The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been held annually since 1992. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which ran annually from 1980 to 1991 and was open only to Welsh players. The Welsh Open is now the longest running ranking event after the World Championship and the UK Championship. Since the 2016–17 season, it has been one of four tournaments in the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. Since 2017, the winner of the event has received the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion. Reardon himself presented the newly named trophy to 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.
Joe Swail is a Northern Irish former professional snooker player from Belfast. He retired in May 2019 after being relegated from the tour. He has reached ten major ranking semi-finals, including the 2000 and 2001 World Championships but only one final. Swail is renowned for playing well at the Crucible Theatre, having reached the last 16 on four further occasions. He is also a former English amateur champion and Northern Ireland amateur runner-up, and has captained Northern Ireland internationally. He was Irish champion in 1992 and 2005.
The Snooker Shoot Out is a professional snooker tournament played under a variation of the standard rules. Each match consists of one frame, played over a maximum of 10 minutes, with a shot clock in effect. First staged in 1990 as the Shoot-Out, the event was revived in 2011 and renamed the Snooker Shoot Out. Held from 2011 to 2016 as a non-ranking event with 64 competitors, it became a ranking event in 2017 for an expanded field of 128 players.
The Players Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. Held as the Players Tour Championship Finals from 2011 to 2016, it was rebranded as the standalone Players Championship in 2017. One of three events in the Players Series, it features the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list. Shaun Murphy is the reigning champion, having won the 2023 event.
The 2015 World Grand Prix was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 16 and 22 March 2015 at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales.
The 2016 World Grand Prix was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 8 and 13 March 2016 at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. It was the seventh ranking event of the 2015/2016 season.
The 2017 Players Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament played between 6–12 March 2017 at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. It was the 17th ranking event of the 2016/2017 season.
The Tour Championship is a professional snooker tournament first held in 2019. The event features the twelve highest ranked players on the one-year ranking list, which reflects prize money won at ranking events since the beginning of the season. The Tour Championship is the third and final tournament in the Players Series, following the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship. The event features a prize fund of £380,000, with the winner receiving £150,000. The tournament is broadcast by ITV Sport in the United Kingdom and Eurosport across the rest of Europe. The reigning champion is Shaun Murphy, who won the 2023 Tour Championship with a 10–7 win over Kyren Wilson in the final.
The 2019 Tour Championship was a professional snooker ranking tournament that took place from 19 to 24 March 2019 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. Organised by World Snooker, it was the first edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the inaugural Coral Cup. It was the eighteenth ranking event of the 2018–19 snooker season.
The 2020 World Grand Prix was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 3 to 9 February 2020 in the Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, England. It was the eleventh ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, and the first of three Coral Cup tournaments. The 2020 edition of the World Grand Prix was sponsored by the betting company Coral. The event had 32 participants, with players qualifying by virtue of their ranking points during the 2019–20 season. It had a prize fund of £380,000, with £100,000 going to the winner.
The 2020 Players Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 24 February to 1 March 2020 at the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre in Southport, England. It was the 14th ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season and the second leg of the Coral Series. The tenth edition of the Players Championship, first held in 2011, the event was sponsored by sports betting company Coral, and broadcast on ITV4 in the United Kingdom, and Eurosport across Europe. The event featured 16 participants chosen from players who were the highest earners from the prior 13 ranking tournaments.
The Players Series is a bonus competition for players who have earned the most money in a series of professional snooker tournaments. The series involves three events: the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship. It was established in 2019.
The 2020 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 to 26 June 2020, at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the second edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the second season of the Coral Cup. It was the 16th and penultimate ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season following the Gibraltar Open and preceding the World Championship. The tournament was originally scheduled for 17 to 22 March 2020, but on the morning of 17 March the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following advice from the UK government, it had been decided that no spectators would be permitted at the event.
The 2020 World Grand Prix was a professional snooker tournament, that took place from 14 to 20 December 2020 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. Although the tournament was not sponsored by Cazoo, it was the first of three tournaments that form the Cazoo Cup.
The 2021 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 28 March 2021 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the third edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the third season of the Cazoo Cup. It was the 14th and penultimate ranking event of the 2020–21 snooker season, following the conclusion of the WST Pro Series and preceding the World Championship.
The 2022 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 28 March to 3 April 2022 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it comprised the top eight players on the one-year ranking list. It was the fourth edition of the Tour Championship, first held in 2019, and the 15th and penultimate ranking event of the 2021–22 snooker season, following the Gibraltar Open and preceding the World Championship. It was the third and final event of the season's Cazoo Series, following the Players Championship and the World Grand Prix. Broadcast by ITV4 in the United Kingdom, the event featured a prize fund of £370,000, of which the winner received £150,000.
The 2021 World Grand Prix was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 19 December 2021 at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry, England. The event was the first of three events to make up the Cazoo Cup in the 2021–22 snooker season.
The 2023 World Grand Prix was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 22 January 2023 at The Centaur in Cheltenham, England. The eighth ranking event of the 2022–23 snooker season, it preceded the 2023 Players Championship and the 2023 Tour Championship as the first of three events in the Players Series. Sponsored for the first time by cryptocurrency casino Duelbits, the tournament was broadcast by ITV domestically, by Eurosport in Europe, and by Matchroom Sport and other broadcasters internationally. The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £380,000.
The 2023 Tour Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 27 March to 2 April 2023 at the Bonus Arena in Hull, England. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the fifth edition of the Tour Championship, first held in 2019, and the 14th and penultimate ranking event of the 2022–23 snooker season, preceding the 2023 World Snooker Championship. The last of three events in the Players Series, following the 2023 World Grand Prix and the 2023 Players Championship, it comprised the top eight players on the one-year ranking list as it stood following the 2023 WST Classic. Broadcast by ITV Sport domestically and sponsored by sports betting company Duelbits, the event featured a prize fund of £380,000, of which the winner received £150,000.
The 2023 Players Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 to 26 February 2023 at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, England. The 12th ranking event of the 2022–23 season, it was the second event in the Players Series, following the World Grand Prix and preceding the Tour Championship. Featuring the top 16 players on the one-year ranking list as it stood after the 2023 Welsh Open, the event was broadcast by ITV Sport in the United Kingdom, by Eurosport in Europe, and by multiple other broadcasters internationally. The winner received £125,000 from a total prize fund of £385,000.
Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)
