Snooker tournament Ronnie O’Sullivan won last season almost DOUBLES prize money for qualifying events

A SNOOKER tournament most recently won by Ronnie O’Sullivan is set for a significant financial boost to its qualifying rounds. World Seniors Snooker oversees a series of tournaments for cueists aged 40 or over. A tournament recently won by Ronnie O’Sullivan is set to receive a significant cash boost Credit: PA The tour hosts nine ranking events across the calendar year with some hefty prizes to be won. But now it is the qualifying events which are set for a financial injection. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Prizes for the winners of the qualifiers are now set to see their prize double up to £2,000. There will also be increases in the prizes given to runners-up, semi-finalists and quarter-finalists. There will even be a brand new £5,000 pot allocated to the qualifiers for the UK Seniors Championship. The move comes as part of a new round of investments which will see the qualifying season’s total prize fund jump from £30,000 to £50,000. One of the major tournaments seeing extra money in the preliminary rounds will be the prestigious World Seniors Championship. The event follows on from the World Championship and is also held at the Crucible Theatre. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Joe Perry, who lost to O’Sullivan in the World Seniors Championship in May, supported the decision Credit: Getty O’Sullivan triumphed 10-4 over Joe Perry to claim the title in May, weeks after being knocked out of the Worlds in the second round by John Higgins. Even top-ranked players on the WST are eligible to compete in the Seniors if they are old enough, with top-ranked players like Stuart Bingham and Ali Carter getting involved earlier this year. Perry, who missed out on Worlds glory but did take the Senior British Open last season, said of the new investment: “It’s great to see the WSS Tour continuing to grow. “With a £2,000 winner’s cheque at every qualifying event this season, I think even more players will be encouraged to get involved and support the Tour.” Comment now