Malta Cup at the Hilton next year
Wild cards to four Maltese players
This week World Snooker announced a brand new world ranking event - the Malta Cup - to be played in Malta next year.
The tournament will be staged from January 31 to February 6 at the Hilton Conference Centre. The luxurious five-star hotel, at the Portomaso surroundings, staged last season's European Open, won by Stephen Maguire.
The world's top 16 players qualify automatically for the event, including world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, Paul Hunter, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Matthew Stevens, John Higgins and traditional favourites Jimmy White and Steve Davis.
They will meet the 16 players who battle their way through qualifying rounds to be staged from November 30 to December 3. Tony Drago will have his qualifying match held over to ensure his participation in his home tournament.
There are also four wild card places, which have been offered to leading Maltese players Alex Borg, Joe Grech, Simon Zammit and Duncan Bezzina. They will be drawn against the four lowest-seeded qualifiers.
A spokesman for World Snooker said: "We are thrilled to be staging a new event, the Malta Cup, on an island which has hosted many successful events in the past. No doubt, the legions of snooker fans in Malta are equally pleased.
"One of our goals is to develop the ever-growing popularity of snooker in continental Europe and across the globe. Holding tournaments overseas is a key element in this, so this is certainly a positive announcement for the sport."
Richard Balani, director of Snooker Promotions Malta, added: "It is with great pleasure that we can once again welcome a world ranking tournament to our country. Over the last few months, we have worked extremely hard together with World Snooker to confirm the event here, and we hope to be able to do so for many years to come.
"Malta is a very popular venue with all of the players on the snooker circuit. Our facilities and organisation here are arguably second to none, and the local crowds support the game in their droves. We look forward to yet another successful and enjoyable event and wish all players the best of luck in the Malta Cup."