Saudi Arabia gold ball snooker event to return with $1 million jackpot prize for 167 super-maximum

Confirmation of this season’s staging was announced on the World Snooker Tour website alongside information regarding a collaboration between Matchroom Sport and Riyadh Season that will also see the Kingdom host the first PDC Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in January 2026.

It was expected that this unique snooker tournament would again feature on the calendar for this term, but until now the dates hadn’t been officially published. It will take place between the Champion of Champions and the UK Championship Qualifiers, running from Wednesday to Friday.

There is yet no news on what the format will be for this year’s event, or how many players, or what the qualification criteria is. However, with it remaining as a three-day show, it seems likely that 12 players will once again be involved, as has been the case for the opening two editions.

The overall prize fund hasn’t been released either (other than the return of the $1 million bonus - more on that below); £250,000 has previously been the winner’s pot.

The press release did state, though, that the reigning champion Mark Allen and the inaugural champion Ronnie O’Sullivan are both set to be in the competition, and TNT Sports will televise it in the United Kingdom.

What is the gold ball? How to make a 167 super-maximum

The Riyadh Season Championship (titled the World Masters of Snooker for the inaugural edition) was first held in March 2024 and won by O’Sullivan when he defeated then world champion Luca Brecel in the final. This was the first professional snooker event ever to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Brecel also reached the final of the second staging - held in December 2024 - but this time was denied the title by Allen.

This competition is different to the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which is a ranking event for all professional tour card holders. Judd Trump (2024) and Neil Robertson (2025) have been the winners of that particular event, so far.

Besides involving the best players in the world, the biggest talking point around the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship is that it uses a ‘gold ball’, unlike in traditional matchplay snooker.

This gold ball is worth 20 points, meaning a break of 167 - labelled as a ‘super-maximum’ - is possible. There is currently a $1 million bonus prize on offer for compiling this super-maximum. The jackpot was doubled from $500,000 after the first event.

No cueist completed this historic feat during the first two outings, although a few players did tease it. John Higgins has gone the closest, so far, when he got to 120 before missing a very tricky yellow during the inaugural hosting.

At the start of every frame, the gold ball is positioned touching the baulk cushion in line with the brown ball and other centrally-placed colours.

The only time the gold ball can be legally potted is after a player pots all the reds with blacks, then the colours in sequence.

As soon as a maximum break is not possible, the referee immediately removes the gold ball from the table and it doesn’t return until the start of the next frame.