It takes the online car retailer’s sponsorship portfolio to six snooker tournaments.
Cazoo will be the title sponsor of next season’s UK Championship in addition to the prestigious Masters, it has been announced on Thursday.
Matchroom’s Champion of Champions invitational will also be backed by the car retailer, which is expanding its partnership with snooker after establishing the Cazoo Series earlier this year.
It means that there will be six events in total during the upcoming 2021/22 term that will carry the Cazoo logo, adding to the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship.
The new agreement means that the UK Championship will end its six-year partnership with Betway, and it’ll mark the first time since 2009 that the game’s second oldest ranking event will boast a sponsor outside the gambling industry.
It’s a similar story for the Masters, which had a long association with Dafabet before Betfred took over as the title sponsor for January’s edition, while the Champion of Champions has always been linked with a betting firm since its first staging at the Ricoh Arena in 2013.
Many will applaud the decision by the snooker powers to move away from an industry that will likely find it more and more difficult to associate itself with major sporting events in the long-term.
It would probably be better if the sponsorship rights were more evenly distributed between a number of companies, a feature that would help add to a tournament’s unique identity, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Cazoo has shown a huge interest in sports sponsorship in the last few years following previous deals to sponsor clubs and tournaments in football, cricket, rugby, and darts.
“It’s fantastic to have a brand like Cazoo involved with us in both snooker and darts,” Matchroom President Barry Hearn said.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Alex (Chesterman, Cazoo CEO) and his team, who have proven to be creative and innovative partners”
“We are now partnering with Cazoo on nine of the most prestigious tournaments and eagerly-awaited events on the snooker and darts calendars as well as for FishOMania.
“We look forward to introducing the Cazoo brand to our loyal fanbase and to a long and productive relationship.”
In watching the Champion of Champions match today, I feel I have to pass a comment on the shirts worn by the players. The material used is very unsuitable and exceptionally unflattering to the players. The tops do not fit well across the chest and shoulders creating contours.The shine makes them look cheap. If the players have to wear a promotional top to advertise CAZOO, SURELY, it should promote best quality. CAZOO is worthy of better.