Two finalists will battle it out for the Paul Hunter Trophy today (Image: Getty)
World Snooker Tour (WST) has ramped up the money stakes ahead of this year’s Masters final, with the winner in line to bank more than ever before.
The glory of winning a coveted Triple Crown event, which brings together 16 of the world’s finest cueists, is enough motivation to go all out for victory at the Alexandra Palace. But WST have made sure hefty financial incentives add even more drama to the occasion.
The total prize pot has increased to just over £1million, with rewards increasing across every round of the tournament. Even those who crashed out in the first round got paid £25,000, with quarter-finalists earning £40,000 apiece.
And there was a handsome reward for the beaten semi-finalists, who banked a tidy £75,000 each. The first session of the final will get going this afternoon (Sunday) in front of an eager crowd in north London.
WST’s revised prize money stakes mean the winner will take home a whopping £350,000 – a full £100,000 more than Ronnie O’Sullivan took home for winning last year’s tournament.
Coming so close to a major triumph will be a bitter pill to swallow for the loser, but a handsome £140,000 payday should take the edge off as they make their way home from the Ally Pally.
Ronnie O’Sullivan won last year’s Masters title (Image: Getty)
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The snooker landscape has changed with the emergence of lucrative events in China and the Middle East in recent years. Although winning the Masters comes with a bumper bonus, it is still dwarfed by the £500,000 Judd Trump won at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters last year.
Former pro Neal Foulds believes that transformation may be behind the WST’s cash injection. “Perhaps World Snooker Tour felt they wanted to give the Masters another shot in the arm, as if it was needed,” he wrote for . “But it won’t do any harm in a competitive market which now includes those big-money events in China and Saudi Arabia.”
Today’s two finalists will battle to join an illustrious group of Masters winners and take over as the holder from O’Sullivan, who pulled out on the eve of the tournament on medical grounds.
The Rocket leads the way with eight Masters victories, while Mark Selby has lifted the Paul Hunter Trophy three times before. Mark Williams, John Higgins, Neil Robertson and Trump all boast two triumphs.