2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters


The 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 30 August to 7 September 2024 at Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was part of the 2024–25 snooker season. The tournament featured a total prize fund of £2,302,000, the second-highest after the World Championship. It is one of snooker's four major tournaments.
Judd Trump won the tournament, defeating Mark Williams 109 in the final. There were 91 century breaks made in the event, the highest being a 147 by Noppon Saengkham.

Format

There were 17 amateur wildcard players from the Middle East included in the draw, including 7 from Saudi Arabia.
Rounds 1, 2, and 3 were the best of 7 ; rounds 4 and 5 were the best of 9 frames; round 6, the quarterfinals and the semifinals were the best of 11 frames; and the final was a best of 19 frames match, played over two.
The tournament was broadcast on Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe and by various broadcasters worldwide. It was also available on Matchroom Live.

Prize fund

The prize fund for the tournament is detailed below:
  • Winner: £500,000
  • Runner-up: £200,000
  • Semi-final: £100,000
  • Quarter-final: £50,000
  • Last 16: £30,000
  • Last 32: £20,000
  • Last 48: £11,000
  • Last 80: £7,000
  • Last 112: £4,000
  • Last 144: £2,000
  • 147 break: £50,000
  • Total: £2,302,000

Summary

Early rounds

Round 1

Round 1 matches were played on 30 August as the best of 7 frames. In the afternoon Robbie McGuigan beat Abdulraouf Saigh 43, and Michael Holt Ahmad Abul. In the evening session Jimmy White defeated Mohammed Shehab 42, and Stan Moody whitewashed Ziyad Alqabbani.

Round 2

Round 2 matches were played on 31 August as the best of 7 frames. In the afternoon session Artemijs Žižins beat Xu Si 43, and Jimmy White defeated Andrew Higginson 41. In the evening session Antoni Kowalski whitewashed He Guoqiang, and Bulcsú Révész beat Mark Davis 43.

Round 3

Round 3 matches were played on 1 September as the best of 7 frames. In the afternoon session Hossein Vafaei beat Ishpreet Singh Chadha 41, and Joe O'Connor defeated Louis Heathcote 43. In the evening session Neil Robertson defeated Paul Deaville 41. Noppon Saengkham made a maximum break in the first frame of his 41 win over Amir Sarkhosh, his third in professional competition and the first maximum of the 202425 season. Saengkham had also made the 13th and last maximum of the previous season.

Round 4

Round 4 matches were played on 2 September as the best of 9 frames. In the afternoon session Ben Woollaston beat Hossein Vafaei 53, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh defeated Chris Wakelin 54. In the evening session David Gilbert beat Jordan Brown 53, and Neil Robertson defeated Gong Chenzhi 51.

Final rounds

Round 5

Round 5 matches were played on 3 September as the best of 9 frames. In the afternoon session Judd Trump fought back from 04 behind to beat Wu Yize 54, and Xiao Guodong defeated Mark Allen 51. In the evening session Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Lei Peifan 51, and Zhang Anda whitewashed Ben Woollaston, making four century breaks in the five frames. Stuart Bingham beat Ding Junhui 54. In the Ding's break ended when the came off his and hit a. Bingham then made a 63 break to win the match.

Round 6

Round 6 matches were played on 4 September as the best of 11 frames. In the afternoon session Neil Robertson defeated Gary Wilson 61, and Judd Trump beat Jack Lisowski 61. In the evening session Ronnie O'Sullivan recovered from 30 down to defeat Zhang Anda 65, and Mark Williams beat Stuart Bingham 62. Jimmy Robertson beat the reigning world champion Kyren Wilson 64.

Quarter finals

The quarter-finals were played on 5 September as the best of 11 frames. In the afternoon session Shaun Murphy defeated Xiao Guodong 62, and Judd Trump beat Neil Robertson 63. In the evening session Mark Williams whitewashed Jimmy Robertson, and Si Jiahui beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 64.

Semi finals

The semi-finals were played on 6 September as the best of 11 frames. In the first semifinal in the afternoon session Judd Trump played Shaun Murphy. At the midsession interval Trump led Murphy 31, and then went on to win the match 65. In the second semifinal in the evening session Mark Williams played Si Jiahui. At the midsession interval Williams led Si 31, and then went on to win the match 63, although Si made two century breaks.

Final

The final took place on 7 September as the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions, between Mark Williams and Judd Trump. In the afternoon session, Trump took a 53 lead. However, Williams tied the scores at 66 and 8–8 and then made a 138 total clearance, his fourth century of the match, to move one from victory at 9–8. Trump tied the scores at 9–9 with a 90 break. The deciding frame was described as the most lucrative frame in snooker history, given the £300,000 difference between the prizes for the winner and the runner-up. Williams made a 62 break but missed a red, and Trump responded with a 72 clearance to win the match 109 on the final black. Trump said afterwards: "I'm in shock. Mark was the much better player, I just found something at the end." Williams praised his opponent, saying: "It just shows what a great champion he is. What a break he has made there. For half a million pounds, 62 behind and two reds safe. What can I say? Congratulations to him."

Final rounds

The draw for the final rounds is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding. Players in bold denote match winners.

Early rounds

The draw for the early rounds is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour. Players in bold denote match winners.

Century breaks

A total of 91 century breaks were made during the tournament.