Ronnie O’Sullivan to play in new Saudi snooker event with unusual new ‘gold ball’

Ronnie O’Sullivan has agreed to participate in inaugural Saudi snooker competition.

It has been announced that Ronnie O’Sullivan will feature in the inaugural Riyadh Season World of Snooker in Saudi Arabia later this year. The brand new competition takes place in March with a ‘gold ball’ set to be introduced at the event in an innovative new concept in snooker.

O’Sullivan asserted himself as the best in the business last week when clinching his eighth Masters title, and he will be hoping to continue his good form over the coming days in the World Grand Prix in Leicester.

Having achieved it all, the Brit has never shied away from sidestepping events and focusing his attention on specific competitions that he has prioritised. But it has emerged that he will have a new competition in Saudi Arabia on his agenda this year.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Authority of Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, has confirmed that an agreement has been reached with World Snooker for an event to be hosted in Riyadh. The competition will be the first invitational event in the country, with the tournament set to take place March 4-6 the month before the World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield.

O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Luca Brecel are all set to feature at the event, with the games set to be played under the current World Snooker rules and regulations. However, one drastic change has been made to the rules, with an ‘innovative new concept’ set to be trialled at the competition.

A 23rd ball will also be introduced which will be known as the Riyadh Season ball and will be gold in colour. The ball will be worth 20 points but players will only be able to pot it once all the other balls on the table have been cleared if a player is on maximum break to make it a 167.

Speaking after signing the agreement, Steve Dawson, chairman of the World Snooker Tour, 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.”