WST

𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐒 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🏆 Mark Williams became the oldest ever winner of a ranking event as he thrashed Shaun Murphy 10-3 in the final of the Xi'an Grand Prix in China. An unexpectedly one-sided final saw Murphy, the form player having won 13 consecutive matches, completely outplayed as Williams made two centuries and eight more breaks over 50 in a superb display. Back in 1982, Ray Reardon won the Professional Players Tournament 14 days after his 50th birthday to become the oldest ranking event champion, and this record stood for 43 years. Williams - a close friend of fellow Welshman Reardon who passed away last year - has now set a new record at the age of 50 years and 206 days. The left-hander from Cwm becomes the first player to win a title in every decade from his teens through to his 50s. He now has 27 ranking titles, in sixth place on his own on the all-time list, one ahead of Neil Robertson and one behind Steve Davis. "It's amazing that I am still winning tournaments, I don't know how I'm doing it because I am not practising enough to really compete in the later stages of tournaments. I try to play as much as I can while I'm at venues. And you have to scrape me off the table until the last ball is potted. Somehow the three of us in the Class of '92 (along with John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan) are still going" said Williams after the win. Though he may not be as dedicated to practice as he once was, Williams remains a fierce competitor on the baize, renowned for his cool temperament. He was runner-up at the World Championship last season, beaten in the final by Zhao Xintong, but has regularly picked up silverware in recent years, notably at the Tour Championship and Champion of Champions in 2024. Now he has another huge title to his name and the £177,000 top prize moves him above Ronnie O'Sullivan to fourth place in the Johnstone's Trade Paints World Rankings. 

𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐓𝐎 𝐗𝐈'𝐀𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐗 Nearly 300 children from Xi'an Qujiang No 2 School packed the arena for the quarter-finals of the Xi'an Grand Prix as they enjoyed their first experience of live snooker. They watched Mark Williams beating Lyu Haotian and Daniel Wells seeing off Liam Pullen at the world ranking event in Xi'an which is the capital of China's Shaanxi Province. Prior to their trip to the venue, the children were visited at their school by world number 52 He Guoqiang, one of China's best up-and-coming talents. He was guided along the school's history corridor and watched a documentary video about the school's development, gaining a deeper understanding of its educational philosophy and journey. He then addressed the group of children and answered their questions, giving insights into his journey to snooker's highest level, explaining how he followed his dreams with perseverance. To help students better understand snooker culture, the event featured an educational segment where national-level referee Deng Meng explained the basic rules of snooker and spectator etiquette. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Chairman Jason Ferguson said: "This was an amazing experience for the children and no doubt we have inspired many of them to become lifelong snooker supporters and players. Thank you to all of our partners for this event and particularly to He Guoqiang for generously giving his time. We love to bring snooker to the next generation in China and around the world and to get young people involved in our sport." 

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄-𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 WST Chairman Steve Dawson sat down with broadcaster and journalist David Hendon last week to discuss the position of the World Snooker Tour. A wide-ranging interview covered subjects including: - Prize money - Potential for new tournaments - The broadcast landscape - Tournament sponsorship - Scheduling of events in China - WST's relationship with players - The future of the Crucible - Player welfare ... and much more. Dawson said: "We have increased ticket sales, sponsorship and social media coverage, while prize money has grown to £19 million over the last two years. We look forward to continuing in the same vein. "We have grown prize money by introducing new events and repurposing existing events. We have added the Saudi Masters which is a huge addition, the second biggest event on the calendar, as well as the 167 event for the top players. We have moved the World Grand Prix to Hong Kong which was hugely successful. We are also generating more income through WST Play. We are trying to maximise what the players earn through prize money. "We are constantly reviewing our calendar. The Middle East has been extremely good for us and there is scope for more events, we have three or four key countries looking at snooker seriously. We are also looking at South East Asia. And of course China, following Zhao Xintong's success. We are really hopeful of bringing a mega event in the China Open into that territory, that is still in negotiation. Our objective is to make all the new events bigger and better. When we add events they have to be sustainable and profitable. "As a sport we punch above our weight on broadcast. The BBC extension to 2032 is a massive factor for us, at a time when they are getting rid of other sporting events. We are an elite sport with them and that is fundamental for our business. We have Channel 5 coming up next year and it will be really interesting to see their take on snooker with different ideas. And of course we have another long term deal with Eurosport. We are lucky with the spread of broadcasters we have." Watch the full interview on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eigfgnsH

