Snooker News

Barnsley Opens Doors for Free

From World Snooker:

Fans in Barnsley will be able to watch snooker’s top players in action for FREE at the Metrodome in October.

The Barnsley Metrodome will stage World Snooker tournaments for the first time this season, starting with the International Championship qualifiers on October 1st and 2nd.

The South Yorkshire venue has been selected to host the qualifying rounds of major ranking events during the 2013/14 season. All professional players will be eligible to enter which means cue kings like Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Jimmy White and Steve Davis could be in action.

The International Championship qualifiers will see 128 players involved, with the 64 winners going through to the final stages in Chengdu, China

And World Snooker have made the decision to give spectators free access into the arena to see the green baize wizards compete.

Chairman Barry Hearn said: “This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our existing fans for their loyal support. It’s a chance to come and see your heroes free of charge. And for anyone who hasn’t seen live snooker before, it’s the perfect opportunity to see what it’s all about.

“We have the UK Championship coming up in York in December and of course the World Championship in Sheffield in April so any new fans introduced to the sport in Yorkshire have the biggest tournaments on their doorstep.

“The lay-out of the arena means that fans can watch several tables at once. It really is a tremendous opportunity and people can just turn up on the day and gain access with no need to reserve in advance.”

All matches are best of 11 frames and there are sessions at 9.30am, 2.30pm and 7.30pm on both days. The draw and format will be released after the seeding cut-off point on September 23.

Later in the season, the Metrodome will also host the qualifying rounds of the German Masters (December 11-12), Haikou World Open (December 13-14) and China Open (February 17-18).

 

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