Snooker’s governing body will provide support to its members amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in tournament cancellations.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association announced on Friday that it would be delivering “support packages” to the Main Tour players.
Like most sports, snooker has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak that has taken thousands of lives globally since January.
Three of the most lucrative tournaments on the calendar have been postponed and possibly cancelled, depending on how the situation may or may not improve in the coming weeks and months.
This includes the Tour Championship, China Open, and the World Snooker Championship that was due to be staged at the Crucible Theatre next month in Sheffield.
The World Snooker Tour’s decision to officially call off the latter on Friday means that the 2019/20 season has been completely put on hold.
Main Tour players won’t be able to earn money from professional snooker for the time being, which shouldn’t pose a problem to the likes of the top 16 members.
However, players nearer the bottom of the rankings list could face a difficult period with their primary source of income impacted.
In the support package, the WPBSA will grant each player an initial £1,000, with additional financial support also potentially available in the form of a loan against future earnings from competition.
Other assistance in relation to travel will be provided too, with WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson saying that “all of us at the WPBSA care about our players.”
“(We) will do everything in our power to help everybody through at this difficult time.
“If any player has any questions or we can provide any assistance I would encourage them to contact a member of our team at any time.”
It is a simple, but impressive, gesture that the WPBSA wasted little time in providing and one that several players showed their immediate appreciation of on social media.
Joe Perry, Michael Georgiou, Martin O’Donnell, and Elliot Slessor were among just a few of the Main Tour players who applauded the support package.
Well done Jason to you and the team…..good work 👏👏👏
— Joe Perry (@joegentlemanjoe) March 20, 2020
Thank you for you’re amazing support ❤️
— Martin O’Donnell (@TheMOD147) March 20, 2020
