Like every sport, snooker enthusiasts are very fond of watching professional snooker players play their game in the biggest snooker tournaments. Fans diligently wait for international snooker tournaments to commence, while giving them the pleasure of seeing their idols play snooker at their best.
There are 17 ranking tournaments, in total, that is run by world snooker. Snooker tournaments have their own significance and professional snooker players wait for these tournaments to show their stamina and love for this beautiful game.
If one has started playing snooker or is interested in seeing different tournaments, one can start with these 3 snooker tournaments that are hard to miss when it comes to snooker.
What are the major snooker tournaments?
Table of Contents
- World championship
- UK championship
- Masters
World championship:
Like any other sport, snooker has its own world championship – the most renowned tournament of all in the snooker world. This professional snooker tournament is organized in the city of Sheffield, England, at the Crucible theatre. The prize money for this snooker tournament is 500,000 pounds – that is – the reason why every player gives 100 percent in this tournament. If one is a die-hard fan of snooker and wants to see top-notch snooker, then this tournament is the one that cannot be missed by any means.
Structure of World snooker championship:
In order to qualify for this prestigious tournament, players have to compete against one another to qualify. First, there are the qualifying matches which result in the best of 32 players. These 32 players are then tested against each other in a battle of 19 frames. Moving on, the total number of players are left is 16. They are then tested in the best of 25 frames. The tournament moves to the quarter-finals in which there are 25 frames and players have to show their grit to qualify for the semi-finals. From there, only 4 players will be there to play the semi-finale. The total number of frames is 33 in the semi-final. After which, only two players are left to play for the best of 35 frames.
UK championship:
The UK championship has its own importance when it comes to snooker. It is the second biggest snooker tournament in this sport. It is held in the city of York, England, at the Barbican center. The prize money for the winner is almost 200,000 pounds. The structure of this tournament is more or less the same except for the number of frames. Only the final has a total 19 number of frames to be played.
Masters snooker championship:
The third one to follow is the Masters snooker championship. The place in which it is held is north of London, Alexandra Palace, England. It is the third biggest snooker tournament of all time in the snooker world. The prize money for the winner of this tournament is 250,000 pounds. Players have to go through the best of 9 frames to reach to semi-finals in which they play a best 0f 11 frames game to reach the final. The final has the best of 17 frames.
These all three tournaments are the heart of snooker. Players play at their best in these biggest snooker tournaments to stay up in the world snooker rankings. The importance of these tournaments is up to that level that if a player wins all three of the titles, i.e., World snooker championship, UK snooker championship, and Master snooker then the player is awarded another title “TRIPLE CROWN WINNER“.
