The “Wynn Presents - 2023 Macau Snooker Masters” is slated to be held from December 25-29 at the Wynn Palace’s Grand Theatre, details of which were announced during a press conference at the property in Cotai yesterday.
The four-day contest, which a recent statement from the gaming resort operator described as the highest-level snooker tournament and “most influential” professional snooker competition in the region, will have prize money of £150,000 (1.53 million patacas).
The roster of invited players, most of whom were present during yesterday’s event, features world number one and seven-time World Snooker Championship winner, English professional snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan; and the first Asian player to reach the top of the world snooker ranking, mainland Chinese professional snooker player Ding Junhui, who, Wikipedia notes, is “widely regarded as the greatest Asian player of all time”.
Other invited players are English professional snooker players Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski and Kyren Wilson; Welsh professional snooker player Mark Williams; Hong Kong professional snooker player Marco Fu Ka-chun; and mainland Chinese professional snooker player Si Jiahui.
In her speech, Wynn Macau President and Vice-Chairwoman of the Board Linda Chen Chih-ling noted that the upcoming event’s objective is “to actively support the government’s ‘1+4’ [appropriate] diversification development strategy*, and to contribute to the growth of Macau’s sports culture and tourism industry”, while the event is part of the company’s “long-term plan to bolster Macau’s influence in the international sports scene.”
*According to the 1+4 model, the local government aims to consolidate the development of the city’s tourism and leisure industry while putting special emphasis on promoting the development of four new key industries, namely 1) big health, 2) modern finance, 3) high-tech, and 4) conventions and exhibitions as well as culture and sport.
English professional snooker player Judd Trump (from left to right), President and Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Wynn Macau Linda Chen Chih-ling, Sports Bureau (ID) President Pun Weng Kun, and English professional snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan pose after yesterday’s press conference. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
