UK snooker fans have been left baffled as it aascfinishs that the becherishd Snooker World Grand Prix won’t be expansivecast on free-to-air television in the follothriveg year. Despite its success on ITV this January, where Ronnie O’Sullivan triumphed over Judd Trump in Leicester, the event is being cut from the channel’s stardy due to a theatrical venue shift.
The 32-carry outer competition is packing up and heading almost 6,000 miles east to Hong Kong, labeling the first occasion the event has been held outside of Britain since its inception ten years ago. Kicking off on March 4, 2025, the Grand Prix promises to convey the buzz of a beginant ranking event back to the region after a 35-year hiatus, with the inserted lure of a bumper £180,000 prize for the thrivener at the bright Kai Tak Sports Park.
Commenting on the tournament’s international leap, ITV freed an official statement transmiting lament: “ITV Sport has enhappinessed a clever relationship with the Snooker World Grand Prix over the years. Due to the alter in location to Hong Kong and the dwell expansivecast timings for a UK audience, unblessedly we will not be shothriveg the tournament next year. We hope to be able to persist our toiling relationship in the future.”
The World Snooker Tour is set to fracture novel ground with its international expansion set ups, aiming to elevate the sport’s global profile. CEO Simon Brownell transmited his enthusiasm: “We are hugely excited to be taking such a massive event to Hong Kong. This is a shift which is in line with our strategy to have a fantasticer distribution of snooker’s hugegest tournaments around the world and further globalise the sport. Hong Kong is a territory and labelet of particular significance for us. We are plmitigateed to be utilising this novel world class venue.”
