UK snooker’s most prestigious invitation tournament, The Masters, will be sponsored by online betting firm Dafabet for the first time this season, reports the publication World Snooker.
The Dafabet Masters runs from January 12 to 19 at Alexandra Palace in London and features the world’s leading 16 players, including defending champion Mark Selby, World Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, world number one Neil Robertson, Chinese ace Ding Junhui, Judd Trump and John Higgins.
With a top prize of GBP 200,000 the competition should generate plenty of excitement and action, and will be telecast by the British Broadcasting Corporation to the millions of snooker fans around the world.
Founded in 1975, the Masters Tournament has a rich history of world-class snooker action. Dafabet sponsored the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals last season and will therefore be aware of the massive global audience that can be reached through snooker, and the brand awareness that this can deliver.
John Cruces, head of sports marketing and sponsorships at Dafabet, said this week: “2014 is going to be a huge year for sport, and sponsoring the Masters is a great way for us to kick the year off.”