A right on cue event for Brown
NORTHERN IRISH potter Jordan Brown has welcomed the announcement of the big-money Saudi Arabia Masters with open arms.
World Snooker Tour unveiled a blockbuster 10-year deal for the brand new £2million event yesterday, which will be staged August 31-September 7.
The hefty prize pot makes it the second most lucrative tournament on the calendar behind the World Championship.
The top prize is believed to be £500,000 which is the same as the Crucible champion.
And world No.42 Brown said: “It’s a brilliant earning opportunity for the players lower down the rankings.
“It’s amazing news for the sport to have that sort of money coming into the game.
“As players all we want is the opportunity to earn money.
“You have to give credit where credit is due and WST have done a great job getting this event on for everyone.”
It’s the second event to be announced in the Middle East country after the Riyadh Season Masters of Snooker, an elite ten-man event which will be held next month.
Brown was left disillusioned when news of that tournament, which will boast the gimmick Golden Ball, hit but is delighted an event for the whole tour has finally come to fruition.
He added: “I don’t have a gripe against the top players, they deserve to be where they are and the riches that come with it.
“But the people who are running the game seem to forget about the rest of us.
“It’s fair enough to have an invitational event, but at least inform us something’s on the way rather than get bad press.
“There were a lot of players on Twitter putting the hands up emoji as if
‘are we forgotten about?’.
“People are struggling to put food on the table so this is brilliant news for the whole tour.”