World number one Judd Trump says snooker has been hoping for the huge prize money on offer at the Saudi Arabia Masters for more than a decade.
The tournament in Riyadh, which has been given the unofficial title of being the sport’s ‘fourth major’ by organisers, is the biggest ever staged outside the UK.
With a £2.3m prize fund and £500,000 winner’s cheque, only the World Championship in Sheffield is comparable.
“There is a different kind of buzz similar to the Crucible here and everyone throughout the last 10 to 15 years has hoped this would happen to snooker,” Trump told BBC Sport.
“We have watched the other sports take the money away and everyone is happy and excited by this opportunity. Some of the events we go to in the Home Nations apart from Northern Ireland – which is a great venue – feel a bit second tier in how they are set up. You can feel the excitement here.
“There is a buzz because of the money and the chance for players to support their families.”
The Saudi tournament and other events like the Xi’an Grand Prix in China have helped swell the prize money on offer on the professional tour to a record £19m, at least, this season.
Mark Allen, ranked number two in the world, said: “I appreciate it can change someone’s life, unless you are a maybe a Ronnie [O’Sullivan], Judd or Ding [Junhui] that is set for life.
“It is a huge, huge amount of money we are playing for but it is not what we are thinking about. We are here to try and win a tournament.
“You don’t start out in the game to win £500,000, you start out to be world champion and world number one. They are the dreams you have as a young boy and that shouldn’t change.”