𝐑𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐃𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship will return to Saudi Arabia from November 19 to 21 as part of new groundbreaking collaboration between Matchroom Sport and Riyadh Season  that will cover a host of huge events across Matchroom Boxing, Professional Darts Corporation, and World Snooker. The landmark deal ensures Riyadh Season continues to play a key and visible role in some big nights ahead for Matchroom Sport – with a multi-channel partnership and the Riyadh Season brand featuring prominently across Matchroom Sport events. Riyadh Season launched in 2019 and achieved a major milestone during its most recent Season when the number of visitors exceeded 20 million for the first time. Riyadh Season’s impact has also seen boxing and a number of sports – including snooker – transformed by delivering some of the most memorable nights in the modern era.   In its partnership with Matchroom Boxing, it has already brought some of the sport’s most exciting showdowns to Riyadh, as well as across the globe, including in the UK, USA and Mexico, attracting high-level international attention and top-tier talent such as Anthony Joshua, Dmitry Bivol, Jai Opetaia, and Conor Benn, who faces bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr in their eagerly awaited rematch ‘Unfinished Business’ on Saturday, November 15 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London - screened exclusively worldwide on DAZN. And on November 22, in Riyadh, pound-for-pound superstar Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez fights Fernando "Puma" Martinez for the Unified Super-Bantamweight titles – including the coveted Ring Magazine belt - as part of The Ring IV fight card, ‘Night of Champions’, headlined by Anthony Yarde and David Benavidez.   In the same week, snooker’s all-time greats – such as Ronnie O’Sullivan and defending champion Mark Allen – return to Saudi Arabia from November 19 to 21 for the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, delivered by WST and broadcast in the UK on TNT Sports. The tournament is best known for the unique gold ball, worth 20 points and can only be potted at the end of a maximum 147, for an unprecedented ‘super-maximum’ of 167 – and $1million, the snooker’s biggest ever bonus prize. Darts' biggest names will also join this year’s Riyadh Season for the first ever Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in January 2026 – part of the PDC's 2026 World Series of Darts global roadshow, which will see star-studded events taking place across four continents, all available to watch in the UK via ITV Sport. The inaugural event will take place on January 19 and 20, giving local fans the chance to be part of darts' unique atmosphere for the first time ever, while millions of fans will be tuning in around the world through the PDC's global network of broadcast partners.

𝐉𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐓𝐕 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 Last week’s Unibet British Open scored significantly increased viewing figures on ITV, with a 19% jump in the peak audience for the final. The tournament in Cheltenham was won by Shaun Murphy, beating Anthony McGill 10-7 in an exciting final. During the evening session last Sunday, the peak audience on ITV4 hit 632,500, well up on last year’s peak of 532,300. In total across the seven-day event, 3.1 million individuals were reached. The cumulative audience was up 5% compared to 2024. Evening sessions performed particularly well, with the average viewing up 17% on last year. Fans flocked to see the action at Cheltenham Racecourse with many sessions sold out and overall ticket sales up 15% on last year. This follows a year-on-year increase of 22% in ticket sales at the BVGroup English Open in Brentwood. The event in Cheltenham also continued the trend of rapid growth in social media consumption of snooker content, with 144 million video views across all platforms. Over 300,000 hours of highlight content were watched on YouTube (a 430% increase on last year), while Facebook generated nearly 100 million video views (+150% year-on-year). Reach on Instagram was also significantly higher (+229%), while TikTok delivered nearly 20 million views during the tournament. Tom Rowell, WST’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer said: “It was a tremendous week of action at a fantastic venue in Cheltenham and we are glad to see this reflected in the figures both for the live audience and the viewers at home. Our data shows that snooker’s popularity continues to grow, as the players deliver phenomenal drama and an unprecedented standard.”

𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 – 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 WST was delighted to host a group of students from Loughborough University London at the recent English Open. Held at the Brentwood Centre, this initiative was part of WST’s broader strategy to engage younger generations, build new audiences, and offer future sports professionals a deeper understanding of the game, not just as fans, but as potential stewards of its future. The visiting students, who are currently studying at the Institute for Sport Business at Loughborough in programmes such as Sport Analytics and Technologies, experienced live snooker for the first time. For them, this was more than just a sporting event, it was an immersive educational experience, blending elite performance with behind-the-scenes insight into live sports event operations and business. They had the opportunity to witness the exciting opening match between China’s snooker icon Ding Junhui and England’s Liam Pullen, followed by an intimate post-match Q&A with Ding himself. “It is a great opportunity for our students to witness behind-the-scenes at live sports events,” said Dan Robinson, Future Space Projects Manager at Loughborough University London. “Meeting Ding Junhui, asking him questions, the experience like this, talking to the WST staff as well, are all valuable to them from a sports business perspective.” “Today’s experience was absolutely thrilling,” said Jeff Xiao, a masters student in Sport Analytics and Technologies from China. “Watching Ding Junhui’s match live and then speaking with him was a huge moment for me. Being able to also see how the event is run behind the scenes has deepened my understanding of sports operations and business. It’s something that will benefit my studies.” Faisal Labban, a student from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the second Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters was recently hosted, shared his first-ever snooker experience. “Being able to sit front and watch Ding play, get a century, I’m definitely a fan, once he made that century, I immediately went to my Instagram, searched for his name and then followed him. The experience that I am going to take forward is just go out, even if it’s your first time, even if you have never heard of snooker before, go out, check it out, because there is no doubt you are going to have a good time like I had today.” Neil Mortimer, who just completed his PhD, called the day a perfect mix of relaxation and inspiration. “The cherry on the top was to meet Ding, it was great to see he always has calm mentality when he’s around the table, potting the balls, and he has the exact personality as a person, so really nice and really welcoming to have that conversation with him. I have had a fantastic day, I appreciate the invite.”

𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 1️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐋 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐎𝐍 🇦🇺 ✨ Neil Robertson became only the fourth player in the history of professional snooker to make 1,000 centuries, after firing in a break of 105 during his 6-1 defeat of Umut Dikme at International Championship qualifiying. The Australian follows in the footsteps of Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Judd Trump, who are the only other players to have achieved the feat. Next to pass that barrier is likely to be Mark Selby, who currently sits on 911 career centuries. Robertson is no stranger to landmark achievements involving century breaks. In 2013/14 he became the first player to make 100 centuries in a single season. The 43-year-old's momentous 105 break came in the sixth frame. He also made contributions of 87, 68 and 99. 

𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐇𝐘 𝐉𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒 Shaun Murphy has climbed four places to 12th in the Johnstone's Trade Paints World Rankings after winning the Unibet British Open for the first time. Murphy beat Anthony McGill 10-7 in the final in Cheltenham on Sunday to win the 13th ranking title of his career and capture the £100,000 top prize. Last month he briefly dropped out of the world's top 16 for the first time since 2005, but Murphy has now cemented his place among the elite. McGill earned £45,000 as runner-up and he flies up 12 places from 57th to 45th. Stan Moody reached the quarter-finals and he's up six place to 49th. Louis Heathcote was another quarter-finalist and he climbs from 88th to 81st, while Mitchell Mann also got to the same stage and he jumps from 91st to 84th. Judd Trump's unbroken streak as the official world number one reaches 57 weeks and he leads second-placed Kyren Wilson by £550,400. These rankings will now be used as the seeding list for the BVGroup Scottish Open, with the draw to be announced soon. In the Sportsbet.io One-Year Rankings, Murphy storms up from 17th to fourth, while McGill leaps from 60th to 15th. Trump has work to do as he lies 37th with six counting events to go until the World Grand Prix seeding cut-off. As usual, this list will be used to determine who qualifies for the three Players Series events in 2026, with the top 32 to go to the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, then the top 16 will make it to the Sportsbet.io Players Championship in Telford, and only the top 12 will graduate to the Sportsbet.io Tour Championship in Manchester. There are four counting events to go in the Race to the Johnstone's Paint Masters, with the top 16 at the end of the UK Championship to earn a place at Alexandra Palace in January. Jak Jones remains in 17th place, trailing 16th-placed Gary Wilson by £68,150. Once again this season there is a £100,000 bonus up for grabs for the first player to reach 100 centuries, achieved by Trump last season. Zhao Xintong tops the list with 22 tons, followed by Trump on 19.

𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐇𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐇𝐀𝐌 Shaun Murphy came from 7-6 down to beat Anthony McGill 10-7 in a high quality final to win the Unibet British Open for the first time and his first ranking title in 26 months. Murphy stepped up a gear in the last four frames of an intriguing contest which featured four centuries and ten more breaks over 60. The 43-year-old Englishman receives the Clive Everton Trophy and a top prize of £100,000, landing his first ranking crown since the 2023 Championship League. Fearing that his career on the baize was on the slide, Murphy began work with fellow former World Champion Peter Ebdon last year, and that partnership has paid dividends as he won the Johnstone's Trade Paints Masters in January and has now added more silverware to his collection. He moves on to 13 ranking titles in all, one ahead of Mark Allen into tenth place on his own in the all-time list. Murphy had a tough draw in Cheltenham, knocking out the likes of Judd Trump and Neil Robertson to reach the final, but proved his enduring class with a series of excellent displays. He becomes the first player to complete the 'grand slam' of ITV-televised events having previous won the World Grand Prix, Players Championship, Tour Championship and Champion of Champions. Moving from 16th to 12th in the Johnstone's Paint World Rankings, he is up to fourth on the Sportsbet.io One-Year list. Victory for McGill would have been the biggest triumph of his career - though he has previously won the Indian Open and the Shoot Out - and he looked composed at 7-6 ahead. But the contest slipped away from him and he had to settle for the £45,000 runner-up prize. Having struggled with his game over the past three years and fallen to 57th in the world, this is a much-needed boost for the Scot and he jumps back to 45th. "When you haven't been in a ranking final for a long time, I was grateful for the opportunity and so pleased that my game was there today when I needed it," said Murphy. "I have a great team behind me who help me so much, when I am not feeling 100 per cent they push me on. For it all to come together today is extremely rewarding. Having Peter Ebdon in my corner was invaluable because he has done it himself so he understands how I am feeling out there. "I have to give Anthony credit because he is so tough to beat, I respect him so much as a player and I'm sure there will be more titles for him in the future." McGill said: "I felt like the stronger player all day. I'm not sure what happened towards the end, I wasn't nervous or anything, I just didn't seem to participate in the last few frames. Shaun is a quality player. I have got my ranking back up so there are some positives, I feel a lot better about my game."