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World Snooker Tour
The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of about 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. It is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial arm of professional snooker, first formed in 1982 as the commercial arm of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). It is also the organiser of most of the events throughout the professional circuit, including the prestigious World Snooker Championship.
As more professional tournaments were held outside the British Isles since the 1970s, the "World Snooker" banner was increasingly being used for different tournaments along with the growth of the sport to other countries. The establishment of the World Snooker Association (WSA) in 1997 introduced a unified branding for the professional game, and it was further revised to its current form in 2020.
Since 2010, the principal stakeholder in World Snooker Ltd is Matchroom Sport, which owns 51 percent of the company; WPBSA, the sport's governing body, owns 26 percent. To compete on the World Snooker Tour, players must be WPBSA members.
The current incarnation of the World Snooker Tour was created in the early 1970s when the WPBSA took over the running of the professional game. At the time of the takeover, in 1971, there were only a handful of professional events to play in, but further events were gradually added throughout the 1970s, and by the end of the decade there were over twenty events on the calendar and snooker was a regular televised fixture. This period in the professional game, since 1969, has come to be known as the "modern era"—when the BBC commissioned Pot Black and the modern-day knock-out format for the World Snooker Championship was introduced.
Outside of the British Isles, Commonwealth nations such as Australia, Canada and South Africa were the only major host countries for snooker tournaments before the 1980s; In a bid to boost popularity in snooker globally, the tournament was extended to the Far East with the likes of China, Thailand and Japan. It would prove to be a success, and Asian countries have been an integral part of the snooker calendar since.
Historically a player just needed to become a professional member of the governing body to participate in events, which was attained by formal invitation by an existing current member, and this system was eventually replaced by the Pro-Ticket series. The game went open for the 1991–92 season, whereby anyone could apply for professional membership and enter the tournaments. Due to over-subscription, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted for the 1997–98 season: the primary tour—officially now known as the World Snooker Tour but previously known (and still commonly referred to) as the Main Tour—with a limited membership, and a secondary tour was established for the rest of the professional membership.
The World Snooker Tour consists of ranking tournaments that contribute to a player's ranking, and invitational events that do not. All players on the tour can enter a ranking event, whereas the entry criteria for an invitational event is often set by the sponsor or broadcaster, and usually excludes many players on the tour. The list of ranking tournaments have expanded throughout the years; there are now around 20 ranking tournaments regularly showing up on the snooker calendar each season.
Ranking tournaments are often played in two stages—a qualification stage and the main draw, usually at different locations. The main draw is most likely to be held at a prestigious venue where audiences can purchase a ticket and watch the players compete. Typically only the main draw is televised, and therefore often carries considerably higher prize money than the qualifiers. Some ranking tournaments also feature amateur players as wildcards in qualifiers, usually through nomination from the regional snooker governing bodies. Examples include the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) nominating wildcard amateurs to compete in the English Open, Welsh Snooker for Welsh Open, the Saudi Arabian Billiard and Snooker Federation (SABSF) for Saudi Arabian Masters and the WPBSA for the Shoot Out, UK Championship and World Championship.
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World Snooker Tour AI simulator
(@World Snooker Tour_simulator)
World Snooker Tour
The World Snooker Tour (WST) is the main professional snooker tour, consisting of about 128 players competing on a circuit of up to 28 tournaments each season. It is administered by World Snooker Ltd, the commercial arm of professional snooker, first formed in 1982 as the commercial arm of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). It is also the organiser of most of the events throughout the professional circuit, including the prestigious World Snooker Championship.
As more professional tournaments were held outside the British Isles since the 1970s, the "World Snooker" banner was increasingly being used for different tournaments along with the growth of the sport to other countries. The establishment of the World Snooker Association (WSA) in 1997 introduced a unified branding for the professional game, and it was further revised to its current form in 2020.
Since 2010, the principal stakeholder in World Snooker Ltd is Matchroom Sport, which owns 51 percent of the company; WPBSA, the sport's governing body, owns 26 percent. To compete on the World Snooker Tour, players must be WPBSA members.
The current incarnation of the World Snooker Tour was created in the early 1970s when the WPBSA took over the running of the professional game. At the time of the takeover, in 1971, there were only a handful of professional events to play in, but further events were gradually added throughout the 1970s, and by the end of the decade there were over twenty events on the calendar and snooker was a regular televised fixture. This period in the professional game, since 1969, has come to be known as the "modern era"—when the BBC commissioned Pot Black and the modern-day knock-out format for the World Snooker Championship was introduced.
Outside of the British Isles, Commonwealth nations such as Australia, Canada and South Africa were the only major host countries for snooker tournaments before the 1980s; In a bid to boost popularity in snooker globally, the tournament was extended to the Far East with the likes of China, Thailand and Japan. It would prove to be a success, and Asian countries have been an integral part of the snooker calendar since.
Historically a player just needed to become a professional member of the governing body to participate in events, which was attained by formal invitation by an existing current member, and this system was eventually replaced by the Pro-Ticket series. The game went open for the 1991–92 season, whereby anyone could apply for professional membership and enter the tournaments. Due to over-subscription, a two-tiered tour structure was adopted for the 1997–98 season: the primary tour—officially now known as the World Snooker Tour but previously known (and still commonly referred to) as the Main Tour—with a limited membership, and a secondary tour was established for the rest of the professional membership.
The World Snooker Tour consists of ranking tournaments that contribute to a player's ranking, and invitational events that do not. All players on the tour can enter a ranking event, whereas the entry criteria for an invitational event is often set by the sponsor or broadcaster, and usually excludes many players on the tour. The list of ranking tournaments have expanded throughout the years; there are now around 20 ranking tournaments regularly showing up on the snooker calendar each season.
Ranking tournaments are often played in two stages—a qualification stage and the main draw, usually at different locations. The main draw is most likely to be held at a prestigious venue where audiences can purchase a ticket and watch the players compete. Typically only the main draw is televised, and therefore often carries considerably higher prize money than the qualifiers. Some ranking tournaments also feature amateur players as wildcards in qualifiers, usually through nomination from the regional snooker governing bodies. Examples include the English Partnership for Snooker and Billiards (EPSB) nominating wildcard amateurs to compete in the English Open, Welsh Snooker for Welsh Open, the Saudi Arabian Billiard and Snooker Federation (SABSF) for Saudi Arabian Masters and the WPBSA for the Shoot Out, UK Championship and World Championship.