The Bailey Allen Hall in Galway, Ireland, will stage snooker’s Players Tour Championship (PTC) Grand Finals for the first time in March, worldnsnooker.com reported.

The tournament is the climax of the PTC Series, which has featured 12 short events staged in the UK and around Europe over the past six months. It is open to all professional and amateur snooker players, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit to go through to the Grand Finals, which will run from March 14-18.

Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and John Higgins have already secured their place in Galway.

PTC12 Munich, the Arcaden Shopping Open, is played to a conclusion in Germany from January 6-8, after which the full line-up of 24 players will be known.

In Galway, the players will be battling for ranking points as well as a total prize fund of £250,000, with a top prize of £70,000 up for grabs.

The tournament will receive extensive coverage from Eurosport.

A spokesman for World Snooker said: “Our players have been all around the UK and Europe already this season, to locations including Poland, Belgium and Germany, and it has been a fantastic experience to bring snooker to those locations, where the popularity of the sport is growing fast.

“Now all eyes turn to Galway for what is sure to be a thrilling conclusion to the series.”