Saudi Arabia and Snooker: WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson discusses Middle East investment

The Saudi Arabia Masters launched in Riyadh last year with an astonishing £500,000 winner’s prize, as such, obtaining the unofficial title as the sport’s ‘fourth major’ alongside the long-established Triple Crown events. The Arab nation has caused a tremendous shift in snooker’s global market.

In the final part of an in-depth interview with Totally Snookered, Jason Ferguson - Chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) - has spoken about the sport’s development in Saudi Arabia.

Read parts one and two via these links.

Saudi interest in snooker goes deeper than most imagine, says Chairman

While Saudi Arabia only hosted its first professional snooker tournament last year, interest in the region is not a recent phenomenon.

Across the border in the UAE, the invitational Dubai Masters first took place in 1988, which became a ranking event the following year as the Dubai Classic, lasting six years through to 1994. Bahrain also briefly had its own ranking event in 2008, with the Bahrain Championship.

Some people fear the latest investment in Riyadh is just another flash in the pan for the Middle East, however, Chairman Ferguson is adamant this is not the case: “There seems to be this myth that Saudi Arabia just comes in and they pay a load of money and that's it. It's actually part of developing sport properly for the people of Saudi Arabia and I find that very encouraging.

“There has been infrastructure in Saudi Arabia for a long time, snooker in the Middle East is actually quite big. All over the Middle East you will find snooker tables, snooker clubs, and you will find good players - so it's not just a one-hit wonder,” he added.

The plan to bring snooker to Saudi Arabia dates back to 2019, where efforts were initially derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five years later, the nation finally achieved its goal, announcing the World Masters of Snooker in Riyadh to be played in March 2024. The event was renewed for the 2024/25 season, before launching a second tournament with the Saudi Arabia Masters in August/September.

There is no doubt that the Kingdom is putting its money where its mouth is, but doubts remain around the country’s grassroots development.

Former top 32 ranked professional Ferguson argued the country’s investment in the sport goes much deeper than a few tournaments: “The major ranking event is coupled to some legacy planning and some grassroots work, looking at the clubs, coaching and getting local referees involved, looking at how we can develop the sport with the local authorities.”

Sportswashing claims not a concern for snooker’s governing body

The topic of sportswashing cannot be overlooked when discussing Saudi involvement across the globe.

Human rights organisations have long criticised the nation’s freedom of expression, women’s rights, use of the death penalty and condemned the deaths of migrant workers involved in preparing for major events. Many have argued that the nation’s recent involvement in sport is simply a way of distracting from these issues.

Ferguson brushed off such claims, insisting that it is not part of the governing body’s remit: “I don't know how many countries I've been to over the years and somebody says you shouldn't be working there because of this, you shouldn't be working there because of that. We're not in the international politics of where we should be and where we shouldn't be.”

The World Snooker Tour only intends on impacting the world in a positive way through the sport, he maintained: “It’s a mixed gender sport, it’s an open sport and we want it to be accessible to everywhere and everybody - with no exceptions.

“What we're doing is taking it all around the world and promoting the good values of the sport. We will promote the good core values of this sport everywhere in the world because we believe it's good for society.”

‘Brilliant’ Golden Ball innovation a welcome addition to snooker

Along with the introduction of the Riyadh Season Championship last year came a new, never-before-seen snooker innovation.

The addition of the ‘Golden Ball’ was piloted, worth 20 points if potted at the end of a 147 break, raising the potential maximum break to 167. The award for achieving a 167 break was set at a staggering $500,000 for the first edition, with that bonus doubling to $1,000,000 for the second staging.

“The Golden Ball came in and we all looked at each other and thought - ‘Golden Ball, how's that going to work?’ Between the innovative Turki Al-Sheikh in Saudi Arabia, and the team who know about snooker to the detail, we've come up with the golden ball format - ‘the 167’ and I think it's brilliant,” Ferguson said.

New implementations are uncommon in snooker, but World Snooker is open to ideas, he said: “You can modify, but you can't change the fundamental principle of this sport - sportsmanship, tactics, etc. I’m all for innovation in sport, I think that's one of the reasons why we've had the stability over the years, we're quite open to changes and innovation.

“There's a mix of things, like the Shoot Out, the Golden Ball, long frame formats like the World Championship and shorter frame formats like the Home Nations - it does create different opportunities for different players and different parts of the ranking,” Ferguson explained.