Totesport.com Named Sponsor For Snooker’s Welsh Open

World Snooker is delighted to announce Totesport.com as the new title sponsor of the 2010 Welsh Open, which takes place at the Newport Centre, 25th-31st January.

The Welsh Open, a ranking event since 1992, attracts the greatest players in the World. Former Welsh Open champions include Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and last year’s winner Ali Carter.

The new agreement will initially be for one year and the event will be known as the Totesport.com Welsh Open. The tournament will be broadcast on BBC Wales, Eurosport as well CCTV (China), Now TV (Hong Kong) and Showtime Arabia.

Barry Hearn, who took over as Chairman of World Snooker last month, said: “This is a further boost for snooker and it proves we are definitely moving in the right direction for our sport. Having Totesport.com, one of the biggest betting brands in the World, sponsor the Welsh Open demonstrates the appeal of snooker. We’ve now got sponsors on board for four of our five UK tournaments and I’m sure that there are more to come. We look forward to working closely with the team at Totesport.com to make this tournament a great success.”

Trevor Beaumont, Chief Executive of Totesport comments: “We are delighted to again be associated with World Snooker after a break of 5 years. As one of the premier tournaments in the calendar the totesport.com Welsh Open is a great opportunity for us to remind our audience of customers that totesport.com is relevant for them across all major sports betting events.”

Ali Carter won the Welsh Open last year by beating Joe Swail 9-5 to claim his first ranking event title. The Captain will defend his title against the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Selby, Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui and Ryan Day.