Riyadh Season Snooker Championship 2024: Full schedule and results as Ronnie O’Sullivan eyes £250,000 payday

THE Riyadh Season Snooker Championship will take place THIS WEEK with some of the world’s best players in action.

In March, the huge tournament in Saudi Arabia was staged for the first time, initially known as the World Masters of Snooker.

Sporting legend Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Luca Brecel 5-2 to claim the title and the £250,000 prize.

Rocket is set to take part once again alongside nine other stars that feature in the top 10 of the official rankings list.

Two additional wildcards will complete the 12-player field competing in Riyadh.

The unique Golden Ball, which is worth 20 points and can only be potted at the end of a 147, will be in use again, creating the possibility of a player to score a break of 167 – which would be the highest break in snooker history.

Should any player complete an extraordinary 167 break, they will receive a whopping $1million (£792,000).

When is Riyadh Season Snooker Championship 2024?

• Riyadh Season Snooker Championship 2024 will begin on Wednesday, December 18.
• The tournament will run until Friday, December 20.
• Boulevard City, Riyadh, will host.

What TV channel is the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship on and can it be live streamed?

• Riyadh Season Snooker Championship will be broadcast LIVE on DAZN.
• The huge event will be free to watch globally.

Riyadh Season Snooker Championship 2024 schedule

Wednesday, December 18

Round 1

• M1 – Ding Junhui 4-0 Abdulraouf Saigh
• M2 – Zhang Anda 4-0 Ahmed Aseeri

Round 2

• M3 – Shaun Murphy 0-4 Ding Junhui
• M4 – Luca Brecel 4-0 Zhang Anda

Thursday, December 19

Quarter-finals

• M5 – Mark Selby vs Mark Allen (2pm)
• M6 – Kyren Wilson vs Luca Brecel (3pm)
• M7 – Judd Trump vs Mark Williams (7pm)
• M8 – Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ding Junhui (8pm)

Friday, December 20

Semi-finals (Afternoon)

• M9 – Winner of M7 vs Winner of M6
• M10 – Winner of M8 vs Winner of M5

Final

• Winner of M9 vs Winner of M10 (7pm)

What’s been said?

Ahead of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said: “We are looking forward to hosting the next Riyadh Season Snooker Championship, after the great success of our first event earlier this year.

“The interest in snooker is only getting bigger in Saudi Arabia. The fans love to have the best players around the world here and we are excited to have them return in December.”

WST Chairman Steve Dawson added: “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with HE Turki Alalshikh and to stage this event as part of the fabulous Riyadh Season for the second time in 2024.

“This year we have made huge strides forward in our development in Saudi Arabia and it is exciting to see snooker growing so fast in this region and attracting a new audience.

“There is huge motivation for the players over the next few weeks to climb into the top ten and guarantee a place in the field at what will be a fantastic three days of the highest quality action.

“We would love to see one of them pot the Gold Ball and make history!”