Snooker fans have demanded a rule change to be implemented across the board after seeing what happened at the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The Saudi tournament had its first edition last year, with Judd Trump crowned the inaugural champion after beating Mark Williams 10-9 in the final.
The first event took place in Riyadh but the competition has now been moved to Jeddah at Green Halls, Prince Abdullah AlFaisal Sports City.
Viewed as the sport's fourth major by some, the tournament has a prize pot of £2,302,000 - of which the winner receives £500,000.
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But while the format is largely the same as other leading events like the World Championship and the UK Championship, there is one key difference which fans are very much in favour of.
2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters format
The 144-player tournament adopts a tiered system, with the top 16 players seeded to the fifth round. Those seeded 17 to 48 kick off from their campaign from the third round, with 49 to 80 getting a bye into the second.
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16 regional wildcard players were granted entry the tournament, including eleven from host nation Saudi Arabia.
The approach means that the first four rounds are made up of lower-ranked players coming up against one another from the first round onwards as opposed to coming up against the big guns from the off.
Currently 81st in the world, Robbie McGuigan of Northern Ireland was the highest-ranked player in the first round, which is a best of 7 frames, but lost 4-1 to China's Gao Yang.
However there is a better chance for the lower-ranked players to progress into the competition, with England's Reanne Evans making the third round after wins over Kreishh Gurbaxani and Liam Davies before being eliminated by Jack Lisowski.
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Commenting on the format, one fan on X wrote: "And this is why all events should be tiered system… brilliant."
A second said: "Makes perfect sense to put players against others of similar standard.
A third added: "Fans might not be interested but it’s the way sport should be."
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The fourth round represents a change in format as games become best out of nine frames. Sanderson Lam will join the party at that stage after receiving a bye following 2023 world champion Luca Brecel withdrawing due to medical reasons.
Big hitters like Trump, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Selby are in action in the firth round, while the last 16, quarter final and semi finals will be best of 11 frames before the two-session final which is best of 19 frames.
Topics: Saudi Arabia, Snooker, World Snooker Championship
Josh Lawless