Ronnie O’Sullivan is gunning for the golden ball (Image: Getty)
Several of biggest stars have wildly differing opinions on what they’d spend should they scoop £792,000 ($1million) at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship this week.
The Saudi Arabia-based competition is well underway with the semi-finals taking place today (December 20), meaning only four hopefuls now have a chance of taking home a staggering financial bonus. has returned with this time round to when the tournament was last held in March.Originally titled World Masters of Snooker, it was won earlier this year by , who picked up £250,000 for his efforts. The Championship has gained traction for addition of the gold ball, which sees competitors incentivised to an extravagant degree.
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The ball is worth 20 points and can only be potted after a 147 has been made, meaning a 167 is available to players. The ball is placed on the top cushion throughout a frame for as long as a player can still complete the maximum break and is then removed when the opportunity is over.
John Higgins got close to clinching the ball last year but fell short. However there is serious motivation to make the historic break in this week’s event, as while last time out $500,000 was on the line for a 167, this time the prize has been doubled to $1m for the first player to achieve it.
While several of the game’s biggest movers can no longer stake a claim for the money, the contrasting views on how they would spend such a fortune made for an interesting insight. From sports cars to social causes, each player had a unique take on how they would blow $1m.
When asked how he would spend his money, O’Sullivan insisted: “I couldn’t spend a million dollars.” But he then claimed he would use the winnings to buy a school. Mark Selby went for something a little more flash saying: “I would probably buy myself another super car, probably a .”
Luca Brecel is one of the four semi-finalists (Image: Getty)
Mark Williams put everyone to shame when he said he would give all his potential winnings to his wife. Shaun Murphy said: “Well, I think if you can find one for $1m then it would be a 1964 Aston Martin DB Five – the only car to buy.”
Luca Brecel announced that he would buy “a house in Majorca”. Mark Allen would blow a “couple of hundred grand on an AP watch”. However, Judd Trump declared he would create and run his own tournament with the prize money and make up his own snooker rules to “see how it goes”.
Zhang Anda simply said he would’ve bought a “big house” should he have taken his chance to win the pot. O’Sullivan’s ambitions to build or buy a school could become a reality with the seven-time World Snooker Champion edging closer to glory in Riyadh.
How would you spend $1m? ?????? |
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After winning back in March, the 49-year-old said that he was gunning for the golden ball this time around. “I’ll get the golden ball next year. I didn’t want to take it all at once,” O’Sullivan quipped.
“I’ll take the tournament this year and then the golden ball next year. It’ll be great.” Today’s order of play sees O’Sullivan facing Mark Allen after he dispatched Ding Junhui.
Mark Williams takes on Luca Brecel in the other semi-final. Williams beat Judd Trump to land his semi-final spot, while Brecel booked his place with a victory over Kyren Wilson.