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Featured Image Credit: Eurosport
Topics: Fan Reactions, Snooker, Saudi Arabia
Josh Lawless
Fans have slammed the World Masters of Snooker tournament and branded it "embarrassing" after barely anyone was in attendance.
Saudi Arabia is hosting another huge fight between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou later this week but the country is also dabbling into snooker with the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker.
The tournament courted controversy before it kicked off as officials added an extra two participants following initial communication that it would be the world's top eight players and two further wildcards entrants.
The prize pot for winning the tournament is a whopping $1 million, while players can also win to the tune of £395,000 if they are the first to pot the newly introduced 'Golden Ball', worth 20 points when on a maximum, 167 break.
But despite the money involved and the interesting innovation, the buzz surrounding the tournament is virtually non-existent.
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The three-day event takes place at Boulevard City and is being shown on Eurosport on DAZN.
An opening ceremony took place ahead of qualifying matches on Monday, with all players introduced and the Saudi Arabia national anthem being played.
However, the arena was largely empty and silent throughout proceedings - following on from World Snooker Tour stating that the tournament would be a sell-out.
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And fans didn't hold back on social media, with many producing scathing assessments.
One fumed: "There are almost more players than fans at the opening ceremony of the Saudi World Masters of Snooker. They can throw as much money as they want at it, but these events will always be soulless."
A second added: "By the look of all those empty seats at the world masters of snooker event in Saudi Arabia, the fans have spoken and most have boycotted the tournament.
A third agreed: "This Saudi snooker tournament is an absolute f****ng embarrassment. From the 167 golden ball b*ll***s, to the strange list of invitees, to the tragic crowd here."
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A fourth remarked: "Saudi snooker tournament have just done a walk on introducing all the players in the tournament one by one which would get a very rousing reception if there weren't more players in the venue than there are crowd members."
A final user said: "A knowledgeable collection of empty seats at the Saudi snooker."
The first session featured Ding Junhui and John Higgins in action against wildcards Omar Alajlani and Ali Alobaidli in qualifying action, with the crowd still scarce.
Organisers will be hoping for an increased number of fans, though the involvement of the legendary Ronnie O'Sullivan will surely have an effect.
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The second round takes place on Monday evening, with the quarter-finals on Tuesday.