Saudi Masters snooker event embarrassed as hardly any fans turn up | Other | Sport

Low crowds have once again plagued the Suadi Masters snooker event in Saudi Arabia, as barely any fans turned out to watch Judd Trump in action. 

Poor attendances have been a theme throughout the tournament, with legend Ronnie O’Sullivan the only name drawing respectable crowds. 

The excitement around the competition had been rife during the build-up, especially from players, given that a whopping £500,000 is on offer to the winner. 

It’s the second biggest prize purse on the snooker circuit, with the £2.3million pot only bettered by the £2.4m on offer at the World Championship. 

But, the move to push the sport in Saudi Arabia hasn’t been met with the desired response, as empty stands have plagued the competition’s opening rounds. 

It was the case on Tuesday afternoon when world No. 1 Trump played in front of a sparse crowd for his round six clash against fellow Englishman Jack Lisowski. 

And pictures of empty seats from the Saudi capital have been a constant throughout the event so far – something that will no doubt come as an embarrassment to the tournament organisers. 

Trump has even blasted the tournament, claiming the hefty prize pot will only serve to skew the world rankings. 

Given the Saudi Masters winner will pretty much be guaranteed to top the world rankings, Trump said: “I’m not a huge fan of the ranking system, just because of the way the champion in this tournament now is going to kind of dominate. 

“I don’t feel the rankings are very true. I feel there’s a lot of tournaments I’ve won in or been very consistent and only just got to number one, which I feel like maybe I should be a bit further in front than what it is.

“There’s some drama for this week, in that whoever does well is going to win and become number one, but then it is just going to peter out a little bit because this event is so big compared to the rest. It’s going to take someone the whole season to try and get the money back.”

It comes at a time when talk about moving the World Championship away from the iconic Crucible arena in Sheffield, to Saudi Arabia, has been mooted – something promoter Eddie Hearn has refused to rule out. 

Speaking to Sky Sports, he revealed: “We can’t overlook the history and the legacy of the sport there [in England], but we’re under pressure, as always, to provide opportunity for our members and the players, and if there is a chance to change their lives by record prizemoney it’s something we have to look at as well.

“At the moment, there are no discussions, no plans, to move the World Championship, but in three years’ time the landscape might have changed.”