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China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby Deewee

http://www.worldsnooker.com/snookers-china-open-hits-1-million-prize-money/

The China Open in April will become the only snooker event other than the World Championship to hit the £1 million prize money mark, thanks to a new four-year agreement between World Snooker and joint promoters Star Xing Pai and Beijing Fuhua Culture Tourism Development Ltd. Co.

The world ranking event will run from April 1 to 8 in Beijing with a top prize of £225,000 and a total prize fund of £1 million. That’s almost double last year’s China Open total of £510,000, when the top prize was £85,000. The £225,000 winner’s cheque will only be topped only by the World Championship first prize of £425,000.

The final of the tournament will be best of 21 frames for the first time. It will be televised by CCTV, Eurosport and various other broadcasters worldwide...

...There will be a qualifying round from January 27 to 30 in Barnsley, with players needing to win one match to get through to the final stages.

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby PLtheRef

Eight days is longer than the China Open has been before - Even with 64 players competing in the final stages - dare I suggest that we could have another set of 17 frame semi-finals?

Best of 21 frames for the Final seems promising - but we have heard this for the Champion of Champions as well as the International Championship - both of which went to be best of 19. - that said, 21 would remain two sessions I reckon, can't see it going to 3 sessions of 7.

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby Cloud Strife

SnookerFan wrote:
Cloud Strife wrote:Now they just need to move it to a different part of the calendar.


How about June?


Actually June/July would be the perfect time to hold it.

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby SnookerFan

Cloud Strife wrote:
SnookerFan wrote:
Cloud Strife wrote:Now they just need to move it to a different part of the calendar.


How about June?


Actually June/July would be the perfect time to hold it.


:hatoff:

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby Andre147

Absolutely great news this!

But like PL said, I do hope they keep their promisse. The CoC and IC were also supposed to be Best of 21 Finals but never materialised.

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby TheSaviour

The thing is that when there´s an already earned things it won´t be just going away. Just for nothing.

If there´s a strong reputation of not being bothered about the money it won´t be just vanish if doing a one mistake. Or even a few on the trot.

That´s also what all the worlds religions also does tells to us. The God, or the similar power, won´t be bothered at all about any single mistakes. It is the already gathered things and the reputations what it is all about.

So that´s why if someone like Mark Allen or Ronnie O´Sullivan want´s play a one tournament just for the money sake then just go for it. No harm done at all.

"Barry want´s to play a bit".
Well then go for it. I won´t be bothered. Because I know the next day it will be an other Barry who want´s to play a bit.

Or the armed robbery of the Lake Titicaca. Ceviche what?? Just bring on to me that Andean Plateau. Where´s there that chips + nice tortilla breads all the way. Ceviche what? Anymore? I know the Peru´s the place if really wanting to have some great foods! Like Barry´s the man if really wanting to have the good old "off writings". I know that´s not going to be good to anybody, but that´s the deal with it at the first place.

But if someone want´s to be greed then I can only say that´s completely your fault, mate. Not being able to communicate with the real world properly or at all. And bringing on all those strange characters to going for it.

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby Lou147

China Open as a tournament is definitely more deserving of being the 4th major than the International Championship, will be very interesting to see how it goes with a best of 21 final now right before Sheffield

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby Dan-cat

Great post by Snookerbacker about why the increased money for this event makes the race to the Crucible more exciting.

Our current masters champion might have to qualify! http://www.snookerbacker.com/2018/01/24 ... lifiers-2/

Here it is pasted below for your reading pleasure.

'After the glitz and glamour of The Masters and the historic first major title win for Mark Allen it’s back down to earth, Barnsley to be precise, this weekend for the qualifying round of the China Open. That might sound like a bit of a crash land, but there are all sorts of reasons why what happens here and later on in Beijing, will have a big effect on the remainder of the snooker season and therefore I expect quite a bit of interest in this amongst Team Anorak.

Let’s get the headline news briefly out of the way. This event is now a very big deal, negotiations that were only completed as The Masters was coming to an end have resulted in a jump in total prize money from £525,000 last year to £1,000,000 this year. The winner’s prize has rocketed from £85,000 up to £225,000, which makes this second only to The World Championship in terms of prize money and therefore ranking points, on offer.

Other positive developments are the length of the matches. It’s Best of Eleven frames right up until the Best of 19 frame semi-finals and the Best of 21 frame final. So clearly the Chinese promoters don’t share the same view as Barry Hearn that people who watch snooker generally have the attention span of an absent-minded ant, instead increasingly preferring to put on events over the longer frame format, a mindset I hope Barry considers adopting more closer to home instead of continuing with the repetitive best of seven format events.

Another reason why the anoraks will be excited about this is its new found status as a very big deal in deciding the 16 players who will end up competing automatically in the seeded slots at the World Championship, here you can see the current rankings in the Race to the Crucible, all of which could be thrown right up in the air after the conclusion of this, just a couple of days before the qualifiers for the big one get underway.

The increase in the prize money on offer for this puts those final few seeding places bang in the mix, a good run in this from a lower ranked player could see them propelled into a Crucible place, a poor result at the weekend for a player ranked high but outside the top 10 could be disastrous for their chances of avoiding the three dreaded qualifying matches in Sheffield Institute of Sport. Included in this group is Masters Champion Allen, who for all the dosh he won in London, still needs to add to his tally in the events that count towards rankings to be safe. It would be extraordinary if the current Masters Champion ended up having to qualify for the World Championship, but an early exit at the weekend in this would make that more of a possibility.

It’s great news of course for those who perhaps previously may have thought they were a shoo-in for the qualifiers. They can now look towards a run to the quarter finals and beyond in this as greatly improving their chances of nabbing that automatic slot, whereas the likes of Allen, Anthony McGill, the returning Stuart Bingham, Neil Robertson, Luca Brecel, even Kyren Wilson and Ali Carter will be looking to avoid any drama by not losing this weekend and not being made to look over their shoulders in Beijing by kicking on. You’d imagine that from Mark Williams at Number 9 upwards are pretty secure for a Crucible place already barring utter carelessness and freakish future results.

Of course there are still plenty of other events that will count towards the money but none anywhere near as lucrative as this. You’d have to think that whoever contests the last four in this in Beijing would be pretty sure of their Crucible place, possibly at the expense of someone who in previous years would have been safe as houses at that point in the season. It all adds to the intrigue…

Anyway, each of the first round matches are worth £5,000 to the winners and not even your bus fare home to the losers. The doubling of the prize money hasn’t really filtered down to the mid-ranked professionals, this is worth only £1000 more than last season, but the potential is then there come early April to play leapfrog up the ranking list with every passing win, with the winners of the next round being guaranteed £11,000 and then £18,000 for a third win, it could also of course secure a further tour card for those who may had all but given up hope, so a huge weekend for those lower down the rankings beckons too.

You’ll be able to watch the streamed tables on Eurosport Player and the usual betting sites.'

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby SnookerFan

Dan-cat wrote:You’ll be able to watch the streamed tables on Eurosport Player and the usual betting sites.'



What about those of us who watch Eurosport the old fashioned way? On television.

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby Dan-cat

SnookerFan wrote:
Dan-cat wrote:You’ll be able to watch the streamed tables on Eurosport Player and the usual betting sites.'



What about those of us who watch Eurosport the old fashioned way? On television.


He’s only on about the qualifiers I think. ‘ sure the main tournament will be on the TV channel

Re: China Open Hits £1 Million Prize Money

Postby vodkadiet

Trump won't be getting any of the cash. He is on his Jack Jones! He has been handed his ass yet again by a nobody!