Introduction
One may wonder what a professional snooker player does when the season ends. Well, that is not for long in these modern times. The calendar is so packed that a few summer months of snooker silence flies past. Some take to the golf course for family time, booking a holiday away in warmer climbs. It just depends on the individual and whether they can quel the snooker bug and put their cue away in the cupboard. However, a few answer the call and take a plane to China. A country that has a very lucrative market for snooker exhibitions with undisclosed appearance fees.
One may wonder what a professional snooker player does when the season ends. Well, that is not for long in these modern times. The calendar is so packed that a few summer months of snooker silence flies past. Some take to the golf course for family time, booking a holiday away in warmer climbs. It just depends on the individual and whether they can quel the snooker bug and put their cue away in the cupboard. However, a few answer the call and take a plane to China. A country that has a very lucrative market for snooker exhibitions with undisclosed appearance fees.
Star Attraction
Chinese fans will flock to an event if the names are correct. Ronnie O’Sullivan has decided to heal his World Championship wounds by accepting to play several exhibitions nationwide. Ronnie plays Ding Junhui at an archaeological site, the Longmen Grottos in Luoyang. Ronnie won the first match 5-2. Titled the Snooker Masters, Ronne’s face is plastered across local billboards and train doors—rich pickings for the Chinese advertising industry.
The players are given the red carpet treatment with a guided tour of the area and plenty of photo opportunities. With a state-of-the-art arena to play the exhibition in, the audience is treated to a television-shaped bank of monitors above the table, armchairs for the Chinese dignitaries and an open back to the arena where trees dance in the wind. This is the first of a whistlestop tour for Ronnie. With the ink barely dry on the contracts, O’Sullivan has committed to almost three weeks in China to participate in these challenge matches. He will also play Si Jiahui, Judd Trump, John Higgins and Jack Lisowski across three events in Chengdu, Kunshan and Shanghai. He travels to Tampere, Finland, between 3-5 June before going to Plovdiv and Sofia, Bulgaria, to play John Higgins on 7-8 June—excellent preparation for the Shanghai Masters in July.
Some cynics would say this is just a money-making exercise for the players involved, and they would be correct to say that the players involved earn lucrative money from these tours. However, it could help grow the sport in Finland and Bulgaria, where there may be a fan base but few clubs and players. Perhaps these events may be the catalyst required, but this spark needs support and a massive cash injection. I hope this isn’t the early shoots of a breakaway tour, which I think would not benefit snooker.
