higgins, Williams and Trump |magazine=Snooker Scene |page=33}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align: center" |+List of World Snooker Tour Player of the Year winners (2011–present) !Name !Nationality !Total !Seasons !Inducted to Hall of Fame |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Judd|Trump}}''' | align="left" |{{ENG}} |4 | align="left" |2019, 2020, 2021, 2025 | align="left" |2021 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Ronnie|O'Sullivan}}''' | align="left" |{{ENG}} |3 | align="left" |2012, 2014, 2024 | align="left" |2012 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Mark|Selby}}''' | align="left" |{{ENG}} |2 | align="left" |2013, 2017 | align="left" |2015 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|John|Higgins}}''' | align="left" |{{SCO}} |2 | align="left" |2011, 2016 | align="left" |2012 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Zhao|Xintong}}''' | align="left" |{{CHN}} |1 | align="left" |2026 | align="left" |2026 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Mark|Allen|dab=snooker player}}''' | align="left" |{{NIR}} |1 | align="left" |2023 | align="left" |2026 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Neil|Robertson}}''' | align="left" |{{AUS}} |1 | align="left" |2022 | align="left" |2013 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Mark|Williams|dab=snooker player}}''' | align="left" |{{WAL}} |1 | align="left" |2018 | align="left" |2012 |- | align="left" |'''{{sortname|Stuart|Bingham}}''' | align="left" |{{ENG}} |1 | align="left" |2015 | align="left" |2016 |} Active players are shown in '''bold'''.

== References == {{reflist|2|refs=

<ref name="Hendon (9 May 2011)">{{cite web | last= Hendon | first= Dave | title= On Cue for Cue School | date= 9 May 2011 | work= Snooker Scene Blog | publisher= Snooker Scene | url= https://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2011/05/on-cue-for-q-school.html | access-date= 18 May 2011 | archive-date= 6 October 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111006165112/http://snookerscene.blogspot.com/2011/05/on-cue-for-q-school.html | url-status= live }}</ref>

<ref name="secondary"> {{cite web | last= Turner | first= Chris | title= WPBSA Secondary Professional Tour | publisher= Chris Turner's Snooker Archive | url= http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/challenge.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228200859/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/challenge.html|archive-date=28 February 2012 | access-date= 18 May 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="PIOS"> {{cite web | last= Turner | first= Chris | title= Pontins International Open Series | publisher= Chris Turner's Snooker Archive | url= http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pios.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228200817/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pios.html|archive-date=28 February 2012 | access-date= 18 May 2011 }} </ref>

<ref name="Tour Structure"> {{cite web | title= Tour Structure | work= World Snooker | publisher= World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association | url= http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/TourStructure | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150304084345/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/TourStructure | archive-date= 4 March 2015}} </ref>

}}

== Bibliography == * {{Cite book |last=Hayton |first=Eric |title=The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker |year=2004 |publisher=Rose Villa Publications |location=Suffolk |isbn=978-0-9548549-0-4 }} *{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |year=1987 |title=The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker |edition=Revised |location=Twickenham |publisher=Hamlyn Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-600-55604-6}}

==External links== *{{official website}}

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