Saudi Arabia Masters to match World Championship with huge £500,000 first prize

The inaugural 144-player Saudi Arabia Masters will match the World Championship as snooker’s most lucrative tournament with a first prize of £500,000.

The third ranking event of the 2024/25 season will take place in Green Halls in Riyadh with all 144 players on the main World Snooker Tour circuit competing at the venue from the first round onwards.

With a total prize fund of £2,302,000, the money on offer is slightly less than the sport’s flagship event of £2,395,000 in April and May when Kyren Wilson became world champion, but a £50,000 bonus is also on the table for a 147 break with every player rewarded with appearance money.

The winner of the tournament will take home the same amount of prize money as Wilson did in Sheffield.

The new tournament also matches the World Championship for the rest of the field with runner-up (£200,000), semi-finalists (£100,000), quarter-finalists (£50,000), last 16 (£30,000) and last 32 (£20,000) earning record sums for a ranking event outside the Crucible.

Every competitor is also guaranteed at least £2,000 even if they lose in the first round.

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“The fact that all the players will be out in Saudi Arabia from round one is pretty exciting. I can’t think of too many tournaments where we have done that before.

“I’m looking forward to that and I’m sure they aren’t going to spare any expense making sure it is a great experience for everyone.”

The top 16 seeds will enter the competition in round five, which commences on September 3, and face the eventual winners of the remaining 128 players.